 epic records is an american record label that runs as a division of sony music entertainment. originally conceived as a jazz imprint in 1953, it has since expanded to represent various genres. today, the company is one of three main flagship labels for sony music, with the other two being columbia records and rca records. their roster currently includes michael jackson, fifth harmony, andre 3000, avril lavigne, a great big world, ciara, sara bareilles, future, nicole scherzinger, tamar braxton, the fray, sade, bobby shmurda, and meghan trainor. ==history== ===beginnings=== epic records was launched in 1953 by columbia records for the purpose of marketing jazz, pop and classical music that did not fit the theme of its more mainstream columbia records label. initial classical music releases were from philips records which distributed columbia product in europebillboard - google books. books.google.com (1953-09-19). retrieved on 2013-07-16. pop talent on co-owned okeh records were transferred to epic which made okeh a rhythm and blues label. epic's bright-yellow, black, and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. this has included such notables as the berlin philharmonic, charles rosen, the juilliard string quartet, antal dorÃ¡ti conducting the hague philharmonic and george szell conducting the cleveland orchestra. ===expansion of genres and mainstream success=== by 1960, the label's musical base had been expanded to include all genres. this was done in part to prevent the roster of columbia records (which, at the time, had a reputation for releasing material by more established acts) from being overstuffed with newe
American_record_labels Epic_Records Heavy_metal_record_labels Hip_hop_record_labels IFPI_members Jazz_record_labels Record_labels_established_in_1953 Rhythm_and_blues_record_labels Sony_Music_Entertainment