Swan Song Records
Swan Song Records was a music label founded in 1974 by the British rock band Led Zeppelin .
history
Swan Song was founded on May 10, 1974 by Jimmy Page , guitarist and head of the British rock group Led Zeppelin , and Peter Grant , the band's producer. The purpose of this was to ensure that the artistic control of future albums lies with the band themselves.
The name "Swan Song" is the English name for the proverbial swan song, also in German .
Led Zeppelin were the figurehead of Atlantic Records at the time. The contract between Atlantic and Led Zeppelin was very beneficial for both parties. Atlantic had to promise that no other interpreter under their contract would ever receive more royalties than Led Zeppelin; the company also had to pay an astronomical advance payment of 200,000 US dollars for the time. On the other hand, Atlantic was able to sign the band worldwide, which turned out to be an incredible stroke of luck given the fact that Led Zeppelin had become the most successful band in the world in the early 1970s.
The success of the fourth album (1971) finally made the band superstars. The influence of Atlantic Records waned, knowing that the band could storm the charts with their name alone, making any music they liked. This assumption was confirmed when " Houses of the Holy " rose to number 1 in both Great Britain and the United States in 1973 , and Led Zeppelin was able to play in sold-out stadiums worldwide.
The success finally spurred Jimmy Page to shut down the record company completely in the process of creation, and only to share in the profits. Atlantic agreed to release five albums on the band's own label. Jimmy Page gave this the name "Swan Song", which was originally intended as the title for the next album.
" Physical Graffiti " , which appeared on "Swan Song" in 1975, immediately showed that the band was now completely responsible for their records: half of the songs included came from earlier recording sessions.
However, "Physical Graffiti" wasn't the first record on "Swan Song"; 1974 Bad Company's debut album was released under the label. The label signed other bands that were later considered legends of hard rock , including Pretty Things and Detective .
Led Zeppelin later released the albums “ Presence ” and “ In Through the Out Door ” as well as the live album “ The Song Remains the Same ” for “Swan Song” . When the band announced their breakup after the death of John Bonham in 1980 , Page was reminded of the obligation to release five records on Swan Song, which he followed with the rather unpopular collection of unreleased recordings, " Coda " .
The first solo albums by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were released on "Swan Song". The last album released under the label was 1983 "Wildlife" by the group of the same name.