Minos EMI is a record company 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 a ...

, 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 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 i ...

, HMV, and Parlophone, as well as the Odeon 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 in Greece, having acquired the rights after the closure of BMG Greece. Following the global joint venture (between BMG 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 Entertainmen ...

) 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 buyou ...

, 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

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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 vid ...

, 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

in September 2012, several European EMI operations were placed for sale to gain compliance with European

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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 th ...

. 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 * 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 *

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 u ...

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 * 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 ''Y ...

* 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 *

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 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 * Stavros Xarchakos *

Maria Nomikou Maria Nomikou ( gr, Μαρία Νομικού; born March 30, 1993, in Athens, Greece) is a female professional volleyball player from Greece, who is a member of the Greece women's national volleyball team. Sporting achievements Clubs In ...

* Natassa Theodoridou * Maria Elena Kyriakou *

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 * Loukas Yorkas

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 arou ...

* Anna Rezan * 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) , we ...

* 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 wa ...

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 *

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 beca ...

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 *

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 *

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 mo ...

* Archolekas * Barbara Argyrou * Marseaux * Onirama * Xenia Ghali * Katerina Lioliou * Rena Morfi * 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