Giant Records was launched as a joint venture in 1990 between Warner Bros. Records and Irving Azoff, who had sold his companies to MCA Records for $15.7 million. Azoff had wanted to call his label Big Records originally, but that name had been taken. Warner saw this as a replacement for Geffen Records, which had been purchased by MCA Music Entertainment the same year. Giant used the catalog numbers that would have been assigned to Geffen, had it ...
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Giant Records was launched as a joint venture in 1990 between Warner Bros. Records and Irving Azoff, who had sold his companies to MCA Records for $15.7 million. Azoff had wanted to call his label Big Records originally, but that name had been taken. Warner saw this as a replacement for Geffen Records, which had been purchased by MCA Music Entertainment the same year. Giant used the catalog numbers that would have been assigned to Geffen, had it remained with Warner Bros.
Giant was a start-up label for Warner Music Group (then called WEA for Warner Elektra Atlantic) that at the time also bankrolled another new imprint, Interscope Records.
Giant scored hits with such acts as MC Hammer, Tara Kemp, Color Me Badd, Jade, Lord Finesse, and teen pop star Jeremy Jordan. The most successful venture was the 1991 soundtrack of the movie New Jack City, which sold 16 million copies domestically under the leadership of Cassandra Mills, who was president of its Urban Division. The company also...
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