Dualtone Records is an American record label specializing in folk, Americana, and
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...
. It was founded in 2001 by Scott Robinson and Dan Herrington. The company is run by Robinson and the label's president, Paul Roper. Albums are distributed by the
Alternative Distribution Alliance
Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...
. On January 20, 2016,
Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...
acquired Dualtone Records. Later, Dualtone's parent company eOne Music was acquired by
The Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...
in June 2021, with eOne Music rebranded as
MNRK Music Group
MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...
in September 2021.
History
Dualtone has been nominated for sixteen
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s, winning four. The label celebrated its 20th year in 2021.
First year in business brought a number 2 hit at country radio for David Ball's "Riding with Private Malone". The album ''Amigo'' went on to sell over 350,000 copies.
June Carter Cash
June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prio ...
's posthumous album ''Wildwood Flower'' was released in 2003. Including some of the final duets between her and husband
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...
, the album went on to win two GRAMMY awards.
Brett Dennen
Brett Michael Dennen (born October 28, 1979) is an American folk/pop singer-songwriter from Central California. His seventh studio album, ''See the World'' was released in July 2021.
Early life
Dennen grew up in Central Valley, California in a s ...
's breakout album ''So Much More'' was released in 2006. "Ain't No Reason" from that album is now over 500,000 in all in sales. The label also released Dennen's second album ''Hope for the Hopeless'' in 2008 and ''Loverboy'' in 2011.
The Lumineers' self-titled debut album was released in April 2012 and was certified platinum in the US on February 20, 2013. The album is now over 3 million all in sales.
In 2014,
Guy Clark
Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...
's ''My Favorite Picture of You'' won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
Shakey Graves ''And the War Came'' also was released in 2014. Shakey went on to win Best Emerging Artist at the 2015 Americana Awards. ''And the War Came'' is approaching 200,000 sold with breakout single ''Dearly Departed'' over 400,000.
The Lumineers' second album ''Cleopatra'' was the first album of 2016 from an independent label to debut at No. 1 with over 120,000 albums sold. The album is now over 1.5 million.
In October 2016 on
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
's 90th birthday, Dualtone announced an album of new material coming in 2017. Berry's 20th and final studio album, ''
Chuck
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
'', was released posthumously on June 9, 2017. In September 2017, Dualtone (via eOne and Ole) became the official US song publisher for Berry's catalogue.
Mt. Joy was signed in 2017 and released their breakthrough single "Silver Lining" in November which went on to go to number 1 at AAA. The band's self titled album is over 160 million streams in the US. Recently the label has added
Amos Lee
Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 20, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock, and soul. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Engli ...
Hayes Carll
Joshua Hayes Carll (born January 9, 1976), known professionally as Hayes Carll, is a singer-songwriter. A native of The Woodlands, Texas, his style of roots-oriented songwriting has been noted for its plainspoken poetry and sarcastic humor.
C ...
,
Gregory Alan Isakov
Gregory Alan Isakov (born October 19, 1979) is a South African-born singer-songwriter currently based in Boulder, Colorado. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1986 and he was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Isakov's musi ...
,
Kathleen Edwards
Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978 ) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2002 debut album, ''
The Lone Bellow
The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from Brooklyn, New York City.
History
The Lone Bellow began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams, whose wife had suffered temporary paralysis following a horseback riding accident. During h ...
to the roster. Angie McMahon won the coveted Grulke prize at SXSW in 2019 and her breakout single "Slow Mover" was certified Gold in Australia.
Gregory Alan Isakov
Gregory Alan Isakov (born October 19, 1979) is a South African-born singer-songwriter currently based in Boulder, Colorado. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1986 and he was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Isakov's musi ...
's album ''Evening Machines'' landed at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Americana/Folk chart on release and went on to be nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Folk Album.
The Lumineers' third album ''III'' was released September 13, 2019 and debuted at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Independent Chart.
Current roster
*
Amos Lee
Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 20, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock, and soul. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Engli ...
Gregory Alan Isakov
Gregory Alan Isakov (born October 19, 1979) is a South African-born singer-songwriter currently based in Boulder, Colorado. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1986 and he was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Isakov's musi ...
*
Hayes Carll
Joshua Hayes Carll (born January 9, 1976), known professionally as Hayes Carll, is a singer-songwriter. A native of The Woodlands, Texas, his style of roots-oriented songwriting has been noted for its plainspoken poetry and sarcastic humor.
C ...
*
Guy Clark
Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...
*
Kathleen Edwards
Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978 ) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2002 debut album, ''
Langhorne Slim
Langhorne Slim is an American singer-songwriter, (born Sean Scolnick on August 20, 1980 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania). He attended high school at Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the Conservatory of Music at Purchase ...
*
The Lone Bellow
The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from Brooklyn, New York City.
History
The Lone Bellow began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams, whose wife had suffered temporary paralysis following a horseback riding accident. During h ...
Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and entertainer. Debuting with 1984's ''No Kinda Dancer'', the Houston native has recorded 20 full-length albums for both independent and major record labels. His songs ha ...
Shovels & Rope
Shovels & Rope are an American folk duo from Charleston, South Carolina composed of husband and wife Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst. Combining threads from their individual solo careers, Shovels & Rope blends traditional folk, rock and roll ...
The Wild Reeds
The Wild Reeds are an American indie band based in Los Angeles, California.
History
The founding members of the Wild Reeds were its three multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters, Mackenzie Howe, Kinsey Lee and Sharon Silva. They first met as con ...