Editing Island Records (section)

===PolyGram acquisition===
In July 1989, Blackwell sold Island Records and Island Music to the PolyGram UK Group for £180 million; he explained in 2009: "It had gotten too big and too corporate for me and I couldn't really handle it."<ref name="Cool">{{cite news|title=A history of cool|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/may/30/books-music-island-records|access-date=8 February 2014|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 May 2009|author=David Sinclair}}</ref> Following the sale, Island was no longer an independent company, but Blackwell was given a position on PolyGram's board and stayed on as CEO of PolyGram's new Island Entertainment division for ten years.<ref name="Mike">{{cite web|title=HOT SEAT: MIKE TAYLOR – ISLAND RECORDS|url=http://www.themusicnetwork.com/hot-seat-mike-taylor-island-records/|work=The Music Network|access-date=8 February 2014|first =Lars | last=Brandle|date=8 February 2013}}</ref> PolyGram immediately began reissuing much of the Island back catalogue on compact disc and expanded Island's reach through its global manufacturing and distribution network, but the label was relatively unfocused in the 1990s.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} Between 1993 and 1995, Island had a [[sub-label]] called the [[Island Red Label]], which focused on independent artists.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Anon. |date=June 26, 1993 |title=Indigo Goes Red |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1993/CB-1993-06-26.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]] |volume=56 |issue=42 |page=4 |issn=0008-7289 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214213518/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1993/CB-1993-06-26.pdf |archive-date=2023-02-14 |access-date=2023-02-14 |via=worldradiohistory.com}}</ref>

Blackwell eventually ended his association with the company in 1997, as the corporate life hindered the independent ethos of his personal life. "I never really had a job until I sold Island to PolyGram in 1989. It had gotten too corporate," he commented afterwards. After Blackwell left, PolyGram closed Island's film business.<ref>{{Cite web| last1 = Madigan| first1 = Nick| title = Polygram shutters Island Pictures| work = Variety| access-date = 2019-02-09| date = 1997-12-09| url = https://variety.com/1997/film/news/polygram-shutters-island-pictures-111747549/}}</ref> Blackwell left to found the [[Palm Pictures]] company and run a chain of boutique hotels in Miami, US and the Caribbean, including the very exclusive [[Goldeneye (estate)|Goldeneye]], once the Jamaican home of [[James Bond]] creator [[Ian Fleming]].<ref name="Full" /> Then in May 1998, all of PolyGram and its associated labels were purchased by [[Seagram]] which announced its plan to integrate PolyGram with UMG to produce an estimated cost savings, within a couple of years, of between US$275&nbsp;million and $300&nbsp;million annually. Seagram further explained that the acquisition would unite a significant international presence with a thriving domestic business, as more than three-quarters of PolyGram's sales were outside the US.<ref>{{cite news|title=INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS; $10.6 Billion Seagram Deal For Polygram|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/22/business/international-business-10.6-billion-seagram-deal-for-polygram.html|access-date=8 February 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 May 1998|author=Geraldine Fabrikant}}</ref>