is an
American Record Label , owned by
Warner Music Group .
Claiming to be the first , by
Arthur Mann ,
Rob Simonds ,
Doug Lexa and
Don Rose . The word "ryko" means approximately "sound from a flash of light" in
Japanese , a reference to their intention to concentrate on the then-new compact disc technology. In the late 1980s, the label also began to issue high-quality
Cassette and
Vinyl versions of many releases under the name .
Rykodisc had some notable successes in the CD-reissue industry, as artists such as
Elvis Costello ,
David Bowie ,
Yoko Ono ,
Frank Zappa and
Mission Of Burma allowed Rykodisc to issue their catalogs on CD. Rykodisc still retains the rights to the Zappa and Mission of Burma catalogs. Rykodisc also has re-released the classic
SST Records -era recordings by the
Meat Puppets .
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Over the years the label has acquired
Hannibal Records ,
Tradition Records ,
Gramavision Records and
Restless Records , as well as founded a distribution company,
Ryko Distribution and a music publishing company,
Rykomusic . The label's catalogue now exceeds 1,200 titles.
In 1999,
Chris Blackwell left
Island Records and bought Rykodisc for a reported $35 million as a means of acquiring music marketing and distribution expertise for his new venture, a media company called
Palm Pictures . In
2001 Blackwell parted ways with Rykodisc. The label was then located in
New York with offices in
Los Angeles and in
Beverly, Massachusetts .
Rykodisc sets apart their CD issues with their trademarked green-tinted jewel boxes, which the company began using in
1988 . The label began limiting the use of the green-tinted cases on new releases in 2002.
On March 23, 2006, it was announced that
Warner Music Group acquired the Ryko Corporation for $67.5 million. When the label was bought, it took their Frank Zappa masters with them, making that his records are ironically released by WBR, the label he was famous for hating.
