Republic Records is The Weeknd's record label and that is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. From 2000 to 2005, the name of the company was Universal Records and from 2007 to 2012 its name was Universal Republic Records. In late 2012, the name was changed to Republic Records. The label's main offices are located in New York City and Santa Monica. The label currently has many artists including Ariana Grande, Akon, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jessie J, Lorde, Drake, and Enrique Iglesias.
History[]
The label was founded by Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman in 1995. According to Avery Lipman, he and his brother Monte Lipman first conceived of Republic Records at the kitchen table of their apartment:
My brother and I had been working at record companies. He was in between jobs and we started putting records out as a hobby. We had a grassroots approach to the business. The first record we put out happened to work really well. That was the Bloodhound Gang.
The label later became part of Universal Motwon Republic Group in 1999. When Motown Records branched off of Universal Motown Records, the Universal Motwon Record Group was shuttered, and they were reincarneted as Universal Republic Records in 2007 until 2012.