Maverick Records - Definition and Overview

Maverick Records is a formerly-independent record label (now owned by Warner Music Group) that was founded by Madonna in 1992. The name of the label is derived from the first letters of her name MAdonna VEronica and the end of the name of her then manager FredeRICK DeMann).

Although Madonna had a partial ownership in the label until 2004, she rarely was involved with any of the day-to-day operations of the company. The label's CEO is Guy Oseary. In March 2004, Maverick filed suit against Warner Music, and its former parent company, Time Warner Inc., claiming breach of contract, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner Music filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars. On June 14, 2004, the dispute was resolved when Maverick was purchased by Warner.

Its notable artists have included Madonna, Muse, Alanis Morissette, Deftones, Story of the Year, newcomer Ben Jelen, Me'shell Ndegeocello, Erasure, The Prodigy (in the U.S.), Canadian girl group Lillix, and Michelle Branch.

See also

• List of record labels