Editing Geffen Records (section)

=== Formation (1980–1990) ===
[[File:David Geffen.jpg|thumb|[[David Geffen]] (pictured in 1973) founded Geffen Records in 1980.]]
Geffen Records began operations in 1980. It was created by music industry businessman [[David Geffen]]<ref>Tom King, ''The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood'', pp. 303–307, Broadway Books (New York 2001).</ref> who, in the early 1970s, had co-founded [[Asylum Records]] with [[Elliot Roberts]]. Geffen stepped down from Asylum in 1975, when he crossed over to film and was named a vice president of [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]. He was fired from Warner {{Circa|1978}}, but still remained locked in a five-year contract, which prevented him from working elsewhere. When that deal expired, he returned to work in 1980 and struck a deal with Warner Bros. Records (now simply [[Warner Records]], due to the label's disassociation from Warner Bros. Pictures in 2004),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aswad |first=Jem |date=2019-05-28 |title=Warner Bros. Records Rebrands as Warner Records |url=https://variety.com/2019/music/news/warner-bros-records-rebrands-as-warner-records-1203226630/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leeds |first=Jeff |date=2004-03-01 |title=Warner Music sale paves way for shake-up |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-mar-01-et-leeds1-story.html |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> to create Geffen Records.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A WARNER MUSIC GROUP TIMELINE |url=https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=281503&title=A-WARNER-MUSIC-GROUP-TIMELINE |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=HITS Daily Double |language=en}}</ref> Warner Bros. Records provided 100 percent of the funding for the label's start-up and operations, while it distributed its releases in [[North America]], with [[CBS Records International|CBS]]'s [[Epic Records]] handling distribution in the rest of the world until 1985 when [[Warner Music Group]] (parent company of Warner Records and formerly a division of Time Warner/[[Warner Bros. Discovery]] until 2004) took over distribution for the rest of the world. Profits were split 50% each between Geffen Records and its respective distributors. Despite being named for founder and original owner David Geffen, it has been acknowledged that Ed Rosenblatt, who became president of Geffen Records upon its inception in 1980, was the one who led Geffen Records during its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2024/07/eddie-rosenblatt-dies-geffen-records-president-during-guns-nroses-nirvana-era-was-89-1236013459/|title=Eddie Rosenblatt Dies: Geffen Records President During Guns N' Roses, Nirvana Era Was 89|first=Bruce|last=Haring|publisher=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 17, 2024|accessdate=July 17, 2024}}</ref><ref name=leadsfor>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2024/music/news/eddie-rosenblatt-geffen-records-president-dead-1236075556/|title=Eddie Rosenblatt, Longtime Geffen Records President, Dies at 89|first=Jem|last=Aswad|publisher=Variety|date=July 17, 2024|accessdate=July 17, 2024}}</ref>

The label released ''[[Double Fantasy]]'' by [[John Lennon]] and [[Yoko Ono]]. Two weeks after it entered the charts, [[Murder of John Lennon|Lennon was murdered]] in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Lennon's Death: Inside His 1980 Murder and Where His Killer Is Today |url=https://people.com/john-lennon-death-what-to-know-7511226 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=John Lennon shot {{!}} December 8, 1980 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-lennon-shot |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=HISTORY |date=November 24, 2009 |language=en}}</ref> Subsequently, the album went on to sell millions and gave Geffen its first number-one album and single; the rights to the album would later be taken over by [[EMI]], which eventually would be absorbed by Geffen's then-future parent, [[Universal Music Group]] in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-09-28 |title=Universal Music completes acquisition of EMI Music |url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/universal-music-completes-acquisition-of-emi-music/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Music Business Worldwide |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=2012-09-28 |title=Universal Music Completes $1.9 Billion EMI Recorded Music Acquisition |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/universal-music-completes-19-billion-374965/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

As the mid-1980s progressed, Geffen would go on to have extended success with such acts as [[Asia (band)|Asia]], [[Berlin (band)|Berlin]], [[Enya]], [[Kylie Minogue]], [[Quarterflash]], [[Wang Chung (band)|Wang Chung]], and [[Sammy Hagar]]. The label also signed several established acts such as [[Elton John]], [[Irene Cara]], [[Cher]], [[Debbie Harry]], [[Don Henley]], [[Joni Mitchell]], [[Neil Young]], [[Peter Gabriel]], and [[Jennifer Holliday]]. Toward the end of the decade, the company also began making a name for itself as an emerging [[rock music|rock]] label, thanks to the success of [[Whitesnake]] (U.S. and Canada only), [[The Stone Roses]], [[Guns N' Roses]], [[Tesla (band)|Tesla]], [[Sonic Youth]] and the comeback of 1970s-era rockers [[Aerosmith]]. This prompted Geffen to create a subsidiary label, [[DGC Records]] (formerly the David Geffen Company), in 1990; which focused on more progressive rock and would later embrace the emergence of [[alternative rock]]—[[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] being an example.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1990-03-21 |title=COMPANY NEWS; Geffen Starts A New Label |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/21/business/company-news-geffen-starts-a-new-label.html |access-date=2024-02-13 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Geffen also briefly distributed the first incarnation of Def American Recordings (now simply [[American Recordings (record label)|American Recordings]]) through Warner Music Group from 1988 to 1990.