History Creator / VirginRecords

* Music/RyuichiSakamoto

* Music/RyuichiSakamoto[[note]]Released the soundtracks to ''Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence'' and ''Film/TheLastEmperor'' in various regions.[[/note]]

* Music/RyuichiSakamoto (released the soundtracks to ''Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence'' and ''Film/TheLastEmperor'' in various regions)

* Music/DavidByrne[[note]]In partnership with Luaka Bop.[[/note]]

* Music/KingCrimson (through EG Records)

Virgin had humble origins; it was founded by counterculture entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972, as an extension of a record store they already owned. Its first release, Music/MikeOldfield's ''Music/TubularBells'', was an album consisting of one track: an eerie, [[EpicRocking 48-minute]] instrumental (mostly) that hardly seemed like chart-topping material at first. However, when excerpts from the album were featured on the soundtrack of ''Film/TheExorcist'', it became a critically acclaimed smash. Virgin soon established itself as a home for adventurous ProgressiveRock and {{Krautrock}} performers such as Music/TangerineDream, Kevin Coyne, Hatfield and the North, Faust, Music/HenryCow, Music/SlappHappy and Music/{{Gong}}. Virgin also operated a sister label, Caroline Records, for less commercial releases. It was similar to the relationship between Creator/AtlanticRecords and Creator/AtcoRecords.

* Music/TheWho[[note]]A 1979 reissue of ''My Generation''[[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:240:The second Virgin logo (1977-2013), known as "the scrawl".]]

Virgin Records was a British record label with a long, colorful history and one of the most diverse catalogues in the music industry.

In 1992, the label was purchased by [[Creator/{{EMI}} Thorn EMI]]. Around the TurnOfTheMillennium, the company experimented with a CountryMusic division, Virgin Records Nashville; it didn't last long, and its roster was either transferred to Creator/CapitolRecords or dropped. Capitol returned to the Virgin story in 2007, when the two labels merged to form the Capitol Music Group. In 2013, after EMI's demise, ownership of Virgin Records passed to Creator/UniversalMusicGroup, which merged it with Creator/MercuryRecords' UK branch to form Virgin EMI Records, with a roster consisting primarily of British/European artists. On June 16, 2020, Virgin EMI Records was renamed EMI Records, reviving the EMI brand and consequently putting an end to Virgin's association with the music industry.

* Music/{{Gorillaz}} (US only; licensed from sister label Creator/ParlophoneRecords[[note]]US distribution shifted to Creator/WarnerRecords after EMI's closure)

* Music/DaftPunk (distribution only; through EMI France)

* Music/DavidGuetta (distribution only; through EMI France)

* Music/{{Gorillaz}} (US only; licensed from sister label Creator/ParlophoneRecords)

In 1992, the label was purchased by [[Creator/{{EMI}} Thorn EMI]]. Around the TurnOfTheMillennium, the company experimented with a CountryMusic division, Virgin Records Nashville; it didn't last long, and its roster was either transferred to Creator/CapitolRecords or dropped. Capitol returned to the Virgin story in 2007, when the two labels merged to form the Capitol Music Group. In 2013, after EMI's demise, ownership of Virgin Records passed to Creator/UniversalMusicGroup, which merged it with Creator/MercuryRecords' UK branch to form Virgin EMI Records, which remains active today, with a roster consisting primarily of British/European artists. On June 16, 2020, Virgin EMI Records was renamed EMI Records, reviving the EMI brand and consequently putting an end to Virgin's association with the music industry.

Virgin Records is a British record label with a long, colorful history and one of the most diverse catalogues in the music industry.

Virgin has humble origins; it was founded by counterculture entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972, as an extension of a record store they already owned. Its first release, Music/MikeOldfield's ''Music/TubularBells'', was an album consisting of one track: an eerie, [[EpicRocking 48-minute]] instrumental (mostly) that hardly seemed like chart-topping material at first. However, when excerpts from the album were featured on the soundtrack of ''Film/TheExorcist'', it became a critically acclaimed smash. Virgin soon established itself as a home for adventurous ProgressiveRock and {{Krautrock}} performers such as Music/TangerineDream, Kevin Coyne, Hatfield and the North, Faust, Music/HenryCow, Music/SlappHappy and Music/{{Gong}}. Virgin also operated a sister label, Caroline Records, for less commercial releases. It was similar to the relationship between Creator/AtlanticRecords and Creator/AtcoRecords.

Virgin used to have a song publisher, which EMI sold to BMG Rights Management in 2013.

[[caption-width-right:240:The current Virgin EMI Records logo (2013-present).]]

In 1992, the label was purchased by [[Creator/{{EMI}} Thorn EMI]]. Around the TurnOfTheMillennium, the company experimented with a CountryMusic division, Virgin Records Nashville; it didn't last long, and its roster was either transferred to Creator/CapitolRecords or dropped. Capitol returned to the Virgin story in 2007, when the two labels merged to form the Capitol Music Group. In 2013, after EMI's demise, ownership of Virgin Records passed to Creator/UniversalMusicGroup, which merged it with Creator/MercuryRecords' UK branch to form Virgin EMI Records, which remains active today, with a roster consisting primarily of British/European artists. On June 16, 2020, Virgin EMI Records was renamed EMI Records, reviving the EMI name.

During TheEighties, the company began signing more pop-oriented acts such as Music/CultureClub and Cutting Crew. By the beginning of TheNineties, Virgin had transformed into a mainstream label, spending huge amounts of money to sign Music/TheRollingStones and Music/JanetJackson. Subsidiary labels were established in other countries, including the United States and Canada (previously, North American distribution of Virgin acts was negotiated with a variety of labels). Two sublabels devoted to ClassicalMusic, Virgin Classics and Virgin Veritas, began operations. In the midst of all this, Branson was able to further his Virgin brand into a successful international business whose assets have included an airline, a winery, and a mobile phone company, among many other products and services.

In 1992, the label was purchased by [[Creator/{{EMI}} Thorn EMI]]. Around the TurnOfTheMillennium, the company experimented with a CountryMusic division, Virgin Records Nashville; it didn't last long, and its roster was either transferred to Creator/CapitolRecords or dropped. Capitol returned to the Virgin story in 2007, when the two labels merged to form the Capitol Music Group. In 2013, after EMI's demise, ownership of Virgin Records passed to Creator/UniversalMusicGroup, which merged it with Creator/MercuryRecords' UK branch to form Virgin EMI Records, which remains active today, with a roster consisting primarily of British/European artists.

During TheEighties, the company began signing more pop-oriented acts such as Music/CultureClub and Cutting Crew. By the beginning of TheNineties, Virgin had transformed into a mainstream label, spending huge amounts of money to sign Music/TheRollingStones and Music/JanetJackson. Subsidiary labels were established in other countries, including the United States and Canada (previously, North American distribution of Virgin Acts was negotiated with a variety of labels). Two sublabels devoted to ClassicalMusic, Virgin Classics and Virgin Veritas, began operations. In the midst of all this, Branson was able to further his Virgin brand into a successful international business whose assets have included an airline, a winery, and a mobile phone company, among many other products and services.

During TheEighties, the company began signing more pop-oriented acts such as Music/CultureClub and Cutting Crew. By the beginning of TheNineties, Virgin had transformed into a mainstream label, spending huge amounts of money to sign Music/TheRollingStones and Music/JanetJackson. Subsidiary labels were established in other countries, including the United States and Canada. Two sublabels devoted to ClassicalMusic, Virgin Classics and Virgin Veritas, began operations. In the midst of all this, Branson was able to further his Virgin brand into a successful international business whose assets have included an airline, a winery, and a mobile phone company, among many other products and services.

* Music/{{Devo}}

Virgin has humble origins; it was founded by counterculture entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972, as an extension of a record store they already owned. Its first release, Music/MikeOldfield's ''Music/TubularBells'', was an album consisting of one track: an eerie, [[EpicRocking 48-minute]] instrumental (mostly) that hardly seemed like chart-topping material at first. However, when excerpts from the album were featured on the soundtrack of ''Film/TheExorcist'', it became a critically acclaimed smash. Virgin soon established itself as a home for adventurous ProgressiveRock and {{Krautrock}} performers such as Music/TangerineDream, Kevin Coyne, Hatfield and the North, Faust, Music/HenryCow, Music/SlappHappy and Music/{{Gong}}.

** ''Music/DesperateStraights'' (collaboration with Henry Cow)

* Music/TheGooGooDolls

** ''Music/Mezzanine''