Big Beat Records, Inc. is an American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

record label, owned 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 ...

and operates through Atlantic Records. It was founded as an independent record label in 1986 by Craig Kallman with an emphasis on house music, and later hip hop. It was absorbed into Atlantic Records in 1998, and eventually relaunched separately in 2010 as a primarily electronic music label. Its current roster includes

Dog Blood Dog Blood is a side project formed in 2012 by music producers Skrillex and Boys Noize. Their debut single, ''Next Order / Middle Finger'', was released on August 12, 2012, on Beatport and iTunes and other music streaming platforms. The song "Ne ...

Galantis Galantis is a Swedish electronic dance music production, songwriting and DJ duo consisting of Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw. Karlsson is also known as Bloodshy as part of two other musical groups, a duo (Bloodshy & Avant) and a trio (Mi ...

Whethan Ethan Snoreck, better known by his stage name Whethan (formerly Wheathin), is an American DJ and music producer from Chicago. He gained recognition after his remix of the track "XE3" by Mssingno, which as of December 2018 has garnered over 13 m ...

Cash Cash Cash Cash is an American electronic music group from Roseland, New Jersey. The group consists of three DJs / musicians: brothers Jean Paul Makhlouf, Alex Makhlouf and Samuel Frisch. They produce, record, mix and master all their music together a ...

, and

Clean Bandit Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...

History

1987–1998: Original Big Beat

The first iteration of Big Beat was founded as an Independent record label in 1987 by Craig Kallman who was, at the time, a 20-year-old

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The company initially operated out of Kallman's bedroom where he recorded the label's first track, "Join Hands" by Tara Vhonty. That record sold 5,000 copies largely through direct promotion at record stores by Kallman himself. The second record Kallman recorded in his bedroom studio was titled "The Party" by Kraze which would go on to sell 250,000 units in the United States and internationally. Soon after, Kallman began focusing on developing the record label, signing acts like Tara Kemp and Jomanda over the following three years. He would sell Kemp's contract to

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

in 1991. Also that year, Jomanda released a record entitled " Got a Love for You" on Big Beat which attracted the attention of

Doug Morris Doug Morris (born November 23, 1938) is an American record executive. He is the current chairman of 12Tone Music Group. He previously served as chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011 and Sony Music Entertainment from 20 ...

, the co-chairman of Atlantic Records at the time. Atlantic acquired Big Beat and made Kallman the Vice President of A&R while he still operated Big Beat. As the 1990s escalated, the label's roster shifted from primarily house music to more hip hop music. Big Beat signed a variety of artists including Mad Skillz, Changing Faces, Robin S., Fat Joe, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil' Kim (both via the company's Undeas imprint), Artifacts, Art n' Soul, Double X Posse, Kenny Dope,

Dawn Penn Dawn Penn (born 11 January 1952) is a Jamaican reggae singer. She first had a short career during the rocksteady era, between 1967 and 1969, but is most known for her single "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" which became a worldwide hit in 1994. ...

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crosse ...

Quad City DJs Quad City DJ's is an American music group consisting of Jay Ski (Johnny McGowan), C.C. Lemonhead (Nathaniel Orange), and JeLana LaFleur who recorded the 1996 hit "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)", a rap-remix of Barry White's 1974 "Theme from Togeth ...

Percee P John Percy Simon (born July 9, 1969), better known by his stage name Percee P, is an American rapper from The South Bronx, New York City. ''Unkut'' described him as the "legendary lyricist of the subterranean". Career In 2007, Percee P release ...

, and numerous others. In 1998, the label and its roster were absorbed into Atlantic Records. In 2001, an attempt to relaunch Big Beat was planned, but ultimately abandoned.

2010–present: Relaunch

Big Beat was relaunched under Atlantic Records as a dance-focused label in 2010. Artists on the label at the time of the relaunch included Skrillex, Chromeo,

Wynter Gordon Diana Gordon, previously known by her stage name Wynter Gordon, is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career writing music for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she started to work on her own album. Her deb ...

Martin Solveig Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his stage name Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, incl ...

, Teddybears, and others. The relaunched label's first hit came in 2010 with Wynter Gordon's " Dirty Talk" which reached #1 on the ARIA singles chart and the '' Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart and was certified triple platinum in Australia. Martin Solveig's song "

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...

," which was released in 2011 in the United States, peaked at #46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and at #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart while also achieving Platinum status from the RIAA. Skrillex's ''

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites ''Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites'' is the second extended play (EP) by American electronic music producer Skrillex. It was released exclusively through Beatport on October 22, 2010 through mau5trap and Big Beat Records, while being released on ...

'' EP, released in 2010, effectively charted the label's trajectory toward electronic music. The EP sold hundreds of thousands of copies and its

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

sold over 2 million copies and appeared on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. At the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, the EP was named the

Best Dance/Electronic Album The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...

and its title track won

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

. The following year at the

55th Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...

, Skrillex again won Best Dance/Electronic Album for his ''

Bangarang "Bangarang" is a song by American electronic music producer Skrillex. It was released as a single from his EP of the same name. It features guest rap vocals from American hip hop recording artist Sirah. "Bangarang" intersperses Sirah's rap vo ...

'' EP along with Best Dance Recording for the EP's

which featured Sirah. He also won the

Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical is an honor presented to producers for quality remixed recordings at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in seve ...

for his and

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

's remix of the Nero song, " Promises". In 2013, Big Beat signed Icona Pop, a Swedish electropop duo that would go on to release the 4× Platinum " I Love It" featuring

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

. The label also signed

—whose 2013 single, " Take Me Home" featuring

Bebe Rexha Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which lat ...

, was certified Gold— and

around that time. In December 2013, Big Beat's parent company, Warner Music Group, acquired

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 ...

(a German-British record label). As part of the terms of the deal,

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

was added to Big Beat's roster. In 2014,

released its album, ''

New Eyes ''New Eyes'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Clean Bandit, released on 30 May 2014 by Atlantic Records in Germany and Ireland, and 2 June 2014 in the United Kingdom, after suffering from several setbacks. The album i ...

'', on Big Beat. The lead single from the album, "

Rather Be "Rather Be" is a song by English electronic music group Clean Bandit, featuring vocals by Jess Glynne. It was released on 5 December 2013 as the fourth single from the group's debut studio album, ''New Eyes'' (2014). It also appears on the delu ...

" featuring

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, bo ...

, won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording at the

57th Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time. ...

in 2015. Liz Miller, Big Beat's General Manager in 2014, was named one of the "50 Most Important People in EDM" by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''. In November 2014, David Guetta's first album with Big Beat, ''

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a TCP connection state on the server side indi ...

'', was released featuring the eventual double-platinum lead single " Hey Mama" featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

, Bebe Rexha, and

Afrojack Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), better known as Afrojack, is a Dutch DJ, music producer and remixer from Spijkenisse, South Holland. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album '' Forget the Worl ...

. In 2015, Skrillex released a collaborative album with Diplo entitled '' Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü''. At the

58th Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...

in 2016, the album won the award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. Its lead single, "

Where Are Ü Now "Where Are Ü Now" is a song produced by American EDM artists Skrillex and Diplo under their collaborative effort Jack Ü, with vocals from Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song was released as the second single from the duo's debut studio alb ...

" featuring

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, won for Best Dance Recording. Galantis' 2016 single, " No Money" amassed nearly 700 million streams globally and charted on the Hot 100, Dance/Electronic Songs chart, and numerous other charts throughout the world. In 2017, Big Beat executives, Craig Kallman and Gina Tucci, were listed among ''Billboard''s list of "Dance Power Players." Big Beat label mates Skrillex and David Guetta were also on the list. Also in 2017, ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' nominated Big Beat for the label of the decade.

Current roster

References

External links