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| Full Moon Records | |
|---|---|
| Name | Full Moon Records |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Irving Azoff |
| Status | Defunct (active intermittently) |
| Genre | Pop, rock, folk, soft rock |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
Full Moon Records was an American record label established in the mid-1970s that released albums by prominent singer-songwriters, rock bands, and session musicians. The imprint became associated with a roster that included mainstream successes and session virtuosos who worked across projects linked to major labels and producers. It operated in the wider milieu of the 1970s in music and the consolidation era that involved companies such as Warner Bros. Records and Epic Records.
Full Moon Records was founded in 1974 by music executive Irving Azoff after his tenure with entities connected to A&M Records and industry figures like David Geffen; its creation occurred during a period shaped by the Nashville sound crossover trends, the aftermath of the Woodstock era, and the rise of album-oriented rock exemplified by Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. Early distribution relationships tied the label into structures run by Warner Music Group affiliates and later transactional arrangements involved CBS Records executives and legal agreements common in the 1970s. The label navigated shifts caused by the 1970s recession in the entertainment sector, licensing negotiations similar to those seen between Motown and major conglomerates, and artist management strategies like those practiced by Azoff with acts associated with the Los Angeles music scene.
Full Moon's roster included singer-songwriters and bands often associated with the Southern California and Nashville, Tennessee songwriting communities. Notable artists who released records on the imprint included musicians linked to the session networks of The Wrecking Crew, collaborators of James Taylor, and performers who also appeared on releases by Columbia Records and Reprise Records. Significant albums issued by the label received attention in trade publications alongside contemporaneous releases from Elektra Records, Island Records, and Capitol Records; singles charted on lists tracked by Billboard and were reviewed in outlets such as Rolling Stone and Billboard (magazine). The label’s catalogue encompassed work from established names who had associations with producers like Michael Omartian, Ron Dante, and studios including Sunset Sound.
The business structure of the label reflected industry patterns in which independent imprints entered distribution deals with major corporations; Full Moon entered into arrangements with larger distributors comparable to those between A&M Records and PolyGram or Arista Records and RCA Records. Ownership changes and catalog rights transactions involved executives and attorneys familiar from negotiations at Warner Communications and CBS Corporation. Management practices by founder Irving Azoff echoed artist-management models used by firms involved with acts such as Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, and the label's licensing and reissue activity later interacted with companies that controlled legacy catalogues, including Sony Music Entertainment and other rights-holding corporations.
Recording sessions for Full Moon releases commonly took place at prominent California studios like A&M Studios, Westlake Recording Studios, and Record Plant, where session musicians who had worked with Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt contributed. Production approaches mirrored the era’s emphasis on layered arrangements, string orchestration similar to projects produced by Arif Mardin, and engineering techniques associated with figures who worked at Capitol Studios. The label’s producers frequently used the network of session players linked to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and Los Angeles session circles, and mastering practices followed standards promoted by mastering engineers associated with Abbey Road Studios and U.S. mastering houses.
Full Moon Records is remembered for releasing records that reflect the 1970s singer-songwriter and soft rock aesthetics celebrated in retrospectives alongside catalogues from Elektra, Asylum Records, and Geffen Records. Its influence is visible in reissue campaigns and anthology projects curated by labels that manage legacy catalogues, and in scholarly and popular discussions found in works about the 1970s pop-rock era, including analyses of session musician networks exemplified by The Wrecking Crew and the evolution of artist management practices pioneered by figures such as Irving Azoff. Collectors and music historians reference Full Moon releases when tracing the careers of artists who also recorded for Columbia Records and Warner Bros. Records, and the imprint is cited in discographies and liner-note scholarship that examine cross-label collaborations during the album-oriented rock period.
Category:Record labels established in 1974 Category:American record labels Category:Defunct record labels of the United States