History

The roots of Chrysalis stretch back to a tiny flat in West London in 1967, when former university social secretaries Chris Wright, then 22, and Terry Ellis, 23, linked their flair for managing and booking bands to form the Ellis Wright Agency. The duo quickly established themselves as significant entertainment providers for British colleges and swiftly transferred to an office in London's West End. Among their early management clients were blues rockers Ten Years After, whom Wright had snapped up in Manchester when they were known as the Jaybirds, and a Blackpool soul band that evolved into Jethro Tull.

After a couple of experiences trying to release Ten Years After and Jethro Tull records through other companies, Wright and Ellis began thinking in terms of their own label. In 1968, they signed a licensing deal with Island Records with the proviso that, should Wright and Ellis' acts log an agreed-upon number of hits, then the pair would be awarded a label in their own right. “At the time,” Chris Wright recalled in a 2003 interview, “we had one pretty obscure group, so no one would’ve thought we’d have 10 Top 10 records, but within one year, we did. And that’s when the Chrysalis label was born.” The name combined “Chris” and “Ellis” with a degree of poetic license.

Through hit albums like This Was and Stand Up from Jethro Tull—who boasted a highly charismatic frontman in Ian Anderson—plus others from Ten Years After, Procol Harum and Tull offshoot Blodwyn Pig, Chrysalis established itself as a highly individual label, folksy at its roots but with cutting-edge blues/rock leanings. Alongside Chris Blackwell's Island, which specialized in ska/reggae, Chrysalis's emergence as a front-running indie prompted the majors of the day to create their own “progressive” offshoot labels.

Moving into the ’70s, as Jethro Tull took off in the U.S., Chrysalis's signings included gravel-voiced Scot Frankie Miller, former Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower, folk/rock band Steeleye Span, singer/songwriter Leo Sayer and hard-rock group UFO. Chrysalis responded to punk and new wave by signing Generation X, Ultravox and New York-based Blondie, whose string of subsequent hit singles included "Atomic,” "Call Me" and "The Tide Is High.” The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

In the second half of the ’70s, responding to new musical trends emanating from the U.K., Chrysalis set up its now-legendary offshoot, 2-Tone Records, arguably the first artist-related label within what had now become a global music company and home to ska-revival notables the Specials, the Selector, Madness and the Beat. At the start of the ’80s, Chrysalis also helped set the New Romantic movement in motion by signing Spandau Ballet on the Reformation label. A buyout of the Ensign label brought the Waterboys and Sinead O'Connor on board. The U.S. side of Chrysalis, operated out of Los Angeles by Ellis, enjoyed a run of successes with Pat Benatar, Huey Lewis & the News, Slaughter and Billy Idol.

“It was all A&R at the time, really,” Wright recalled. “The record industry in those days was 95% A&R. There weren’t videos or marketing or anything—it was all down to having a great band and making a great record and the band touring. If anybody tried to do anything other than great band/great record/great tour, people saw through it and said, ‘It’s not real—it’s a bit of a hype.’”

In early 1985, Ellis sold his share of the company to Wright. Following a reverse takeover of Management Agency and Music Plc later in 1985, Chrysalis became a public company with a full listing on the London Stock Exchange. Increasing overheads in the U.S. side of the business played a part in the decision to sell 50% of the record label to Thorn EMI in 1989, which activated an option to buy out the entire Chrysalis Records label 18 months later.

The sale of the label ushered in a period of diversification. In 1991, the company entered the television business, and the Chrysalis TV Group became one of the largest production groups in the U.K., with overseas interests in Holland, Spain and New Zealand before being sold in 2003. The Radio Division was launched in 1993, grew into the U.K.’s third largest radio group. It was sold in July 2007. Five years later, the Books Division was formed; it was sold in late 2005. These moves have once again put the company’s focus squarely on music, Wright’s first love.

“After EMI bought the rest of the record company, I had nightmares for six months,” Wright acknowledged. “Whereas other people sold their record companies because they thought they’d cash in and make lots of money, it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I never wanted to do anything but be in the record business—that’s all I’d ever done. And part of the deal with EMI was I couldn’t work in the record business for two years—a non-compete clause. It was awful, but in hindsight, I certainly wouldn’t have done the things that we’ve done since then, which have been very interesting. And fortunately, I didn’t sell the publishing company. Publishing is really the foundation of the company.”

Holding on to its music publishing interests proved to be a wise decision indeed. A concerted strategy of building the catalogue has proved to be extremely successful, as Chrysalis Music's net publisher share has grown from £2.5m in 1992 to over £10m today. The catalogue itself is hugely broad and deep, spanning five decades, and Chrysalis Music has offices in the U.K., the U.S., France, Germany, Benelux, Spain, Italy and Scandinavia. Chrysalis Music songwriters have had their material recorded by artists as diverse as Madonna, Blue, Jennifer Lopez, Eminem, Michael Jackson and Marilyn Manson. Chrysalis Music tracks are regularly licensed for use in high profile films, TV series, commercials and videogames.

The financial strength of the catalogue was recognized when the Group completed a long-term £60m securitization of its global music publishing catalogue in an innovative structure to accommodate what Chrysalis believes to be the largest ever securitized music deal and certainly the first to involve a multi-jurisdictional international music-publishing catalogue. The facility was extended to £75m, underlining the value of the company’s catalogue, in January 2006.

In 2002, Chrysalis brought in the respected publishing executive Kenny MacPherson to oversee its stateside division with the plan of transforming Chrysalis U.S. into an independent force along the lines of the company’s formidable U.K. operation. From there, the profile of the U.S. company increased exponentially, marked by the signings of such acclaimed artists as Ray LaMontagne, My Morning Jacket, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, as well as renowned producers Daniel Lanois and Ethan Johns. In March 2005, MacPherson was promoted to the newly created role of President and Senior Executive of the Chrysalis Music Division North America, overseeing all American operations, which include the management division, Echo Label USA and the core publishing company.

“It’s not only about finding great artistic talent but about nurturing good executive talent as well,” MacPherson has said. “Chrysalis is staffed with people who have an independent spirit and love working in the publishing business, and I feel very encouraged about the future. There’s great music out there, and people want to find it. We’re here to help connect them.”