Minos EMI is a

record company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

based in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece. The company serves as the Greek record label and offices of the multinational

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

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 Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest phonograph, gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Records, Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned ...

and

Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early recording companies, the parent organisation for the ''His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, and the European ...

, which a year later merged to form

EMI Group EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, 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,

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

, and

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

, 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 Rebetiko ( el, ρεμπέτικο, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek music which have come to be grouped together since the s ...

musician

Minos Matsas In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

, 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 Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

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 Rebetiko ( el, ρεμπέτικο, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek music which have come to be grouped together since the s ...

and

Laïko Laïko or laïkó ( el, λαϊκό �ραγούδιlaïkó 'tragoúdi'' ; “ongof the people", "popular ong, pl: ''laïká'' 'tragoúdia'' is a Greek music genre composed in Greek language in accordance with the tradition of the Greek peopl ...

. 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 EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded musi ...

. 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 Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony 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 ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...

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

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 Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. 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 Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...

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 Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; el, Μάνος Χατζιδάκις; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek composers and one of the most ...

Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. A leading singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's fore ...

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 Panagiota-Calliope Chrysicopoulou ( el, Παναγιώτα-Καλλιόπη Χρυσικοπούλου; born 8 March 1975), known professionally as Peggy Zina ( el, Πέγκυ Ζήνα), is a Greek singer. She made her recording debut in 1995 wi ...

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 Despina Vandi - ΣΤΑ 'ΔΩΣΑ ΟΛΑΑ ( el, Δέσποινα Βανδή, ), born as Despina Malea () on 22 July 1969, is a Greek singer. Born in Tübingen near Stuttgart, Germany, Vandi's family returned to Kavala, Greece when she was six ye ...

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 Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He Film score, scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek (film) ...

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 Anna Vissi ( el, Άννα Βίσση, , ; born 20 December 1957), is a Greek Cypriot singer and songwriter. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed ...

* Mad Clip *

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 Stavros Xarchakos, Greek: Σταύρος Ξαρχάκος (born 14 March 1939) is a Greek composer and conductor. Biography Stavros Xarchakos was born in Athens, where he studied at the Athens Conservatoire. He has family origins from the Man ...

* Maria Nomikou *

Natassa Theodoridou Natasa Theodoridou ( el, Νατάσα Θεοδωρίδου; born October 24, 1970 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek singer. She is the only female Greek artist to have her first three albums achieve platinum status. She has been certified for a total ...

Maria Elena Kyriakou Maria Elena Kyriakou ( el, Μαρία Έλενα Κυριάκου, ; born 11 January 1984) is a Greek-Cypriot singer best known for winning the first season of ''The Voice of Greece'' under the mentorship of Despina Vandi. She represented Gree ...

Evridiki Evridiki Theokleous ( el, Ευρυδίκη Θεοκλέους, ; born 25 February 1968), known professionally as simply Evridiki, is a Greek-Cypriot rock, pop, and electropop singer. She is best known in Europe for representing her home countr ...

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 George Dalaras ( Γιώργος Νταλάρας, 29 September 1949) is a Greek musician and singer. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek musical culture. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Ag ...

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 Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas ( el, Αναστάσιος "Σάκης" Ρουβάς, ; born 5 January 1972), also known mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek singer, film and television actor, businessman and former pole vaulter and model. Born in Cor ...

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 Helena Paparizou (; , ; born 31 January 1962) is a Swedish-born Greek singer, songwriter and television personality. Born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, she enrolled in various arts schools before launching a career in Sweden in 1999 as ...

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 *

Tamta Tamta Goduadze ( ka, თამთა გოდუაძე; el, Τάμτα Γκοντουάτζε, Támta Gkontouátze; born 10 January 1981), known mononymously as Tamta, is a Georgian-Greek singer. She first achieved popularity in Greece in ...

* Toquel *

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 Dimitris Giannoulis (Greek: Δημήτρης Γιαννούλης, born 4 May 1987) also known by his stage name Snik (stylized as SNIK) is a Greek rapper. Career In 2012 Giannoulis released his first single "Thema Chronou" which reached 100,000 ...

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 Yianna Terzi ( el, Γιάννα Τερζή; born Ioanna Terzi [] on 1 December 1980) is a Greeks, Greek singer and songwriter. She Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song " ...

Katerine Duska Katerine Duska ( el, Κατερίνα Ντούσκα; born 5 November 1989) is a Greek-Canadian singer and songwriter. She represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song " Better Love" which was released on 6 March 2019. ...

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 Renas may refer to: Places *Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Extremadura, Spain *Rena, Norway, a village in Innlandet county, Norway *Rena, Washington, a community in Clallam County, Washington, United States People *Rena (given name), list of pe ...

* Iasonas Mandilas * Eirini Papadopoulou *

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