About
Please note: This Oz Records label has no relationship with another Australian label bearing the same name, the [a614391]-founded, EMI affiliated [l119315]. Oz Records was a sub-label of [l23489] Records that specialised in promoting Australian and New Zealand artists for an international market. It was established in 1974, two years after the Mushroom label had been founded by [a1161485] and [a2226706]. That same year the entrepreneurs signed a deal with US-based [l904] to distribute Mushroom artists in the U.S. and Canada in association with Oz Records. This deal was reportedly the result of a friendship between Gudinski and A&M co-founder [a253755]. The first act to take advantage of this deal was [a779806], whose album "[m238200]" was released America, accompanied by a tour of the country. There was also enough funding for the band to record its follow-up album "[m455586]" (ctd. onamrecords.com). The next act to come to A&M from Mushroom was [a109320]. Among the other acts to have international releases distributed through A&M and Oz Records were: [a614946], [a247008], [a306088], [a1350772], [a172609], and [a570753]. The soundtrack to the 1982 Australian film musical, "[m397845]" was also released in the U.S. via A&M/Oz Records. Interestingly Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons joined Mushroom Records in 1979, having previously been signed to Ross Wilson's Oz Records (1976-1978). However, it wasn't until 1983 that the band released its first album in the US through Atlantic/Oz Records, this being "[m323843]."