Def Jam Records

BY MAX DESIANO

History of Def Jam Records

Def Jam Records was created by hip-hop entrepreneur

Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin.

It is one of the most successful record labels in the the

United States.

Russell Simmons founded a production company

called Rush Productions in the early 1980s which
included Run-D.M.C. and Kurtis Blow.

In 1984 Simmons met Rick Rubin, a rap and rock

producer who was attending New York University.

The two met in Rubins dorm room where Def Jam

Records was created.

History of Def Jam Records

The first single released by Def Jam was "I Need a

Beat" by rapper LL Cool J.

This single helped Def Jam earn a distribution deal

with CBS Records which drastically raised the profile of
the new company in the music industry.

Def Jams early artists, such as The Bestie Boys and

Public Enemy were belligerent and hostile.Their music
reflected their type of style.

When Rick Rubin left Def Jam in 1988 to form his own
label, Russell Simmons became the head of the
company.

History of Def Jam Records

In 1999 Simmons sold Def Jam to Universal Music for

$100 million dollars.

Def Jam has continued to be a successful label in the

post-Russell Simmons era, making various business
deals with Roc-A-Fella Records and creating
subsidiaries like Def Soul Records and The Island Def
Jam Music Group.

Shawn Carter (Rapper Jay-Z) was named company

CEO in 2005.

Production Practices

Def Jam Records has produced many successful and prestigious

artists under various genres.

The most popular genre under Def Jam Records is rap/R&b. Some
of the most famous artists in this genre are Kanye West, Jay-Z,
Logic, Big Sean, Rick Ross, and Nas.

Additionally, pop is another extremely popular genre under this

record company. Some of the most successful artists are Justin
Bieber, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, and Lady Gaga.

Def Jam supports the best artists in the industry and it has been
that way since the early 90s. Rappers including LL Cool J, The
Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy started off as the building blocks
for this prestigious record label.

Production Practices
Def

Jam Recording Studio is located in Atlanta,

Georgia.

The

studio has many mixing and mastering

engineers that collaborate in order to create
the best tracks.

Def

Jams diverse roster has grown the label

into a global brand and conveys creativity and
authenticity.

Distribution
Def

Jam has various distributers in order to

expand their label to the highest potential.

Their

distributers include Universal Music

Distribution (International), Virgin EMI Records
(United Kingdom), and Universal Music
Enterprises.

Marketing and consumption by

audiences

Def Jam has various marketing strategies in order to sell their

artists content and make them as successful as possible.

The label advertises their artists music by encouraging the

customers to buy it on several platforms.

In todays society, streaming music is the most popular way to

listen to music so the artists mainly display their music on Apple
Music and Spotify.

Customers can also buy music on ITunes, Google Play, VEVO and
many other platforms.

Streaming services make the companies the most money since

millions of people are subscribed to apps such as Spotify and
Apple Music.

Marketing and consumption by

audiences

The label also sells music on DVDs; however, it is not as popular

as the other methods.

In addition to signing and marketing local artists, Def Jam started

to market internationally.

Def Jam Germany marketed all U.S. signed Def Jam artists in the
German territory.

Def Jam has a broad target audience but the majority of the
audience is mainly young adults and teenage Hip Hop/R&B fans.

Works Cited

"Def Jam Records (1984- ) | The Black Past: Remembered and

Reclaimed." Def Jam Records (1984- ) | The Black Past:
Remembered and Reclaimed. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

@DefJamRecords. "Def Jam Recordings." Def Jam Recordings.

N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

"Def Jam Recordings - UMG." UMG. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016

Turner, Edwin (2011-12-17). "I Review Def Jam 25, the

Overstuffed Illustrated Oral History of a Record Label that Helped
Change American Culture".