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 famous British record label. A record label is a company that helps musicians record and release their music. It is owned by a larger company called Beggars Group.

4AD was started in London in 1980. It was first called Axis Records. Two people, Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, who worked for Beggars Banquet Records, created it. After they released their first four songs, they changed the name to 4AD. 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. A year later, Peter Kent sold his part to Ivo Watts-Russell.

The label became very well-known in the 1980s. They released music from many cool bands. These bands played alternative rock, post-punk, and dream pop music. Some famous groups included Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Modern English, Dead Can Dance, and Pixies. In 1987, 4AD had a big international hit song called "Pump Up the Volume" by a group called 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, and TV on the Radio. As of August 2025, some of their current artists 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 4AD was written in a book called Facing The Other Way in 2013.

How 4AD Started and Grew

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

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

The first idea was for 4AD to be a "testing ground." Successful bands would move to Beggars Banquet after a year. Only one band, Bauhaus, did this. They signed with Beggars Banquet in late 1980. Then, Ivo and Peter bought 4AD completely.

Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent owned the label together for about a year. At the end of 1981, Peter sold his share to Ivo. Peter then started a new label called Situation Two Records. Ivo Watts-Russell remained the owner and leader of 4AD until the late 1990s.

Ivo asked graphic designer Vaughan Oliver and photographer Nigel Grierson to create the artwork for the music. This gave 4AD a very special and recognizable look. Bands like Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance became very popular in the mid-1980s. One writer said that 4AD felt like a "church" because of its unique style.

4AD kept changing in the late 1980s. After signing Throwing Muses and Pixies, the label started focusing 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 artists like Frank Black.

In 1992, 4AD made a deal with Warner Bros. Records in the United States. This started a new time for the label. New bands signed that year included Kendra Smith and Air Miami. The next year, Ivo Watts-Russell started a smaller label called Guernica. This label released music by bands like Unrest.

In 1999, Ivo Watts-Russell 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 success with Bon Iver's album For Emma, Forever Ago and TV on the Radio's Dear Science.

In 2008, the Beggars Group reorganized. Several 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. The next year, they released High Violet by The National.

Over the next few years, 4AD released new music from Scott Walker and Bon Iver. They also added electronic music artists like Purity Ring and Grimes. Grimes released one of the most popular albums of 2012. In early 2014, 4AD announced new artists like Future Islands.

In 2015, they released popular albums by Deerhunter and Grimes. The next year, 4AD and The National had their first UK No. 1 record with Sleep Well Beast. Newer artists on the label include Aldous Harding and Dry Cleaning.

In April 2021, 4AD released Bills & Aches & Blues. This was a special album where current 4AD bands covered songs that the label had released over its 40 years.

How 4AD Music Reaches Fans

For many years, 4AD did not handle distributing its music outside the United Kingdom. Instead, other companies in different countries helped. For example, Virgin Records helped in France, and Nippon Columbia distributed music in Japan. The USA 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 release their music in the US.

In 1992, Ivo Watts-Russell made a five-year deal with Warner Bros. Records. This meant almost all 4AD releases would be available in the United States. When this deal ended, he decided to sell the label back to Beggars Banquet. However, music by Dead Can Dance stayed with Warner Bros. until the sale to Beggars Group was complete.

The deal with Beggars Banquet was finished by early 1999. Since then, Beggars Group has owned 4AD and handles its distribution worldwide. This helped 4AD get back the rights to distribute music by bands like Pixies and Cocteau Twins in America.

Artists on 4AD

Current Artists

Past Artists

4AD Music Releases

4AD has a special way of numbering their music releases. This system helps people identify the type of release, like a single song or a full album. It also used to show the year the music came out. This unique numbering made 4AD releases easy to collect and recognize.

4AD Sessions: Live Videos

The 4AD Sessions are a series of videos. They feature different artists from the 4AD label. In these videos, the artists perform songs from their past albums. They also play new versions of their own music. These sessions are available to watch on the 4AD website.

See also

In Spanish: 4AD para niños