12 Black-Owned Record Labels That Made Music History

Founded in Harlem, New York in 1921, Black Swan Records was the first Black-owned and operated label in America to have widespread distribution. Specializing in jazz and blues, the label was established by founder Harry Pace to provide Black musicians of the time with greater creative freedom over their work. Pace had previously founded the Pace and Handy Music Company with the “Father of the Blues” W.C. Handy, and following that partnership, he was able to continue working with accomplished composers William Grant Still and Fletcher Henderson as he launched Black Swan. Beyond the label’s jazz and blues output, Black Swan released music from a wide variety of Black artists that included classical musicians, vaudeville singers, and Broadway performers like Ethel Waters. Although the label experienced financial hardship and was sold to Paramount in 1924, the label’s historic recordings have been preserved with a CD reissue series in the 1990s.

Vee Jay Records was founded in 1953 by the husband-and-wife team of Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken – Vee and Jay, respectively. Vee Jay quickly established itself as a major R&B label, and they made a deal with EMI to acquire the U.S. rights to some Frank Ifield recordings – as long as they also agreed to take material from an up-and-coming band called the Beatles. Thanks to this life-changing addition to the Ifield contract, Vee Jay became the most successful Black-owned record label in the U.S. In early 1964, they sold 2.6 million Beatles 45s in a single month. Capitol Records had passed on the Beatles, but once they saw Vee Jay’s skyrocketing sales, they filed lawsuits and got the Beatles back. Legal fees and other financial woes led to the label’s bankruptcy in 1966, but later iterations and catalog acquisitions have kept many of Vee Jay’s vital recordings in print.

Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown in 1959 and launched the careers of artists like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, and The Jackson 5. Gordy, with the help of a hand-picked group of studio musicians known as the Funk Brothers, developed the “Motown sound” — a distinct production style that fused soul, gospel, R&B, and pop with catchy, sophisticated melodies. The “Motown sound” contributed to the label’s crossover success, which played an important role in the integration of popular music. Today, Motown operates under the Universal Music Group umbrella, and represents a range of contemporary artists including Brandy and Erykah Badu as well as Lil Yachty and Offset.

T-Neck Records was founded by the Isley Brothers in 1964. The group had been struggling to find the right label, but that all changed after the song “Shout” was covered by a few notable artists and became a major success. This allowed the Isley Brothers to start their own label and they released the “Testify” single, featuring a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix on lead guitar. Even though these were the first nationally distributed recordings featuring Hendrix, the single didn’t chart and the Isley Brothers went on to sign with Motown. After a few more singles failed to chart, the band asked to be released from their contract, reactivated T-Neck, and experienced success with the song “It’s Your Thing” and the album It’s Our Thing. T-Neck folded in 1985 due to financial problems, but Music On Vinyl has recently reissued some of their classic releases.

Songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff met while working as session musicians for Philadelphia-based Cameo-Parkway Records in 1964, briefly performed together in a band called the Romeos, and founded the Chess Records-distributed Neptune Records in 1969, before finally launching their own Philadelphia International Records with longtime collaborator Thom Bell in 1971. Specializing in the distinct R&B sound of “Philly soul,” CBS-distributed Philadelphia International found success in the early ‘70s with soul numbers like Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes’ “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and Billy Paul’s howling “Me and Mrs. Jones.” But the label’s most distinguishing legacy may be its role in the creation of disco. Working with a house band of over 30 studio musicians, known collectively as MFSB (“Mother Father Sister Brother”), Philadelphia International pioneered a sound of lush, orchestral production featuring strings and brass, shuffling rhythms, and soulful singing. Tracks like the O’Jays’ “Love Train” and MFSB’s “Love is the Message” and “The Sound of Philadelphia” were precursors – and popular tracks at David Mancuso’s influential Loft parties – that set the template for the disco wave to come in the late ‘70s.

Operating out of the front room of his South East London home since the 1970s, Ariwa Sounds is the studio/label of Guyanese-born British dub/reggae producer Mad Professor. Utilizing homemade and self-repaired equipment, Mad Professor’s studio became a hub for reggae, dub, and lover’s rock in the UK, and captured performances from the likes of Lee “Scratch” Perry, Yellowman, Horace Andy, Sly & Robbie, and many others. As the Ariwa recording empire grew, so too did Mad Professor’s status as a sought-after producer and remixer of deep dub records, leading to collaborations with artists including Sade, Massive Attack, the Orb, Grace Jones, and many others. From unassuming beginnings, the sound of Mad Professor’s expansive dub continues to echo out today.

Joe and Sylvia Robinson, alongside Milton Malden, founded Sugar Hill Records in Englewood, New Jersey in 1979. The label’s first release was Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” the track widely regarded as the first hip-hop single. The label later signed and released records for other hip-hop groups including Crash Crew, Treacherous Three, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Though the label went defunct in 1986 following a legal battle with MCA Records, Sugar Hill Records’ legacy as an integral part of hip-hop’s history remains.

After self-releasing a single by the punk band Hose from his NYU dorm room, Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin met Russell Simmons and recruited him to join Def Jam as co-founder for their second release, T La Rock & Jazzy J’s “It’s Yours.” According to Rubin, he recognized Simmons as “the face of hip-hop, already established in the music business.” Def Jam went on to release LL Cool J’s “I Need A Beat” and Beastie Boys “Rock Hard” in 1984, and through the latter half of the ‘80s, the label grew to include releases from an eclectic mix of artists, from Public Enemy to Slayer to Slick Rick to 3rd Bass. Def Jam was folded into PolyGram in 1994, and Simmons sold his shares of Def Jam to Universal Music Group in 1996. Though Rubin and Simmons are no longer associated with Def Jam, the label remains in operation with the aid of executive consultant Snoop Dogg.

Detroit techno label and collective Underground Resistance was founded with a mission of connecting the political-economics of a decaying, post-industrial Detroit to the radical futurism and sonic possibilities of the then emergent sound of techno, while also firmly returning that genre to its too often overlooked African American roots. Founded in 1989 by “Mad” Mike Banks and Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance championed a militantly political, do-it-yourself ethic intimately tied to ideals of Black, working class liberation. Anti-corporate and allergic to the fame and face recognition that was increasingly common in the DJ world, Banks and other members often appeared masked in photos, and releases were branded simply with the iconic, bold “UR” lettering. As Detroit techno set the template for what would become a worldwide – and notably white – phenomenon from Berlin to London to Brooklyn, Underground Resistance provided an avenue for Detroit’s predominantly Black originators of the genre to connect with audiences worldwide. And while dance floors have long been sites of escapism and alternative realities, UR situated them as the transformative front lines of an invisible war against a bankrupt, broken system. Releases credited simply to Underground Resistance or “U.R.” featuring a rotating cast of collaborators, along with credited releases from the likes of Jeff Mills, the jazz and electro-influenced live act Galaxy 2 Galaxy, DJ Rolando and his Aztec Mystic alias, as well as crucial works by sub-aquatic afro-futurist techno outfit Drexciya.

Cash Money Records was founded in New Orleans in 1991 by brothers Ronald “Slim” Williams and Bryan “Birdman” Williams. In the ’90s, Cash Money released albums for rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Lil Wayne, as well as hip-hop group Hot Boys, contributing to the mainstream success of Southern rap and the introduction of bounce music to the masses. Cash Money became one of the most successful record labels during the 2000s and 2010s as it released platinum-selling albums for Drake, Nicki Minaj, and DJ Khaled. However, Drake and Minaj left the label at the end of the decade following a legal dispute between Lil Wayne and Birdman over financial mismanagement claims and the delayed release of Tha Carter V.

Rapper Sean “Puffy” Combs was an A&R executive at Uptown Records, an NYC R&B/hip-hop label run by rapper Andre Harrell. After being let go from Uptown, Combs founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 and almost immediately began releasing records from rapper Craig Mack, including Bad Boy’s first single “Flava In Ya Ear,” followed by Mack’s debut album, Project Funk da World. Following Mack, Bad Boy released the debut single and album from Notorious B.I.G., which rocketed Bad Boy to success and paved the way for subsequent releases from Total and Faith Evans. The label took a downturn in the early 2000s, but partnered with Warner Music Group in 2005 to release new music from Cassie and Yung Joc. Bad Boy’s more recent releases include albums from French Montana, Machine Gun Kelly, and Janelle Monae.

Founded in 2008 by electronic artist (and grandnephew of spiritual jazz icon Alice Coltrane) Flying Lotus, the Brainfeeder label evolved out of what was initially a Dublab radio show. Drawing upon an L.A. beat scene of producers and musicians in constellation with the Low End Theory club night and fellow label (and eventual Brainfeeder distributor) Alpha Pup, Brainfeeder has released boundary-pushing electronic records from L.A. artists such as Daedelus, Teebs, TokiMonsta, and others, as well as helping to launch the career of funk-fusion bass wizard Thundercat. The label went on to expand to releases from farther-flung fellow travelers such as Dutch techno producer Martyn, French electro prankster Mr. Oizo, as well as genre expanding efforts from musician and vocalist Taylor McFerrin and modern jazz composer Kamasi Washington. Throughout, Brainfeeder has stayed committed to pushing forward-thinking, omnivorous music and artists.