Minos EMI is a record company based in Athens, Greece. The company serves as the Greek record label and offices of the multinational Universal Music Group. EMI is credited for founding the record business in Greece in the 1930s, by producing the first records and building the country's first recording studio.

Founding of recorded music in Greece

In 1930, British Columbia Graphophone Company and Gramophone Company, which a year later merged to form EMI Group, formed a partnership along with Greek investor Lambropoulos Brothers Limited to produce records in Greece. By 1931, company operations were in full swing and the first disc produced in Greece had been pressed under the company name ''EMIAL''. After five years of using the halls of large hotels to record songs, EMIAL built Greece's first recording studio and became the front runner in the Greek music industry for many years. The company continued to be incorporated as EMIAL, although it predominantly used the trade name ''EMI Greece''. EMI's domestic Greek releases during this period generally came out bearing the company's British legacy labels, including

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, HMV, and Parlophone, as well as the

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

label.

Merger with Minos Matsas & Son

In 1991, EMIAL purchased a controlling share of Minos Matsas & Son, founded by pioneering Greek music industry executive and prominent rebetiko musician Minos Matsas, and relaunched the company under the name Minos EMI. At the time of the acquisition, "Minos Matsas & Son" was led by Makis Matsas, who became CEO of the new entity. It was identified that Minos EMI would command one-third of the Greek market, as Minos Matsas & Son held a 22% market share, while EMIAL held 9%. The labour union at Minos Matsas & Son was unsatisfied that EMI Greece (EMIAL) was now controlling Minos Matsas, as EMI Greece opted to engage in layoffs at Minos Matsas, instead of integrating the existing company into EMI Greece's operations. The two distribution centers merged at EMI Greece's historical building, which was located in the Athens suburb of Rizoupoli, while most of the remaining staff joined Minos Matsas' offices on Messogeion Avenue. EMI Greece CFO Panayotis Papalimberis was retained, while the artistic direction went to Minos A&R managers: Achileas Theofilou, Elias Benettos and Vangelis Yannopoulos. EMI Greece's foreign repertoire manager, Manos Xydous, was chosen to undertake a domestic A&R role by launching the EMI label Harvest Records as a domestic repertoire imprint. Costas Bourmas was hired as Managing Director, who came from the same position at Sony Music Greece. The Minos label saw a continuity as a local A&R

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

. Artists not specifically under the Minos A&R operation, generally only carried the EMI label. The distinction of artists by imprint was usually only carried out on album covers, reflecting internal A&R management.

Heritage of the Minos EMI back catalogue

The Minos EMI back catalogue — from the inheritances of both the EMIAL and Minos Matsas & Son discographies — carries important works of Greek recorded music heritage in many different genres, although most notably in the genres of Rebetiko and Laïko. Minos EMI actively exploits its catalogue by remastering works for re-releases, compilations and special releases, as well as through licensing to third-party strategic marketers. Select recordings from Minos EMI's catalogue have seen international release by labels within the EMI Group, including under world music label

EMI Hemisphere EMI Hemisphere is a world music record label imprint of EMI. Founded by Gerald Seligman in 1993, it drew on music from the international catalogues of EMI Records, supplemented by its own signings and some outside licensing. It was one of th ...

and EMI Classics. These collaborations began between EMI Hemisphere founder, Gerald Seligman, and Vangelis Yannopoulos, Minos EMI A&R and Strategic Manager.

Minos EMI in the 21st century

Since 2001, Minos EMI was the sole EMI label operation in Greece, following the closure of Virgin Records Greece. "EMI Music Greece" was the moniker used to refer to Minos EMI in an international context, following the EMI Group naming convention for national EMI offices around the world. Between 2002 and 2004, Minos EMI handled the distribution of

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

in Greece, having acquired the rights after the closure of BMG Greece. Following the global joint venture (between

and Sony Music Entertainment) forming

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

, Sony Music Greece saw its offices being converted to Sony BMG Greece. As a result of a (jointly-owned) BMG company being re-introduced into the Greek market (via Sony BMG Greece), the pre-existing distribution agreement with Minos EMI terminated under a clause allowing BMG to take back distribution should the company re-establish in Greece. As of mid-2008, music channel MAD TV discontinued its practice of marking music videos by imprint, instead opting to solely label all releases as EMI. As of late 2010, the discontinuation of the Minos label also began on the CD covers of Minos artists, also leaving all domestic releases marked only with the EMI label. In October 2010, Minos EMI entered into a 4-year agreement with the recently launched Greek edition of

video sharing service An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...

Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...

, securing exclusive rights for Dailymotion to premiere all new music videos. The deal also called for the addition of over 1,000 new, old, and rare music videos, accessible to website's users worldwide.

Acquisition by Universal Music Group

Following the completion of the acquisition of EMI Group by Universal Music Group in September 2012, several European EMI operations were placed for sale to gain compliance with European

competition law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

s, and were subsequently acquired by Warner Music Group. In the Greek market hitherto, Universal Music Group had its label operation, Universal Music Greece, which was chosen over Minos EMI to be included in the sale of European assets. As a result, Greece was the only European country where a Universal Music office was chosen for divestiture, instead of an EMI office. Universal Music Greece was acquired by Greek investors and relaunched as an

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

named Cobalt Music. Upon the restructuring and integration of its operations, Universal Music Group chose to discontinue EMI worldwide as a standalone label. However continuity of the EMI brand was established through a dual branding approach with other EMI legacy labels, such as in the creation of Virgin EMI in the UK and through the preservation of "EMI Recorded Music Australia" in Australia and "Minos EMI" in Greece. These EMI-branded trademarks now stand as unique labels in their own right.

Artists

Past

Grigoris Bithikotsis Grigoris Bithikotsis (Greek Γρηγόρης Μπιθικώτσης, ; December 11, 1922 – April 7, 2005) was a Greek folk singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades. He is considered one of the most important figures in Greek popular ...

* Manos Hatzidakis * Stelios Kazantzidis *

Stavros Kouyioumtzis Stavros Kouyioumtzis, also Kougioumtzis, Kouyoumtzis, or Koujioumtzis, (23 July 1932 – 12 March 2005) ( el, Σταύρος Κουγιουμτζής ) is one of the most significant Greek music composers of the 20th century. Kouyioumtzis w ...

Christos Kyriazis Christos may refer to: * Jesus of Nazareth * Christ (title), a title for the Jewish Messiah in Christianity * Christos (surname) * Christos (given name) *, a Greek owned, Liberian flagged cargo ship in service 1962-71 See also * Christ (disamb ...

Manos Loizos Manos may refer to: Films * ''The Hands'' (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film * '' Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film Music * Manos (band), German Black metal band * ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes Other use ...

Yannis Markopoulos Yannis Markopoulos ( el, Γιάννης Μαρκόπουλος; born 18 March 1939) is a Greek composer. Biography Early life and education Yannis Markopoulos was born in 1939 in Heraklion, Crete. From one of the old families of the island— ...

Nikos Oikonomopoulos Nikolaos "Nikos" Oikonomopoulos ( el, Νικόλαος Νίκος Οικονομόπουλος, ; born 30 June 1984)Peoplegreece. Retrieved on January 15, 2016 is a Greek singer. He appeared on the Greek talent show ''Dream Show - The Music 2'', ...

* Peggy Zina *

Dimitris Mitropanos Dimitris Mitropanos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητροπάνος; 2 April 1948 – 17 April 2012) was a Greek singer. He was renowned for his mastery of Laïkó, a Greek music style. Biography Mitropanos lived in his native city of Trikala in n ...

* Despina Vandi *

Pantelis Pantelidis Pantelis Pantelidis ( el, Παντελής Παντελίδης; 23 November 1983 – 18 February 2016) was a Greek singer, songwriter and lyricist. He died on 18 February 2016 in a car crash. Biography Born on November 23, 1983, Pantelis Pantel ...

Giannis Papaioannou Giannis Papaioannou ( el, Γιάννης Παπαϊωάννου; January 18, 1913 – August 3, 1972) was a famous Greek musician and composer born in Kios, Ottoman Empire (now Gemlik, Turkey). In English his name is sometimes romanticized as ''Ya ...

* Opikos Stounmbinto *

Mimis Plessas Mimis Plessas ( el, Μίμης Πλέσσας; born 12 October 1924) is a Greek composer born in Athens. He began his career in 1952 and has written music for over 100 films, television and radio programs, and theatrical events. He has worked wit ...

* Mikis Theodorakis *

Vassilis Tsitsanis Vassilis Tsitsanis ( el, Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης 18 January 1915 – 18 January 1984) was a Greece, Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the foun ...

Markos Vamvakaris Márkos Vamvakáris ( el, Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a ''rebetiko'' musician. He is universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance ...

* Anna Vissi *

Mad Clip Mad Clip (born Panagiotis Peter Anastasopoulos, ; May 25, 1987 – September 2, 2021) was an American-Greek rapper and songwriter. He released many songs such as "Dealer", "Kotera", "Sinthikes", which have grossed more than ten million pageviews ...

STAN Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...

* Stavros Xarchakos * Maria Nomikou * Natassa Theodoridou * Maria Elena Kyriakou * Evridiki *

Lavrentis Machairitsas Lavrentis Machairitsas ( el, Λαυρέντης Μαχαιρίτσας; 5 November 1956 – 9 September 2019) was a Greek rock musician from Volos, Thessaly, Greece. Biography Early years Machairitsas was born in Volos and began taking pian ...

Loukas Yorkas Loukas Yorkas () born in Aradippou, Cyprus, on 18 October 1986, is a Cypriot singer and the winner of the first season of the Greek version of the television talent series ''The X Factor''. In September 2009 he released his first EP album, ''Mazi ...

Current

Yiannis Parios Yiannis Parios ( el, Γιάννης Πάριος) is a Greek singer, with a career spanning five decades. Biography Yiannis Parios was born Ioannis Varthakouris (Ιωάννης Βαρθακούρης) on the island of Paros. He made his firs ...

* Giorgos Dalaras *

Vasilis Karras Vasilis Karras ( el, Βασίλης Καρράς; born Vasilis Kesoglidis on 12 November 1953) is a Greek folk singer. Biography Karras was born in Kokkinohori, near Kavala, Greece. At the age of 10, his family moved to Thessaloniki. Also aro ...

Anna Rezan Anna Rezan ( el, Άννα Ρεζάν; born ''Anna Hannah Rezan Kritseli'', el, Άννα Χάνα Ρεζαν Κριτσέλη, links=no; 12 December 1992) is a Greek actress and singer. She began her career in her early teens by appearing in Gre ...

* Sakis Rouvas *

Giorgos Mazonakis , birth_date = , birth_place = Athens, Greece , death_date = , genre = Greek Folk-Pop, dance , years_active = 1992–present , label = Universal Music Greece (1993–2001)Heaven Music (2001–2016) Minos EMI (2017;present) , web ...

* Elena Paparizou *

Eleonora Zouganeli Eleonora Zouganeli ( el, Ελεωνόρα Ζουγανέλη; born 1 February 1983), is a Greek singer. Biography Zouganeli was born in 1983 in Athens and is the daughter of Giannis Zouganelis and Isidora Sideris. From a very young age she was ...

Kostis Maraveyas Kostis Maraveyas or Kostis Maravegias ( el, Κωστής Μαραβέγιας), also known by his stage name Maraveyas ilegál or just Maraveyas, is a Greek singer-songwriter, composer, performer, director, TV presenter and writer. He plays the ...

Giannis Kotsiras Giannis Kotsiras ( el, Γιάννης Κώτσιρας; born 16 December 1992) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back for Super League Greece, Super League clu ...

Stavento Stavento is a Greek Hip-Hop band from Alexandroupoli. Created in 2004 by Michalis Kouinellis, Kostas Lattas (Akritas) and Eva Kanata. Responsible for the production and the lyrics appear to be Michalis Kouinellis, nicknamed "ICU". Quickly bec ...

* Tamta *

Toquel Klaudjo Dhespo (born 6 December 1994), known professionally as Toquel (stylised in all caps), is a Greek rapper. Life and career Toquel was born as Klaudjo Dhespo on 6 December 1994 into an Albanians, Albanian family in the city of Tepelenë, ...

Panos Mouzourakis Panagiotis Mouzourakis (born 24 May 1979) is a Greek singer, songwriter, actor and artist. He is known for his participation in the Greek television series, ''Singles'' and ''4''. References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mouzourakis, Pa ...

* SNIK *

Ivi Adamou Ivi Adamou ( el, Ήβη Αδάμου, ; born 24 November 1993) is a Greek-Cypriot singer. She was born and raised in Agia Napa, Cyprus and currently resides in Alexandroupoli, Greece. Adamou rose to recognition in Greece and Cyprus following he ...

* Lakis Papadopoulos * Petros Iakovidis * Katahthonios * Ypohthonios * Kostas Ageris * Yianna Terzi * Katerine Duska *

Antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

* Archolekas * Barbara Argyrou * Marseaux *

Onirama Onirama is a Greek pop rock band that has had a number of hits in Greece. They are known for their wide range of music, and party-like concerts. ''Onirama.gr''. Retrieved on July 10, 2008 Career 2000-2005: Beginnings & First successes Onirama was ...

Xenia Ghali Xenia Ghali ( el, Ξένια Γκάλη; born August 14, 1989) is a Greek songwriter, record producer and disc jockey. She is the founder of Funky Sheep Records, and is known for her dance music singles and fashion oriented videos. Early life Gh ...

* Katerina Lioliou * Rena Morfi * Iasonas Mandilas * Eirini Papadopoulou * Yianna Terzi *

Katerina Stikoudi Katerina Stikoudi ( el, Κατερίνα Στικούδη; 16 April 1985) is a Greek singer, model, actress, television host and ex-athlete on swimming. Stikoudi first gained media attention, in 2005, when she took part on Miss Star Hellas beauty ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Greek brands Pop record labels Companies based in Athens Entertainment companies established in 1931 Record labels established in 1931 IFPI members Universal Music Group Greek companies established in 1931