Editing Interscope Records (section)

===1990–1995: Origins, early success, and joint ventures===
In 1989, Ted Field began to build Interscope Records as a division of his film company, [[Interscope Communications]]. To run it, he hired John McClain, who had played a central role in [[Janet Jackson]]'s success at [[A&M Records]], and Tom Whalley, who had been the head of [[A&R]] at [[Capitol Records]]. Separately, Iovine, who had produced records for [[U2]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[Stevie Nicks]], and [[John Lennon]], among others, was trying to raise money to start a label. "I thought, 'Music is going to change,'" Iovine said in 1997. "'Young bands aren't going to be asking for me.' But I love working with the new thing. I always liked the part of the business that's the first time you hear something, and I knew I wasn't in that business anymore."<ref name="Rolling Stone Wild" />

Iovine and Field were introduced by [[Paul McGuinness]], then [[U2]]'s manager.  After a series of negotiations led by [[David Geffen]], they came to an agreement, and in 1990, Interscope Records was founded as a joint venture with [[Atlantic Records]]. In a 1997 article in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[David Wild]] wrote: "Interscope's start-up coincided with a period of incredible change in the music world. Nirvana had ushered in the alternative revolution... While the major labels were packed with rosters full of expensive veteran artists who had to redefine themselves for a new rock era, Interscope was in the business of signing new artists and could – as Iovine puts it – 'move on a dime.'"<ref name="Rolling Stone Wild">{{cite magazine|last1=Wild|first1=David|title=Interscope Records: Inside the Hit Factory|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/interscope-records-inside-the-hit-factory-19970403|access-date=September 15, 2015|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=April 3, 1997|archive-date=September 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929073114/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/interscope-records-inside-the-hit-factory-19970403|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Phillips McClain">{{cite news|last1=Philips|first1=Chuck|title=Back in the Club|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-26-fi-32786-story.html|access-date=September 15, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 26, 1998}}</ref><ref name="Interscope book">{{cite book|last1=Bailey|first1=Diane|title=The Story of Interscope Records|date=January 1, 2013|publisher=Mason Crest|location=New York|isbn=978-1422221150|pages=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qYfTBAAAQBAJ&q=why+did+ted+field+start+interscope&pg=PT11|access-date=September 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=829601 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206171313/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=829601 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 6, 2008 |title=Interscope Records, Inc.: Private Company Information |work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |access-date=March 18, 2014}}</ref>

Based in [[Los Angeles]], California in the [[Westwood, Los Angeles|Westwood]] neighborhood at an office building on 10900 [[Wilshire Boulevard]], Interscope was run by "music men". It was a departure from the music industry practices of the 1970s and 1980s, when labels traditionally appointed lawyers and promotion executives to senior positions.  A founding tenet of the label was that artists would have complete creative control.<ref name="1993 Hilburn LA Times" />

Interscope's first release was "[[Rico Suave (song)|Rico Suave]]" by Ecuadorian rapper [[Gerardo Mejía|Gerardo]] in December 1990; the single reached number seven on the ''[[Billboard Hot 100]]'' charts in April 1991. [[Primus (band)|Primus]]' Interscope debut, ''[[Sailing the Seas of Cheese]]'', was released in May, followed by [[Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch]]'s ''[[Music for the People (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch album)|Music for the People]]'' in July.  It included the number-one single "[[Good Vibrations (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch song)|Good Vibrations]]". Two days after first hearing his demo, Whalley signed [[Tupac Shakur]] in August 1991, and by November, Interscope released ''[[2Pacalypse Now]]'', Shakur's studio debut.<ref name="Becker & Meyer">{{cite book|last1=Monjauze, Molly and|first1=Robinson, Staci|title=Tupac Remembered: Bearing Witness to a Life and Legacy|date=February 1, 2008|publisher=Becker & Meyer|isbn=978-1932855760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwIexeXLKecC&q=tom+whalley+tupac&pg=PT37|access-date=September 16, 2015}}</ref>

Interscope began to develop a significant presence in the genre of [[alternative rock]] in 1992. In addition to a second Primus album, the label released [[No Doubt]]'s [[No Doubt (No Doubt album)|self-titled debut]], [[Helmet (band)|Helmet]]'s ''[[Meantime (album)|Meantime]]'', [[4 Non Blondes]]' ''[[Bigger, Better, Faster, More!]],'' acquired and re-released [[Rocket from the Crypt]]'s ''[[Circa: Now!]]'', and, through a joint venture with [[TVT Records|TVT]]/[[Nothing Records]], the [[Nine Inch Nails]] EP ''[[Broken (Nine Inch Nails EP)|Broken]].'' However, Interscope's success with alternative and rock music was eclipsed by controversy which began in September 1992, when Vice President [[Dan Quayle]] called on Interscope to withdraw ''2Pacalypse Now,'' stating that it was responsible for the death of a Texas state trooper, who was shot to death in April by a suspect who allegedly was listening to the album on the tape deck of a stolen truck when he was stopped by the officer. The trooper's family filed a civil suit against Shakur and Interscope, claiming the record's violence-laden lyrics incite "imminent lawless action".<ref name="Becker & Meyer"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Broder|first1=James|title=Quayle Calls for Pulling Rap Album Tied to Murder Case|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-23-mn-1144-story.html|access-date=September 17, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 23, 1992}}</ref>

Earlier in 1992, Interscope negotiated a $10-million deal with [[Dr. Dre]] and [[Marion "Suge" Knight]] to finance and distribute their label, [[Death Row Records]]. It was initiated by McClain, who met Dre when he was recording his solo debut, ''[[The Chronic]].'' Original plans had called for the album to be released through Sony, but Sony passed on ''The Chronic'' due to "the crazy things going on around Death Row" and the contractual status of Dr. Dre. After hearing the album, Iovine agreed to put it out, although doing so required a complicated distribution agreement with [[Priority Records]], Dre's label as a member of [[N.W.A]]. ''The Chronic'' was released in December 1992.<ref name="Chronic oral history">{{cite news|last1=Westhoff|first1=Ben|title=The Making of the Chronic|url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/the-making-of-the-chronic-2407719|access-date=September 16, 2015|work=LA Weekly|date=November 19, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Dre splits Death Row LA Times">{{cite news|last1=Phillips|first1=Chuck|title=Rapper Dr. Dre to part ways with Death Row, start new record label|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/la-fi-dredeathrow22march2296-story.html|access-date=September 17, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 22, 1996}}</ref>

By the end of the following year, ''The Chronic'' had sold almost 3&nbsp;million copies. [[Snoop Dogg]]'s debut ''[[Doggystyle]]'' had sold more than 800,000 copies in its first week alone, and Primus and 4 Non-Blondes had released records which hit the US Top 20.  In 1993, with an estimated gross of $90&nbsp;million, Interscope became profitable ahead of projections.<ref name="LA Times Warner Split">{{cite news|last1=Hilburn, Robert and|first1=Philips, Chuck|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-29-fi-51464-story.html|title=COMPANY TOWN : Q & A : Vocal Session : Interscope's Iovine Reflects on Time Warner Split|date=September 29, 1995|access-date=September 17, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Markman|first1=Rob|title=20 Years Later, Snoop Dogg Has 'Never' Listened To Doggystyle|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1717998/snoop-dogg-doggystyle-20-years-never-listened/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008221553/http://www.mtv.com/news/1717998/snoop-dogg-doggystyle-20-years-never-listened/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 8, 2014|access-date=September 17, 2015|publisher=MTV|date=November 22, 2013}}</ref>

Interscope further established its strength in the alternative and rock genres in 1994.  A $2.5&nbsp;million investment to establish a joint venture with [[Trauma Records]] yielded three number-one Modern Rock tracks and a platinum-certified album with [[Bush (British band)|Bush]]'s ''[[Sixteen Stone]]''. The Nine Inch Nails album ''[[The Downward Spiral]]'' went to number two on the US charts and was widely acclaimed. [[Marilyn Manson]]'s ''[[Portrait of an American Family]]'', [[The Toadies]] album ''[[Rubberneck (album)|Rubberneck]]'' and Helmet's ''[[Betty (Helmet album)|Betty]]'' were commercially successful and critically embraced.<ref name="Trauma WSJ">{{cite news|last1=Reilly|first1=Patrick M.|title=Dissonance Mars the Alliance Between Trauma and Interscope|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB860623460143283000|access-date=September 18, 2015|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=April 10, 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Harris|first1=Keith|title=1994: The 40 Best Records From Mainstream Alternative's Greatest Year|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/1994-the-40-best-records-from-mainstream-alternatives-greatest-year-20140417/green-day-dookie-19691231|access-date=September 18, 2015|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=April 17, 2014|archive-date=May 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516143608/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/1994-the-40-best-records-from-mainstream-alternatives-greatest-year-20140417/green-day-dookie-19691231|url-status=dead}}</ref>