Maverick Recording Company is a
American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through
Warner Bros. Records.
Company history
Maverick Records was founded by
Madonna,
Frederick DeMann, Ronnie Dashev and
Time Warner in April
1992 as part of the entertainment company,
Maverick. It is bi-coastal, having offices in both New York City and Los Angeles. The record company division of Maverick consists of the label, Maverick Musica (a Miami, Florida-based satellite label focusing on Latin-American music) and Maverick Music (publishing).
DeMann was bought out of the company for a reported $20 million in 1998, after which
Guy Oseary increased his stake in the company and took control as Chairman and CEO. Maverick has had noted triumphs with acts such as
Alanis Morissette,
Michelle Branch,
The Prodigy,
Candlebox,
Venezuelan pop-rock singer Douglas Vale and the band
Deftones. The label also had success with soundtracks for
The Wedding Singer,
Jackie Brown and
The Matrix. In addition,
Quentin Tarantino’s A Band Apart imprint is distributed by Maverick.
In March 2004, Maverick filed suit against
Warner Music Group and its former parent company,
Time Warner Inc., claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor
bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, WMG filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. On June 14, 2004, the dispute was resolved when Maverick shares owned by Madonna and Dashev were purchased — which effectively exiled the two of them from the company as it was now a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Oseary, meanwhile, remained CEO. In August 2006 the band
Lillix, which at the time was signed to the label, claimed that the label no longer exists and that all the artists were now handled by Warner Bros. directly.
Below is a complete listing of all artists and products released by Maverick Recording Company during founder Madonna's tenure as Chief Executive Officer, 1992–2004:
Artists
- Me'shell Ndegeocello - Plantation Lullabies (1993) Peace Beyond Passion (1996) Bitter (1999) Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (2002) Comfort Woman (2003)
- The Rentals - Return Of The Rentals (1995) Seven More Minutes (1999)
- Shifty - Happy Love Sick (2004)
- Tantric - Tantric (2001) After We Go (2004)
- The Prodigy - Fat Of The Land (1997) Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned (2004)
- Douglas Vale - Hieroglyphics (2000), Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas! (2001), DOUG (2003)
- Unloco - Healing (2001) Becoming I (2003)
- Wank - Get A Grip On Yourself (1998)
Maverick Compilations & Soundtracks
- With Honors - Music From The Motion Picture (1994)
- Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels - Music From The Motion Picture (1999)
- Matrix - Music From The Motion Picture (1999)
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Volume 2 - More Music From The Motion Picture (1999)
- Dogma - Music From The Motion Picture (1999)
- The Rugrats Movie - Music From The Motion Picture (1999/2000)
- The Next Best Thing - Music From The Motion Picture (2000)
- Digimon: The Movie - Music From The Motion Picture (2000)
- Little Nicky - Music From The Motion Picture (2000)
- Rugrats In Paris - Music From The Motion Picture (2000)
- Not Another Teen Movie - Music From The Motion Picture (2001)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 - Music From And Inspired By (2001)
- MTV: 20 Years Of Pop Music (2001)
- Matrix: Reloaded - The Album (2003)
- Matrix: Revolutions - Music From The Motion Picture (2003)