Editing Virgin Records (section)

{{short description|British record label}}
{{Confuse|Virgin Music Group|Virgin Music}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{infobox record label
| bgcolor     = #EB1A37
| name        = {{color|white|Virgin Records Ltd}}
| image_name  = virgin-logo.svg
| image_size  = 130px
| parent      = {{ubl||[[Universal Music Group]] (2012–present)|'''Previously'''|[[EMI]] (1992–2012)|[[Warner Music Group]] (2013–present; French back catalogue)}}
| founded     = {{ubl|'''Virgin Records Ltd.'''|{{start date and age|1972}}|'''Virgin France SA'''|{{start date and age|1980}}|'''Virgin Records Canada, Inc.'''|{{start date and age|1983}}|'''Virgin Records America, Inc.'''|{{start date and age|1986}}}}
| founder     = {{ubl|[[Richard Branson]]|Simon Draper|[[Nik Powell]]|[[Tom Newman (musician)|Tom Newman]]}}
| distributor = {{ubl|[[EMI Records|EMI]] {{small|(United Kingdom)}}|[[Virgin Music Group]] {{small|(US and international)}}}}
| genre       = Various
| country     = United Kingdom
| url         = 
| location    = 
| website     =
| caption     = 
}}

'''Virgin Records''' is a British [[record label]] owned by [[Universal Music Group]]. They were originally founded as a British<!-- DO NOT CHANGE TO "American". This article is about the original label that was founded in the UK. --> independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs [[Richard Branson]], Simon Draper, [[Nik Powell]], and musician [[Tom Newman (musician)|Tom Newman]]. They grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers [[Paula Abdul]], [[Janet Jackson]], [[Devo]], [[Tangerine Dream]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[Phil Collins]], [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark|OMD]], [[the Human League]], [[Culture Club]], [[Simple Minds]], the [[Spice Girls]], [[Lenny Kravitz]], the [[Sex Pistols]], and [[Mike Oldfield]] among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as [[A&M Records|A&M]] and [[Island Records]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=reg8NAAACAAJ ''Virgin: A History of Virgin Records''] by Terry Southern, URL accessed 6 July 2011.</ref>

Virgin Records was sold to [[Thorn EMI]] in 1992. EMI would later be acquired by [[Universal Music Group]] (UMG) in 2012 with UMG creating the Virgin EMI Records division.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Labels & Brands|url=https://www.universalmusic.com/labels/|access-date=2021-03-28|website=UMG}}</ref> The Virgin Records name continues to be used by UMG in certain markets such as Germany and Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Introducing Virgin Music Label & Artist Services {{!}} Virgin|url=https://virgin.com/about-virgin/latest/introducing-virgin-music-label-and-artist-services|access-date=2021-03-28|website=Virgin.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-18|title=UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP LAUNCHES VIRGIN MUSIC LABEL AND ARTIST SERVICES|url=https://www.universalmusic.com/universal-music-group-launches-virgin-music-label-and-artist-services/|access-date=2021-03-28|website=UMG}}</ref><ref name=rebranding>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-18|title=Universal launches Virgin Music Label & Artist Services around the world, rebranding Caroline and Caroline International|url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/universal-launches-virgin-music-label-artist-services-rebranding-caroline-and-caroline-international/|access-date=2021-03-28|website=Music Business Worldwide}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=UMG Launches Indie-Focused Virgin Music Label & Artist Services|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9527608/virgin-music-label-artist-services-launch-umg/|access-date=2021-03-28|magazine=Billboard}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Universal rebrands its label services business as Virgin Music |website=Completemusicupdate.com|url=https://completemusicupdate.com/article/universal-rebrands-its-label-services-business-as-virgin-music/|access-date=2021-03-28}}</ref>