Editing Profile Records

{{Refimprove|date=May 2024}}
{{Short description|American record label}}
{{infobox record label
| image       = [[File:Profile Records.gif|150px]]
| parent      = None - independent<br>{{small|(1981–1998)}}<br>[[Arista Records]]<br>{{small|(1998–2004)}}<br>[[Sony BMG Music Entertainment]]<br>{{small|(2004–2008)}}<br>[[Sony Music Entertainment]]<br>{{small|(2008–present)}}
| founded     = 1981
| founder     = {{hlist|[[Cory Robbins]]|Steve Plotnicki}}
| status      = Defunct, back-catalog reissues only by Sony
| distributor = [[Legacy Recordings]]
| genre       = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]
| country     = United States
| url         = [https://web.archive.org/web/19991128054131/http://profile-records.com/ profile-records.com]
| name        = Profile Records
| defunct     = 1999
}}

'''Profile Records''' was one of the earliest [[hip hop music|hip hop]] [[Record label|labels]]. As well as hip-hop they released [[disco]], [[Dance music|dance]], and [[Electro (music)|electro]] records.

==History==
In 1980, [[Cory Robbins]], who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for [[MCA Records|MCA]], wanted to start a record label. He invited his songwriter friend Steve Plotnicki to be a partner. They each borrowed $17,000 from their parents, purchased the little used Panorama Records subsidiary from MCA, and Profile Records was born.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} Their tiny office opened at 250 West 57th street in NYC on May 1, 1981.

With the success of “Genius Rap” by [[Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (rap group)|Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde]], they escaped financial ruin by a mere $2,000.<ref name="LarkinDM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1998|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0252-6|pages=269/70}}</ref> From there it was [[Adrian Baker|Gidea Park]]'s “Seasons of Gold” that brought more commercial and financial success, becoming Profile Records’ first hit to make the Billboard Hot 100. In 1982 the fledgling label gained international recognition with the club hit  "[[I Specialize in Love]]", recorded by [[Sharon Brown (singer)|Sharon Brown]],<ref>[[Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]] (2004). ''Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003'', (Record Research Inc.), p. 46</ref> licensed to [[Virgin Records]] in the UK. The label continued its commercial success, with gold and platinum sales with artists such as [[Dana Dane]], [[Twin Hype]], [[Run DMC]], [[Poor Righteous Teachers]], [[Nemesis (rap crew)|Nemesis]], and [[Paul Hardcastle]] among others.

In 1985, the label moved to a headquarters at 740 Broadway in New York. The label had numerous sub-labels such as Smile Communications (which later became independent and continued to be controlled by Plotnicki after Profile was acquired), Sea Bright Records, and Robert Hill's Zakia Records, the label that launched the career of King Sun and hip hop legends [[Eric B. & Rakim]].

Profile's biggest act was [[Run-D.M.C.]], which was introduced to Robbins when manager [[Russell Simmons]] sent him a demo cassette of "[[It's Like That (Run–D.M.C. song)|It's Like That]]".{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} Robbins signed the group soon after.

The partners' less than amicable split severed not only all business ties but all personal ones too. Robbins, in 2008, said he had no regrets “except for an occasional loss, it was a good experience, a positive experience but I would not change a thing.”<ref>[http://mb.music.yahoo.com/music/artists/threadview?m=tm&bn=mus-263080&tid=4&mid=4&tof=2&frt=2 Yahoo! Message Boards - Run-D.M.C. - The best RUN-DMC Web page<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718133806/http://mb.music.yahoo.com/music/artists/threadview?m=tm&bn=mus-263080&tid=4&mid=4&tof=2&frt=2 |date=2011-07-18 }}</ref>

Profile was acquired by [[Arista Records]] in 1998, and its catalogue and artists were transferred to Arista.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwoEAAAAMBAJ&q=profile+records&pg=PA74 |title=Arista's Profile Buy Widens its Current, Old-School Rosters |first=Carrie |last=Bell |newspaper=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=1998-10-31 |pages=1 |access-date=2020-09-03 |quote=Arista's purchase of the '''Profile Records''' name, catalog, master recordings, and current artists contracts... |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> [[Sony Music Entertainment]] (owner of Arista since 2004) now manages much of Profile's back catalog and master recordings. Most recordings are currently out of print except for the albums of [[DJ Quik]], [[Rob Base|Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock]] and [[Run-D.M.C.]]

==Artists==
===Hip hop===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[2nd II None]]
* [[52nd Street (band)|52nd Street]]
* [[Camp Lo]]
* [[Caveman (group)|Caveman]]
* [[Dana Dane]]
* [[Derek B]]
* [[DJ Quik]]
* [[Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (group)|Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde]]
* [[N2Deep]]
* [[Nemesis (rap crew)|Nemesis]]
* [[Nine (rapper)|Nine]]
* [[Poor Righteous Teachers]]
* [[Pumpkin (musician)|Pumpkin]]
* [[Rob Base|Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock]]
* [[Run-D.M.C.]]
* [[Smoothe da Hustler]]
* [[Special Ed]]
* [[Surf MC's]]
* [[Sweet Tee]] & [[DJ Jazzy Joyce|Jazzy Joyce]]
* [[Twin Hype]]
{{div col end}}

===Others===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Asher D & Daddy Freddy]]
* [[Barrington Levy]]
* [[Boys Don't Cry (band)|Boys Don't Cry]]
* [[Chanelle (singer)|Chanelle]]
* [[Cro-Mags]]
* [[The Cucumbers]]
* [[Cutty Ranks]]
* [[Judy Torres]]
* [[Leeway (band)|Leeway]]
* [[Moev]]
* [[Murphy's Law (band)|Murphy's Law]]
* [[Paul Hardcastle]]
* [[Plasmatics]]
* [[Sharon Brown (singer)|Sharon Brown]]
* [[The Accelerators]]
* [[The LeRoi Brothers]]
* [[The Nils]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American record labels]]
[[Category:Record labels established in 1981]]
[[Category:Record labels disestablished in 1997]]
[[Category:Hip-hop record labels]]
[[Category:Reggae record labels]]
[[Category:Arista Records]]
[[Category:House music record labels]]
[[Category:Sony Music]]