Minos EMI
Encyclopedia
Minos EMI is the domestic trade name of EMI Music Greece, a record company
in Greece
. It is the Greek record label division of the British-based, multinational EMI Group.
EMI is credited for founding the record business in Greece in the 1930s, by producing the first records and building the country's first recording studio.
and Gramophone Company
, which a year later merged to form EMI Group, formed a partnership along with Greek investor Lambropoulos Brothers Limited to produce records in Greece. By 1931, company operations were in full swing and the first disc produced in Greece had been pressed under the company name EMIAL. After five years of using the halls of large hotels to record songs, EMIAL built Greece's first recording studio and became the front runner in the Greek music industry for many years. The company continued to be incorporated as EMIAL, although it predominantly used the trade name EMI Greece. EMI's Greek releases during this period generally came out bearing the company's British labels such as Columbia, HMV, and Parlophone, as well as their more international Odeon label.
musician Minos Matsas, in 1927, and which also edited music under the label Odeon
and which produced, since then, records under the Minos
label. "Minos Matsas & son", under CEO Makis Matsas (who become CEO of the new entity) was then the market leader with a 22 % market share while Emi stated at 9 %. The new joint-venture was named Minos EMI and thus controlled approximately one third of the Greek market. The union was not easy and while EMI was now, in value and figures, controlling financially Minos Matsas & son, it was like if this company was, in fact, taking over EMI Greece. The two distribution centers merged in one at the historical building EMI Greece was located at Rizoupoli (suburb of Athens) while most of the remaining staff joined Minos' spot at Messogeion avenue. The financial department remained under the responsibility of EMI CFO Panayotis Papalimberis, while the artistic direction of the new entity went under Minos A&R managers : Achileas Theofilou, Elias Benettos and Vangelis Yannopoulos. EMI international repertoire manager, Manos Xydous undertook a new A&R role with the revival of EMI's Harvest
label. Finally, a new MD was appointed coming from the same position at Sony Music Greece, Costas Bourmas.
The Minos EMI back catalogue, both from the inheritance of the EMIAL and Minos Matsas & Son discographies, carries important works that form part of Greek music heritage of the twentieth century in all genres, but most notably in the genres of Rebetiko
and Laïko
. Minos EMI actively exploits its catalogue by digitally remastering works for re-releases, compilations and special releases, and by licensing to third-parties engaged in the strategic marketing of back discography.
Parent company EMI
had released music from Minos EMI's back catalogue through other EMI companies, such as under their world music
label EMI Hemisphere
and EMI Classics
, in a collaboration between Gerald Seligman (EMI Hemisphere
founder and Vangelis Yannopoulos, Minos EMI A&R manager.
All EMI
label operations in Greece have been consolidated into one record company, Minos EMI. Until 2001 the last separate standalone company was Virgin Records Greece
, although it was shut down and its assets folded into Minos EMI. Use of Virgin label for domestic repertoire was also discontinued.
There is continuity of the Minos label as a local repertoire imprint
, while Minos EMI artists who are not specifically under the Minos imprint operation simply carry the EMI label. The distinction of artists and their associated imprints is now usually only carried out on CD covers, reflecting internal management and standard industry practice in the Greek market. As of mid 2008, music channel MAD TV
also no longer makes any distinction, marking all new Minos EMI releases as EMI only. As of late 2010, the discontinuation of the Minos imprint began on the CD covers of Minos artists, leaving all domestic repertoire releases marked only with the EMI label.
In mid-October 2010, Minos EMI announced a deal with the newly launched Greek edition of video sharing service website
Dailymotion
, which secured Dailymotion Greece the exclusive premieres of all new music video
s from Minos EMI for a period of four weeks. The deal also called for the addition of over 1,000 new, old, and rare music videos from the label to Dailymotion Greece, available to users worldwide.
Minos
Vanity Labels
Other Labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is the Greek record label division of the British-based, multinational EMI Group.
EMI is credited for founding the record business in Greece in the 1930s, by producing the first records and building the country's first recording studio.
Founding of recorded music in Greece
In 1930, British Columbia Graphophone CompanyColumbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
and Gramophone Company
Gramophone Company
The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label...
, which a year later merged to form EMI Group, formed a partnership along with Greek investor Lambropoulos Brothers Limited to produce records in Greece. By 1931, company operations were in full swing and the first disc produced in Greece had been pressed under the company name EMIAL. After five years of using the halls of large hotels to record songs, EMIAL built Greece's first recording studio and became the front runner in the Greek music industry for many years. The company continued to be incorporated as EMIAL, although it predominantly used the trade name EMI Greece. EMI's Greek releases during this period generally came out bearing the company's British labels such as Columbia, HMV, and Parlophone, as well as their more international Odeon label.
Merger with Minos Matsas & Son
In 1991, EMIAL purchased a controlling share of Minos Matsas & Son, a record company founded by pioneering Greek music industry executive and prominent rebetikoRebetiko
Rebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
musician Minos Matsas, in 1927, and which also edited music under the label Odeon
Odeon
Odea, Odeon, or Odeum may refer to:* Odeon , ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions-Modern era:* Cineplex Odeon, North America...
and which produced, since then, records under the Minos
Minos
In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every year he made King Aegeus pick seven men and seven women to go to Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by The Minotaur. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The Minoan civilization of Crete...
label. "Minos Matsas & son", under CEO Makis Matsas (who become CEO of the new entity) was then the market leader with a 22 % market share while Emi stated at 9 %. The new joint-venture was named Minos EMI and thus controlled approximately one third of the Greek market. The union was not easy and while EMI was now, in value and figures, controlling financially Minos Matsas & son, it was like if this company was, in fact, taking over EMI Greece. The two distribution centers merged in one at the historical building EMI Greece was located at Rizoupoli (suburb of Athens) while most of the remaining staff joined Minos' spot at Messogeion avenue. The financial department remained under the responsibility of EMI CFO Panayotis Papalimberis, while the artistic direction of the new entity went under Minos A&R managers : Achileas Theofilou, Elias Benettos and Vangelis Yannopoulos. EMI international repertoire manager, Manos Xydous undertook a new A&R role with the revival of EMI's Harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
label. Finally, a new MD was appointed coming from the same position at Sony Music Greece, Costas Bourmas.
Recorded music catalogue
Rebetiko
Rebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
and Laïko
Laïkó
Laïkó ), is a Greek music genre. Also called folk song or urban folk music , in its plural form is a Greek music genre which has taken many forms over the years...
. Minos EMI actively exploits its catalogue by digitally remastering works for re-releases, compilations and special releases, and by licensing to third-parties engaged in the strategic marketing of back discography.
Parent company EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
had released music from Minos EMI's back catalogue through other EMI companies, such as under their world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
label EMI Hemisphere
EMI Hemisphere
EMI Hemisphere is a world music record label imprint of EMI.Founded by Gerald Seligman in 1993, it drew on music from the international catalogues of EMI Records, supplemented by its own signings and some outside licensing. It was one of the first, international labels to extensively compile music...
and EMI Classics
EMI Classics
EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
, in a collaboration between Gerald Seligman (EMI Hemisphere
EMI Hemisphere
EMI Hemisphere is a world music record label imprint of EMI.Founded by Gerald Seligman in 1993, it drew on music from the international catalogues of EMI Records, supplemented by its own signings and some outside licensing. It was one of the first, international labels to extensively compile music...
founder and Vangelis Yannopoulos, Minos EMI A&R manager.
Label overview
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
label operations in Greece have been consolidated into one record company, Minos EMI. Until 2001 the last separate standalone company was Virgin Records Greece
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, although it was shut down and its assets folded into Minos EMI. Use of Virgin label for domestic repertoire was also discontinued.
There is continuity of the Minos label as a local repertoire imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
, while Minos EMI artists who are not specifically under the Minos imprint operation simply carry the EMI label. The distinction of artists and their associated imprints is now usually only carried out on CD covers, reflecting internal management and standard industry practice in the Greek market. As of mid 2008, music channel MAD TV
MAD TV (music TV)
MAD TV is a television network in Greece that broadcasts music related programming including video clips, music news & interviews as well as concert footage. It was the first music station in Greece, launched on June 6, 1996 and is run by Andreas Kouris.MAD TV’s target group ranges from 15 to 24...
also no longer makes any distinction, marking all new Minos EMI releases as EMI only. As of late 2010, the discontinuation of the Minos imprint began on the CD covers of Minos artists, leaving all domestic repertoire releases marked only with the EMI label.
In mid-October 2010, Minos EMI announced a deal with the newly launched Greek edition of video sharing service website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
Dailymotion
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a video sharing service website, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement, Paris, France. According to Comscore, Dailymotion is the second largest video site in the world after YouTube....
, which secured Dailymotion Greece the exclusive premieres of all new music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s from Minos EMI for a period of four weeks. The deal also called for the addition of over 1,000 new, old, and rare music videos from the label to Dailymotion Greece, available to users worldwide.
Current artists
EMI- Pashalis Terzis
- Dimitris MitropanosDimitris MitropanosDimitris Mitropanos is a Greek singer. He is renowned for his mastery of Laïkó, a Greek music style.-Biography:Mitropanos lived in his native city of Trikala in northwest Thessaly until the age of 16, beginning his musical career in 1964....
- Tamta
Minos
- Peggy ZinaPeggy ZinaKalliopi Zina , known professionally as Peggy Zina, is a Greek singer. Peggy Zina made her discographic debut in 1995 with her self-titled album. She has since released ten studio albums and is a high-profile artist in the Greek music industry...
- Sakis RouvasSakis RouvasAnastasios "Sakis" Rouvas II , often referred to mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek musician, television and film artist, businessman, and former pole vaulter who is one of the most successful and influential entertainers of all time in Greece and Cyprus...
- Yiannis Kotsiras
- Yiannis Parios
Vanity Labels
Vanity label
A vanity label is an informal name given sometimes to a record label founded as a wholly or partially owned subsidiary of another, larger and better established record label, where the subsidiary label is controlled by a successful recording artist, designed to allow this artist...
- Estia
- Haris AlexiouHaris AlexiouHaris Alexiou is a Greek singer. She is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and has been commercially successful since the 1970s. She has worked with important Greek songwriters and composers, has performed at top musical theatres all over the world and has received several awards...
- Haris Alexiou
Other Labels
- Harvest
- Filippos PliatsikasFilippos PliatsikasFilippos Pliatsikas was the main composer, lyricist and lead singer of the Entekhno rock group Pyx Lax and is now a solo artist.- Career :...
- Filippos Pliatsikas