33 Record labels established in 1998

Asfalt Records is a Polish independent record label specialized in hip-hop music. It was founded in 1998 by Marcin "Tytus" Grabski. In July 1998, Asfalt Records signed a three-year distribution deal with Sony Music Entertainment Poland. The first album released by Asfalt Records was the debut of Polish group OMP Wilanów... zobacz różnicę, which was released on December 16, 1998. Afterwards, two groups, RHX and Płomień 81 joined the label. In June 1999, the label released a 12" single Otzafszetu/Oempe, which was most likely to be the first hip-hop record released in such format. In February 2001, Grabski founded a sub-label Teeto Records that was supposed to release hip-hop-related records.

Barsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a vinyl record in its mouth.

CTE World, is an American record label founded by American rapper Jeezy & his former manager Demetrius “Kinky B” Ellerbee. In December 2012, Young Jeezy signed a distribution partnership between Corporate Thugz and Atlantic. USDA member Boo Rossini is the label's president.

Desert Storm is an American record label founded by DJ Clue? in February 1995. The label was formerly distributed through Elektra and Atlantic and is currently distributed through Def Jam and Universal.

The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music.

FILMguerrero is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1998 by John Askew as a way to release Ames, the debut album by Askew's band Tracker.

Hope Recordings is a Bristol, UK based record label, established in 1998 by Leon Alexander and Steve Satterthwaite.

John Erik Kaada, also known by the mononym Kaada, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, producer, film score composer and multi-instrumentalist. Kaada's career spans a string of solo albums, motion picture soundtracks, high-profile collaborations with key players such as Mike Patton, as well as numerous live appearances at home and abroad.

Kennis Music is a record label, specializing in R&B, pop and hip hop music, founded by Nigerian radio DJ Kenny Ogungbe in the late 1990s. The company's slogan is "Africa's No 1 Record Label". The current CEOs are Kehinde "Keke" Ogungbe and Dayo "D1" Adeneye.

Loose is a British independent record label based in Ladbroke Grove, London.

Love Da Records is an international record label founded in 1998. The label is one of the largest indie music distributors in South East Asia, distributing over 150 individual labels covering music of different genres. With its headquarters in Hong Kong, Love Da Records also extended its branches to Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

MGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase.

Middle Pillar Presents is a New York-based record label that specializes in ambient, gothic, and experimental music. The label began as distributor for other labels and artists entitled Middle Pillar Distribution. Kevin Dunn and James Babbo established Middle Pillar Presents to showcase artists unable to get signed elsewhere. The British independent label 4AD served as an inspiration to the founding of Middle Pillar Presents. Middle Pillar Presents was established with the goal of releasing only "dark" music. In an effort to maintain musical continuity the sub-label Hell's Hundred Records was established to sign bands of other styles, such as "punk, gothic horror rock, [and] psychobilly."

The Militia Group is an independent record company based in Long Beach, California.

Minus or M-nus is a recording label based in Berlin, Germany and Windsor, Canada. It was created in 1998 by Richie Hawtin when Plus 8, a label previously created by Hawtin, was put on hold. By 2005, M-nus was releasing 2 to 3 CDs and 12 to 14 records per year.

Modular Recordings is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Avalanches, Wolfmother, Cut Copy, The Bumblebeez, Bag Raiders, Van She, Rocket Science, Ghostwood, The Presets, Pond, and Tame Impala, and local releases of international artists including Dom, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Chromeo, Colder, Klaxons, Ladyhawke, NYPC, MSTRKRFT, and Softlightes.

NH Media is a South Korean entertainment agency founded in 1998 by Kim Nam-hee. The company is currently manages U-KISS.

Overbrook Entertainment is an American production company and record label based in Culver City, California. It was founded by partners Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998, around the same time production for Wild Wild West (1999) was started.

Phillip Krokidis, known professionally as Phil K, was an Australian electronic music DJ and record producer from Melbourne. He was a member of the "Aussie breaks" music scene which also includes other Melbourne DJs such as Nubreed and Andy Page. In addition to DJing, Phil K also produced alongside Habersham and Dave Preston in The Operators and was also a member of Hi-Fi Bugs and Lostep. He was known primarily for his DJing of breakbeat music, but often weaved in other genres such as ambient, deep house, and techno and did not pigeonhole himself with a particular genre.

Placid Casual is the Cardiff based record label set up in 1998 by Super Furry Animals. It is named after a track on their album Radiator.

Prosthetic Records is an American record label specializing in heavy metal recordings, founded in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by E.J. Johantgen and Dan Fitzgerald. Prosthetic Records released the first two albums by Lamb of God and Animals As Leaders and was the North American home to Gojira and are currently home to .gif from god, Dawn Ray'd, Vile Creature, Psycroptic, Four Stroke Baron and many more artists.

Rabid Records is a Swedish record label founded in 1998 by members of Honey Is Cool. Today the label is operated by Karin Dreijer and Olof Dreijer of the synthpop duo The Knife, as well as Frau Rabid. The label rarely releases anything other than works by The Knife, but it is currently the home of Jenny Wilson, First Aid Kit, and DJ Coolof. In the past, the label has put out albums and EPs by Honey Is Cool, Monster & Maskiner, Rockmonster, and Calle P.

Rockland Records was an American record label founded by R&B recording artist and record producer R. Kelly in 1998, having distribution from Interscope Records. The label was home to recording artists such as Kelly himself, Sparkle, Boo & Gotti among others. The label has released four albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The label is known for songs like Fiesta (Remix), Fortunate, Be Careful and What Would You Do?. Rockland Records main producers are R. Kelly and Trackmasters. The label is currently inactive but Kelly still owns the Rockland Records imprint.

Smoke-a-Lot Records, distributed by Rap-a-Lot Records, is a record label founded and owned by rapper Yukmouth and manager Kat Gaynor. The name comes from Yukmouth's Luniz nickname, "Smoke-a-Lot". The label itself is home to artists including Luniz, Dru Down, Thug Lordz, The Regime, and Yukmouth himself. It is also home to newcomers Ampichino, Nyce, Young Dru, and Marc Shyst. Attached to the label as in-house DJ is former Cali Untouchable DJ, DJ Fingaz.

Spool is a Canadian record label which was founded 1997 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Their first releases were in 1998. They relocated to Uxbridge, Ontario in 1999. The name comes from the play by Samuel Beckett: Krapp's Last Tape. In the play the play Krapp becomes fascinated by the word "spool" and repeats it several times. On December 27, 2001, Spool was given national notice in an article in The Globe and Mail by Canadian jazz critic Mark Miller, who said "It's work supported not by the majors, but by smaller companies -- as small as Uxbridge, Ont., label Spool which released two of the most interesting Canadian CDs of 2001, West Coast guitarist Tony Wilson's melancholic Lowest Note and a boisterous collaboration between George Lewis and Vancouver's NOW Orchestra, The Shadowgraph Series." Spool releases also received reviews in the Toronto Star by Geoff Champman, as well as Coda (magazine), DownBeat, Vancouver Province, La Scena musicale, The Wire (magazine), Exclaim magazine, The Georgia Straight. In 2004, Spool received nominations for "producer of the year" and "label of the year" by the National Jazz Awards of Canada. Mark Miller, in Jazz Education Journal wrote: "And consider Canada's most active independent record labels, Ambiances Magnetiques and Effendi in Montreal, Cornerstone in Toronto, Maximum Jazz and Songlines in Vancouver, Spool in Uxbridge, Ontario and Victo in Victoriaville, Quebec. By and large, their rosters are made up of artists who seem intent on creating vital, interesting and, above all, personal music that draws not on any one tradition, but on many..."

Sumthing Distribution was an American based company started by Nile Rodgers that distributes recording artist and independent record labels. It was the largest African-American owned distribution company in America. It was announced on January 3, 2019, that the company had gone out of business that week.

Times Music, a division of The Times Group, is an Indian record label and music publisher. Headquartered in Mumbai, Times Music started operations in 1998 and has a catalogue of more than 60,000 tracks in all languages and genres. Times Music is also the Indian sub-publisher for global music publishing firms Warner/Chappell Music, Peermusic, Wixen Music, CTM Publishing and Cloud 9 Music Publishing. Times Music was one of the early pioneers of remixes in India and was an early leader in the devotional and spiritual music genre. The label has also published regional, folk, Bollywood and traditional albums in languages such as Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Assamese and Kannada and has a strong regional presence.

Transcopic was a British record label created in 1998 by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon for his solo releases, as well as those of other left field artists. Along with Coxon's music, the label issued records by acts such as Ooberman, The Buff Medways, You Am I, and Billy Childish. It was co-owned by Jamie Davis, who subsequently co-founded Ark Recordings and founded The Jaded Hearts Club.

Undecided Records was an American independent record label established in 1998 by Clifford Wiener and Alexander Kenny. The record company was founded in Loxahatchee, Florida but its headquarters moved around in various parts of Palm Beach County, Florida; first to Boca Raton, then to Parkland, and finally to Lake Worth. The record label released hardcore, metalcore, noisecore, post-hardcore and emo music, with a principally North American roster of artists spanning from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. Undecided Records released music on vinyl records, compact discs and digital audio formats, with distribution in the United States through Revelation Records, Victory Records and RED Music. Wiener and Kenny were both closely associated with Eulogy Recordings, where they worked in their free time.

Universal Music TV (UMTV) is a London-based record label formed in 1998, and owned by Universal Music Group. UMTV specialises in producing compilation albums and occasional single releases. It was founded when Seagram acquired PolyGram and merged the company's record labels under the same umbrella, replacing the PolyGram TV label.

Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll.

In 1998, ViK. Recordings was established as a Canadian record label shortly after Lisa Zbitnew became president of the Canadian arm of BMG, which was then the owner of RCA Records. Its notable artists included: McMaster & James, Tom Green, Treble Charger, Jacksoul, Shawn Desman, Rascalz and Keshia Chanté. Most of its roster were absorbed into Sony BMG Music Canada, following the merger of Sony and BMG in 2004 and the appointment of Lisa Zbitnew to President and CEO of Sony BMG Music Canada the same year.

Western Vinyl is an independent record label founded in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas. The imprint was formed by Brian Sampson and Ryan Murphy originally to release their lo-fi indie rock projects as Win Foster and Havergal.