Lava Records (Lava Music, LLC) is an American

record label 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 pr ...

owned by Jason Flom in partnership with

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 ...

Company history

In 1995, Flom launched Lava Records in partnership with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. For the next decade, he continued to discover and champion artists under the Lava label who went on to sell over 100 million records globally, including

Matchbox 20 Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician ...

The Corrs The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Carol ...

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1999. The band's lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guit ...

, The Blue Man Group,

Edwin McCain Edwin Cole McCain (born January 20, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His songs " I'll Be" (1998) and "I Could Not Ask for More" (1999) were radio top-40 hits in the U.S., and five of his albums have reached the ''Billboard ...

, Sugar Ray and

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...

. Flom also signed his first black artist, David Josias, known for his hit single “ Mindblowin”. In 2004, Flom sold Lava Records to Atlantic Records Group, where he was named Chairman and CEO of the

Atlantic Records Group Atlantic Records Group LLC is an umbrella label owned by Warner Music Group. It oversees several labels assigned to its Atlantic Records unit. In total, the label group has nearly three hundred artists on its roster. History In 2004, Time Warner ...

. In this role, he oversaw a resurgence of the storied label where he had once worked in the mailroom, and continued to sign and break major artists, including

Hayley Williams Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore. Born and raised in Miss ...

’ band

Paramore Paramore is an American Rock music, rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the ...

. After over 15 years of record-setting success at Atlantic and his label Lava, Flom was tapped in 2005 as Chairman and CEO of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...

. In 2007, he led a merger with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

to create the

Capitol Music Group Capitol Music Group (CMG) is an American front line umbrella label distributed by Universal Music Group which oversees handling of record labels assigned to UMG's Capitol Records division. It was inherited from UMG's acquisition of EMI's catalog ...

, where he was named Chairman and CEO. During Flom’s tenure, he oversaw successful releases from established superstars including

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male R ...

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

, and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. In keeping with his track record of identifying and supporting new talent, under Flom’s leadership eleven new artists rose to gold, platinum and multi-platinum status, including

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Gold ...

’s band

Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, ...

, and in 2007 he signed

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

and personally A&R’d her international #1 smash hit debut album, ''One of the Boys''. In 2008, Flom departed Capitol Music Group to re-launch his own Lava Records label, this time in partnership with

’s industry-leading

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. There he signed

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

, whose 2011 singles under the Lava banner " Do It Like a Dude" and " Price Tag" featuring B.o.B, topped the singles charts in the UK and 17 other countries. Her multi-platinum debut album ''Who You Are'' sold over three million copies worldwide. In 2013, Flom identified

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...

, a then-unknown artist from New Zealand, and Lava released her ground-breaking debut single, " Royals," which reigned at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks, becoming the biggest alternative radio hit by a female artist in history. Lorde went on to win two

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 including Song of the Year for “Royals” at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

. Following successful Lava rock releases from

Black Veil Brides Black Veil Brides is an American rock band based in Hollywood, California. The group formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently composed of lead vocalist Andy Biersack, rhythm guitarist and violinist Jinxx, lead guitarist Jake Pitts, ...

and their frontman, Andy Black, Flom signed breakthrough rock band

Greta Van Fleet Greta Van Fleet is an American rock band from Frankenmuth, Michigan, formed in 2012. It consists of Kiszka brothers Josh (vocals), Jake (guitar) and Sam (bass guitar, keyboards); and Danny Wagner (drums). They were signed to Lava Records in M ...

to Lava in 2017, who revitalized the global rock scene with multiple #1 rock hits and over 1 million albums sold, all while nonstop touring over the last several years. When Robert Plant was asked about Greta Van Fleet in an interview with Australia's

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

, he proclaimed, "They are Led Zeppelin I," and described 21-year-old Josh Kiszka as "...a beautiful little singer. I hate him.” Elton John lauded the band in the

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

: "Whoever says rock music is dead is completely wrong. When I first saw them, they knocked me out...They are going to be one of the biggest bands of the year." The band picked up four nominations at the 2018

s and won the

Grammy Award for Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...

for their Lava debut '' From the Fires''. Flom founded Lava Publishing in 2014, which includes among its roster of writers break-out alternative rocker Evan Konrad, writer/performer Maty Noyes, and all four members of

Label roster

Current artists

* The Warning *

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug o ...

*somegirlnamedanna *

Past artists

David Josias *Tony C. and the Truth *

* Maty Noyes * The Royal Concept *

Travis Mills Travis Tatum Mills (born April 12, 1989), previously known by his stage name T. Mills, is an American rapper, singer, and actor from Riverside, California. Following his name change from T. Mills to Travis Mills, he began hosting an eponymous s ...

* Carah Faye * Clairity *

G4SHI Labinot Gashi (; born 4 October 1989), known mononymously as Gashi (stylised as GASHI), is a Libyan-Albanian rapper, singer and songwriter. Biography Labinot Gashi was born in Libya, on October 4, 1989, to ethnic Albanian parents from Kosovo. ...

* Liam Lis * Jetta *

Katy Tiz Kate Alexandra Tizzard (born 6 July 1988) is a British pop singer-songwriter. She covered Rock Mafia's single "The Big Bang" in 2014 to moderate success. She subsequently signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. Tiz released a second ...

* The Atomic Fireballs *Liquid Gang * Authority Zero *

Bel Canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

* Bif Naked *

The Boondock Saints ''The Boondock Saints'' is a 1999 American Vigilante film, vigilante Action film#Action-thriller, action thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as fraternal twin brothers Connor and ...

* CIV *

Course of Nature Course of Nature was an American alternative rock band formed in Enterprise, Alabama in 2001, later based in Los Angeles. The band was co-founded by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Wilkerson, with a final lineup of Sean Kipe (lead guitar), ...

Cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

Egypt Central Egypt Central is an American alternative metal band from Memphis, Tennessee. History Formation and debut album (2002–2010) Egypt Central was formed on October 2, 2002. Based in Memphis and named after one of its roads. They wrote and record ...

* Willa Ford * Grade 8 *

Hot Action Cop Hot Action Cop is an American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They are known for their hit single " Fever for the Flava". Long Island, New York-native Rob Werthner formed the band in 2001 with bassist Luis Espaillat, drummer Kory Knipp, a ...

* Little-T And One Track Mike * Matchbox Twenty *

* Nonpoint *

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randall ...

Franky Perez Franky Perez is an American musician best known as a solo artist, touring vocalist of Finnish metal band Apocalyptica, and as former guitarist for Scars on Broadway. He has also released three solo albums, ''Poor Man's Son'', ''My 4th of July' ...

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

Smile Empty Soul Smile Empty Soul is an American rock band, originally from Santa Clarita, California, United States. It was started in 1998 by Sean Danielsen (vocals and guitar), Ryan Martin (bass), and Derek Gledhill (drums). Following the departure of Gled ...

Jill Sobule Jill Sobule (born January 16, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film '' Clueless''. Her folk-inflected compositions alternate between ironic ...

* Sugar Ray *

Unwritten Law Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles ...

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

* Antigone Rising *

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...

* Joe Brooks *

John Butler Trio The John Butler Trio are an Australian roots/ rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, an APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums, Gavin Shoesmith on bass and John Butler on ...

Cherie Cherie is an English female given name. It comes from the French ''chérie'', meaning ''darling'' (from the past participle of the verb ''chérir'', ''to cherish''). Notable people with the name or stage name include: * Cherie, one of the stage ...

The Click Five The Click Five (often abbreviated as TC5) was an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The original members, most of them students at Berklee College of Music, started on January 1, 2004, and played in various local venues. They then ...

* Embrace *

* Toby Lightman * O.A.R. *

Skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab han ...

* Skindred *

Uncle Kracker Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974), also known by his stage name Uncle Kracker, is an American singer and musician. He was previously a turntablist for Kid Rock's backing group Twisted Brown Trucker and since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist. ...

* Vaux * Fountains of Wayne * Andy Black *Evan Konrad *Stanaj *Hero the Band *South of Eden *JunkBunny *Leo The Kind *

Kat Cunning Katrina Cunningham (born November 12, 1989) is an American actor, model, dancer and musician. They performed in ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' (2016), Cirque Du Soleils Paramour'', and NYC's '' Sleep No More''. Cunning appeared in the recurri ...

References

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1995 Record labels established in 2009 Re-established companies American record labels Rock record labels Pop record labels Alternative rock record labels Republic Records Labels distributed by Universal Music Group