Relativity Records

Relativity Records, often branded just Relativity, was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Early on, as an indie label, Relativity released music in a variety of styles, including dance, jazz, punk, and progressive rock. As it grew and became associated with Sony Music Entertainment, it became more known for its popular metal and hip-hop releases.

History

Although it was reportedly established in 1985, there is evidence that the brand actually began c. 1982 as an in-house IRD label.

In the 1980s, Relativity was mostly focused on rock music, including heavy metal and punk rock. Releases in this genre were split among Relativity and its sister labels Combat and In-Effect Records, which folded back into the main Relativity label in 1990. Around 1992, the label went under restructuring and did limited partnership deals with two regional independent hip hop record labels, Suave Records and Ruthless Records in 1995. ed.