DGC Records

DGC Records is a major American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as an auxiliary label of Interscope Records.

Company history

DGC Records (standing for "David Geffen Company") was launched in 1990 as a subsidiary label of Geffen Records and was distributed by Warner Bros. Records until 1991, when it was acquired by MCA Music Entertainment Group. The label was created as a response to the success Geffen had with the harder rock acts on its roster. Though it initially focused on more progressive rock and heavy metal, as the decade progressed it would also embrace the emergence of (and become a seminal label of) alternative rock, particularly grunge, with influential acts like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Hole, Weezer and Beck. The label also released early titles by hip hop band The Roots.

In 1999, during the consolidation of Geffen’s Universal Music Group parent and PolyGram, the DGC label ceased operations. The retained acts would go on to record for the main Geffen label. In the years to follow, the DGC title and logo would occasionally appear on reissues of its past catalog items. In 2007, the label was revived as a brand for Interscope Records, inheriting many alternative acts signed to Interscope-Geffen-A&M (including acts that previously recorded for DreamWorks Records). Since its reactivation, it has released albums by Weezer, Beck, Counting Crows and Rise Against. As of late, DGC Records, in partnership with MySpace Records and indie Lucky Ear Music, signed up-and-coming L.A. artist Meiko.