4AD facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 4AD
Parent company	Beggars Group
Founded	1980; 45 years ago (1980)
Founder	Ivo Watts-Russell Peter Kent
Distributor(s)	Beggars Group
Genre	Alternative rock, post-punk, dream pop, electronic
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Location	London

4AD is a British record label. It is owned by a bigger music company called Beggars Group. The label started in London in 1980. It was first named Axis Records. Two people, Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, who worked for Beggars Banquet Records, created it.

The name changed to 4AD after the first four songs were released. Later that year, Ivo and Peter bought the label from Beggars Banquet. This made 4AD an independent record label, meaning it was on its own. Peter Kent sold his part to Ivo a year later.

4AD became very well-known in the 1980s. They released music from alternative rock, post-punk, and dream pop artists. Some famous bands they worked with include Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Modern English, Dead Can Dance, Pixies, and Throwing Muses. Ivo Watts-Russell also had his own music project called This Mortal Coil on the label.

In 1987, 4AD had a huge international hit song called "Pump Up the Volume" by a group named M|A|R|R|S. 4AD continued to be successful in the 1990s and 2000s. They released music from bands like The Breeders, Lush, Belly, TV on the Radio, St. Vincent, and Bon Iver. As of early 2022, 4AD still works with many artists. These include Dry Cleaning, The National, Big Thief, and Future Islands.

In 1999, Ivo Watts-Russell sold 4AD back to the Beggars Group. The story of the label was written in a book called Facing The Other Way in 2013.

How 4AD Started

Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent worked for a record store and label called Beggars Banquet. In late 1979, they started their own label, Axis Records. They named it after a Jimi Hendrix album. Axis Records was part of Beggars Banquet at first.

After the first four songs from Axis Records came out in early 1980, they found out another music company was already using the name "Axis." So, they changed the name to 4AD. This was a shorter way of saying "forward." They had thought about other names like 1980AD and 1984.

Their first idea for 4AD was to be a "testing ground" for Beggars Banquet. Bands that did well on 4AD would move to the bigger Beggars Banquet label after a year. Only one band, Bauhaus, followed this path. They signed with Beggars Banquet in late 1980. After that, Ivo and Peter bought 4AD completely.

Growing the Label

Ivo and Peter owned 4AD together for about a year. At the end of 1981, Peter Kent sold his part to Ivo. Peter then started a new label called Situation Two Records. Ivo Watts-Russell kept owning 4AD and was its president until the late 1990s.

Ivo asked graphic designer Vaughan Oliver and photographer Nigel Grierson to create the artwork for the label's music. Because of this, 4AD's album covers and designs became very unique and easy to spot. Bands like Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance became very popular in the mid-1980s.

4AD kept growing and changing. After signing Throwing Muses and Pixies, the label started to focus more on underground American rock music. In 1983, Modern English had a small hit in America with their song "I Melt With You." In 1987, 4AD had a number-one hit in the UK with "Pump up the Volume" by M|A|R|R|S.

In the 1990s, 4AD opened an office in Los Angeles. They had success with bands like The Breeders, Belly, and Red House Painters. They also released solo music from Frank Black and Kristin Hersh.

Changes and New Music

In 1992, 4AD made a deal with Warner Bros. Records in the United States. This deal meant that almost all 4AD music would be released in the US. This started a new time for 4AD. New bands signed that year included Kendra Smith and The Amps. The next year, Ivo Watts-Russell started a smaller label called Guernica. It released music from bands like Unrest and That Dog.

In 1999, Ivo sold his part of 4AD back to the Beggars Group. But the label kept releasing music and adding new artists. Simon Halliday took over running the label at the end of 2007. Soon after, they had big successes with Bon Iver's album For Emma, Forever Ago and Dear Science by TV on the Radio.

In 2008, the Beggars Group changed how it was set up. Several other labels, including Beggars Banquet, became part of 4AD. Bands like The National moved to 4AD because of this change. In 2009, 4AD released St. Vincent's second album Actor and Camera Obscura's My Maudlin Career. The next year, 4AD released The National's High Violet and popular albums from Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Blonde Redhead, and Deerhunter.

Over the next few years, 4AD released new music from Scott Walker, Bon Iver, and Iron & Wine. They also added new electronic music artists like Purity Ring and Grimes. Grimes released one of the most popular albums of 2012. Other new artists included Lo-Fang and SOHN. In early 2014, 4AD announced they had signed Future Islands and Merchandise.

In 2015, the label released popular albums by Deerhunter and Grimes. The next year, 4AD and The National had their first number-one album in the UK with Sleep Well Beast. More recent artists signed include Aldous Harding and the British band Dry Cleaning.

In April 2021, 4AD released a special album called Bills & Aches & Blues. It featured bands from 4AD covering songs that the label had released over its 40 years.

How 4AD Music is Sold

For many years, 4AD did not handle selling its music outside the United Kingdom. But many other companies helped sell their music in different countries. For example, Virgin Records sold their music in France, and Nippon Columbia sold much of it in Japan.

The United States was always a difficult market for 4AD. Even though their music sold well there as imports, only a few of their artists had deals to sell their music in the US through different labels.

In 1992, Ivo Watts-Russell signed a five-year deal with Warner Bros. Records. This meant that almost all 4AD music would be released in the United States. When this deal ended, he offered to sell the label back to Beggars Banquet. However, Dead Can Dance's music stayed with Warner Bros. until the sale back to Beggars Group.

The deal with Beggars Banquet was finished by early 1999. Since then, Beggars Group has owned 4AD and handles selling its music all over the world. This helped them get back the rights to sell music from bands like Pixies, Dead Can Dance, and Cocteau Twins in America.

Artists on 4AD

Current Artists

Past Artists

4AD Sessions

The 4AD Sessions are a series of videos. They feature different artists from the label. The videos show 4AD artists playing their old songs or new versions of their own music. These videos are available on the label's website.

See also

In Spanish: 4AD para niños