Editing Virgin Records (section)

==American editions==
{{update section|date=December 2018}}
The Virgin label was distributed in the US by Atlantic from 1973 to 1975. During this period, 14 albums were issued. All had been previously issued in the UK on Virgin, although one album, ''[[Marjory Razorblade]]'' by Kevin Coyne, was truncated from a 20-song double album to an 11-song single album.

Beginning with Mike Oldfield's ''[[Ommadawn]]'' album in 1975, American distribution switched to CBS Records/[[Columbia Records]]. CBS/Columbia was unwilling to release all Virgin artists, so many were licensed to other labels: 
*[[Epic Records|Epic]] (the sister company of Columbia): ([[Mike Oldfield]] (1980s releases), [[Captain Beefheart]] (1982's Ice Cream For Crow), [[Culture Club]] (1982–1986), [[Holly and the Italians]], some [[XTC]] (1982's [[English Settlement]]) and [[Shooting Star (band)|Shooting Star]])
*[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]: ([[Julian Lennon]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] (previously on [[Charisma Records]]), [[Phil Collins]])
*[[A&M Records|A&M]]: ([[UB40]], [[The Human League]], [[Simple Minds]], [[Breathe (British band)|Breathe]], [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]] and [[The Blue Nile (band)|The Blue Nile]])
*[[Warner Records|Warner Bros.]]: ([[Sex Pistols]], [[Scritti Politti]], [[Devo]])
*[[Geffen Records|Geffen]] ([[XTC]] – 1983 on)
*[[MCA Records|MCA]]: ([[Tangerine Dream]], [[Belinda Carlisle]], [[Loose Ends (band)|Loose Ends]], [[52nd Street (band)|52nd Street]], ''[[Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (soundtrack)|Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence]]'' by [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]])
*[[RCA Records|RCA]]: (''[[1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)]]'' by [[Eurythmics]]; the band were signed to RCA, but produced the soundtrack on commission from Virgin)
*[[Arista Records|Arista]]: ([[Heaven 17]], [[Jermaine Stewart]])
Some of these records had a small Virgin logo added to the regular company design on the label. One of Virgin's and Epic's biggest acts of the 1980s was Culture Club.

In 1978, Virgin set up US operations first in [[New York City|New York]] on Perry Street, with distribution from [[Atlantic Records]]. Virgin Records soon moved operations to [[New Jersey]] along with a short-lived subdivision called '''Virgin International''', handled by independent New Jersey–based distributor [[Jem Records]]. Virgin International was used mainly for progressive rock artists and reissues of earlier Virgin / Atlantic albums such as ''[[Hergest Ridge (album)|Hergest Ridge]]'' by Mike Oldfield, and ''[[Fish Rising]]'' by Steve Hillage, which Columbia chose not to reissue. Virgin International also issued albums by some of Virgin's reggae artists, including [[Gregory Isaacs]]. At the same time, Virgin releases distributed by Columbia continued, distribution returning to Atlantic (later WEA) in 1980, at which time Virgin International ceased operations.

In 1986, Virgin Records opened up another American division, '''Virgin Records America'''. Its first release was the debut album by [[Cutting Crew]], which included the hit single "[[(I Just) Died in Your Arms]]". Other Virgin America signings included [[Camper Van Beethoven]], [[Bob Mould]], [[Warren Zevon]], [[Paula Abdul]], [[T'Pau (band)|T'pau]], [[Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers]], [[Redhead Kingpin and the F.B.I.|Redhead Kingpin & The F.B.I.]], [[Neneh Cherry]], [[Steve Winwood]], Hindsight and, after her MCA contract ran out in 1991, Belinda Carlisle. Virgin Records America's releases were distributed through [[Warner Music Group|WEA]] again by [[Atlantic Records]] until 1992. The label was then acquired by [[EMI-Capitol Special Markets]]. In 1996, Virgin Records offered Janet Jackson one of the best and highest deals at the time estimating an $80 million deal. The agreement also required Virgin to allocate about $25 million in video production, marketing and promotion costs – a much larger sum than most deals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/1a97c2bec48161eafa7373c5ea98c585|title=Report: Janet Jackson Signs Record $80-Million Deal with Virgin|date=12 January 1996|work=Associated Press News}}</ref> Virgin Records America was founded by the executive team of Jordan Harris, [[Jeff Ayeroff]] and [[Phil Quartararo]].

Another American company called '''Caroline Records''' co-existed during this time. Caroline records rarely mentioned a connection with Virgin, and some UK and European Virgin albums that were distributed internationally (instead of being manufactured in each country) named Caroline as their American distributor. Some Caroline records bore the label name '''Caroline Blue Plate''', which was mainly used for reissuing on CD many early progressive rock albums and artists from Virgin and Caroline's UK branches.