Island Records was founded in Jamaica.
Island Records is a British-American record label that operates as a division of Universal Music Group -LRB- UMG -RRB- .. Universal Music Group. Universal Music Group. record label. record label. division. Division ( business ). It was founded by Chris Blackwell , Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong in Jamaica in 1959 .. Chris Blackwell. Chris Blackwell. Graeme Goodall. Graeme Goodall. Leslie Kong. Leslie Kong. Jamaica. Jamaica. Blackwell sold the label to PolyGram in 1989 .. PolyGram. PolyGram. Both Island and another label recently acquired by PolyGram , A&M Records , were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history , with Island in particular having exerted a major influence on the progressive UK music scene in the early 1970s .. PolyGram. PolyGram. A&M Records. A&M Records. independent. Independent music. Three Island labels exist in the world  : Island UK , Island US , and Island Australia , with the main label operating out of London .. London. London. Notable artists on the UK roster include Ariana Grande , U2 , Mumford & Sons , Amy Winehouse , Ben Howard , Florence + The Machine , John Newman , Hozier , Catfish and the Bottlemen , Disclosure , AlunaGeorge , Keane , James Morrison , Annie Lennox , That Poppy and PJ Harvey .. Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande. Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. Amy Winehouse. Amy Winehouse. Ben Howard. Ben Howard. Florence + The Machine. Florence + The Machine. John Newman. John Newman ( singer ). Hozier. Hozier ( musician ). Catfish and the Bottlemen. Catfish and the Bottlemen. Disclosure. Disclosure ( band ). AlunaGeorge. AlunaGeorge. Keane. Keane ( band ). James Morrison. James Morrison ( singer ). Annie Lennox. Annie Lennox. That Poppy. That Poppy. PJ Harvey. PJ Harvey. Current key people of Island Records include Island president Darcus Beese , OBE and MD Jon Turner .. Partially due to the label 's significant legacy , Island remains one of UMG 's pre-eminent record labels .. In a 50-year anniversary documentary , Island Records artist Melissa Etheridge stated  : `` If you want to look at world music , music of the last fifty years that changed the world , you need look no further than Island Records . ''. Melissa Etheridge. Melissa Etheridge