Editing Island Records (section)

===Under Universal Music Group===
In December 1998 and the first three months of 1999, UMG placed three divisions under the management of the Island brand: one in the UK, one in the US, and one in Germany.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} In each territory, these companies were merged under umbrella groups:

*In the UK, Island Records Group, now operating under [[Virgin EMI Records]] since 2013.
*In the US, Island, [[Mercury Records|Mercury]], and [[Def Jam]] and 14 other record labels were merged into [[The Island Def Jam Music Group]]; however, within the year, Island/Mercury decided to build upon the success of [[Def Jam Recordings]] and re-incorporated the label as The Island Def Jam Music Group. On April 1, 2014, Universal Music announced the disbandment of IDJMG, one of four operational umbrella groups within Universal Music. Effective as of the same day of the announcement, Island Records and [[Def Jam Recordings|Def Jam]] will now operate as autonomous record labels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/6039546/how-universal-music-groups-new-top-level-troika-brings-peace |title=How Universal Music Group's New Top-Level Troika Brings Peace (For Now) |publisher=Billboard |access-date=April 28, 2014}}</ref>
*In Germany, Island and Mercury merged to become divisions of the Island Mercury Label group.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}

However, in 2001, UMG was merged with French company [[Vivendi SA|Vivendi S.A.]] to create Vivendi Universal S.A.; but the music company remains under the name Universal Music Group (UMG).<ref name="HullHutchison2011">{{cite book|author1=Geoffrey P. Hull|author2=Thomas William Hutchison|author3=Richard Strasser|title=The Music Business and Recording Industry: Delivering Music in the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BWUil8OuXS8C&pg=PA175|year=2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-87560-8|page=175}}</ref>

In the US, Island became a predominantly pop/rock label, as their urban artists were assigned to either Def Jam or Def Soul, a new Island/Def Jam [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] imprint.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} Following the takeover of Island by UMG, flagship band U2 were dissatisfied after chief [[Jason Iley]] moved to the Mercury label in the mid-2000s and signed with Mercury for the UK and [[Interscope Records]] for the US.<ref name="Jem">{{cite web|title=U2 Return to 'Spiritual Home' Island Records for Next LP, Expected in April|url=https://www.spin.com/2013/12/u2-new-album-spiritual-home-island-records/|website=Spin.com|access-date=8 February 2014|first=Jem |last=Aswad|date=30 December 2013}}</ref> However, successful artists such as [[Tricky (musician)|Tricky]] and [[PJ Harvey]] were impressed by the label and signed on as artists. Tricky explained: "I knew I could get freedom. I knew I could do what I wanted to do.",<ref name="Full" /> while Harvey later stated:

<blockquote>I came to work with them, sort of fully formed—the way that I looked, the way that I sounded: that was already there. And I felt, like, that they just supported where that was going to go.<ref name="Full" /></blockquote>

The label celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.