Photo Finish Records is an American independent record label founded by Matt Galle in 2006. Based in New York City, the label specializes in alternative rock, pop, and electronic artists. It was first distributed through Atlantic Records, then Universal Music Group. Virgin Music Label & Artist Services is its current distributor.[2]

Photo Finish Records
Founded2006 (2006)
FounderMatt Galle
Distributor(s)Universal (via Virgin Music Label & Artist Services)[1]
Genre
Country of originUnited States
LocationNew York City
Official websitewww.photofinishrecords.com

History

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Atlantic Records (2006–12)

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In 2006, Photo Finish and Matt Galle signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records. Their first release was the debut self-titled five-song EP from the New-York-based post-hardcore band Envy on the Coast,[3] followed by the debut EP and studio album from Washington-based rock band Danger Radio.[4]

The label garnered major success with the debut album from the Colorado-based duo 3OH!3, WANT, which peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, while their song "Don't Trust Me" went to #1 on the Top 40 Charts, eventually selling over 3 million digital copies.[5][1][6]

In August 2008, Photo Finish released the debut album by Anthony Green, Avalon, which debuted at number 44 on the Billboard charts, the label's most successful first-week performance for a release.[7] In 2010, the Virginia-based band The Downtown Fiction’s song I Just Wanna Run played on the season premiere of The Jersey Shore; the track ultimately went Gold.[8]

Universal Music Group (2012–15)

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In 2012, Galle brought the label to Island Def Jam and Republic Records, distributed by Universal Music Group.[9]

In October of that year, Photo Finish released the EP Love’s Not Dead by The Mowgli's. The accompanying single “San Francisco” became iTunes’ Single of the Week, peaking at #12 on the Alternative Music Chart and #3 on the AAA Radio Chart.[10] Subsequent releases included their debut album Waiting for the Dawn in 2013 and the follow-up Kids in Love in 2014.

2014 also saw the release of Reflections, the debut EP of the New-York-City based band MisterWives, the title song of which became iTunes’ Single of the Week in January and peaked at #13 on the Billboard rock chart,[11] ultimately going Gold in the U.S. and selling 2 million (equivalents), followed by the band’s debut album Our Own House in 2015. That year, MisterWives was chosen as an MTV “Artist to Watch.”[12]

After being chosen for an Apple AirPods commercial, the song “Down” by Marian Hill went Platinum and sold nearly six million track equivalents worldwide,[13] reaching #10 on the Top 40, #13 at Rhythmic, #15 at Alternative, and #17 on Hot AC Radio, while at the same time becoming the most-Shazam’d song in the U.S., according to Rolling Stone magazine.[14]

Caroline Distribution/Virgin Music Label & Artist Services (2016–present)

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In 2016, Photo Finish made a distribution deal with Caroline Distribution, establishing the label as an independent entity to work with artists including SHAED, ROZES, guardin, Joan, Handsome Ghost, and Lakeview.[1][15]

In September 2016, Photo Finish released Just Wanna See, the debut EP by SHAED,[16] whose single "Name On It" was the featured track for a Victoria's Secret commercial.[17] SHAED’s single "Trampoline", from their follow-up EP Melt, was featured in a MacBook Air commercial in October, 2018, and was the #1 song on Alternative Radio for the entire year of 2019, garnering over 3 billion in US radio audience and over 7 million worldwide sales (equivalents).[18][19] The song reached number one on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart[9][20] and went double platinum in the United States, Canada, and India.[21]

In 2017, Photo Finish released the debut EP by ROZES.[22][23] ROZES’s song "Halfway There" was the official anthem to the 2019 Women's March on NYC via The Women's March Alliance.[24]

Artists

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Current artists

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Former artists

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Discography

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Studio albums / EPs

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2023 Bittersweet 16

2021 PAW Patrol: The Movie (Music from The Motion Picture)

2018 MELT EP

  • Artist: SHAED
  • Released: September 21, 2018
  • Genre: Indie

2018 I Don't Know Where I'm Going, But I'm On My Way EP

  • Artist: ROZES
  • Released: August 24, 2018
  • Genre: POP

2018 AUTOP$Y EP

  • Artist: L.I.F.T
  • Released: June 8, 2018
  • Genre: Alternative

2018 Welcome Back

  • Artist: Handsome Ghost
  • Released: February 9, 2018
  • Genre: Indie

2017 Connect The Dots

  • Artist: MISTERWIVES
  • Released: Spring 2017
  • Genre: Alternative

2016 The Brilliant Glow

  • Artist: Handsome Ghost
  • Released: Fall 2016
  • Genre: Alternative

2016 Where'd Your Weekend Go?

  • Artist: The Mowgli's
  • Released: Fall 2016
  • Genre: Alternative

2016 Just Wanna See EP

  • Artist: SHAED
  • Released: Fall 2016
  • Genre: Alternative

2015 Kids in Love

  • Artist: The Mowgli's
  • Released: Spring 2015
  • Genre: Alternative

2015 Our Own House

  • Artist: MisterWives
  • Released: Spring 2015
  • Genre: Alternative

2013 Snapshot

  • Artist: The Strypes
  • Released: Sept 9, 2013
  • Genre: Alternative

2013 Waiting for The Dawn

  • Artist: The Mowgli's
  • Released: Winter 2013
  • Genre: Alternative

2013 Omens

  • Artist: 3OH!3
  • Released: June 18, 2013
  • Genre: Alternative

2012 Beautiful Things

  • Artist: Anthony Green
  • Released: January 13, 2012
  • Genre: Alternative

2011 Let's Be Animals

  • Artist: The Downtown Fiction
  • Released: Spring 2011
  • Genre: Pop punk

Studio albums

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Year Album details Chart positions
US AUS CAN
2011 Let's Be Animals
  • Artist: The Downtown Fiction
  • Released: Spring 2011
  • Genre: Pop punk
2010 Welcome to the Breakdown
2010 Race You to the Bottom
  • Artist: New Medicine
  • Released: September 27, 2010
  • Genre: Hard rock
104
2009 Live Session EP (iTunes Exclusive)
2008 Avalon 44
2008 Want 44 4 47
2008 Used and Abused
  • Artist: Danger Radio
  • Released: July 8, 2008
  • Genre: Power pop
198
2007 Punch Your Lights Out EP
2007 Lucy Gray 11 Heatseakers
2006 Envy on the Coast EP

Singles

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Year Artist Single Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US Hot 100 Billboard US Pop CAN AUS FIN NZ UK IRE GER
2008 3OH!3 "Don't Trust Me" 7 1 6 3 5 8 21 17 95 AUS: Platinum[27]
US: 2× Platinum
Want (and Deluxe Edition)
2009 3OH!3 "Starstrukk" (featuring Katy Perry) 66 25 31 4 16 3 US: Gold
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Photo Finish Records Inks Partnership With Caroline: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  2. ^ Halperin, Shirley (December 16, 2019). "Growing Shaed: How 2019's Top Alternative Hit Was Launched, 'Doubters' Be Damned". Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  3. ^ "Envy on the Coast - Envy on the Coast | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  4. ^ "Review of Punch Your Lights Out". About.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011.
  5. ^ "3OH!3 Profile – Colorado Music Experience". Billboard. July 2, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Billboard.com: 3OH!3 Chart History". billboard.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "Anthony Green Chart History". billboard.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Decker, Harris (July 30, 2010). "Harris' Song of the Week: I Just Wanna Run by The Downtown Fiction". truthaboutmusic.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Halperin, Shirley (December 16, 2019). "Growing Shaed: How 2019's Top Alternative Hit Was Launched, 'Doubters' Be Damned". Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  10. ^ "Mowgli's "San Francisco" Chart History". billboard.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "MisterWives | Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  12. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (February 2, 2015). "MTV News: Artist to Watch". mtv.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  13. ^ LeDonne, Rob (May 3, 2017). "How an Apple Commercial Catapulted Marian Hill Into the Mainstream". observer.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  14. ^ Johnston, Maura (March 22, 2017). "Meet Marian Hill, the Most Shazam'd Band in America". rollingstone.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  15. ^ Lorge, Melinda (March 27, 2020). "Country Next: LAKEVIEW". countrynow.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  16. ^ Barr, Natalie (January 30, 2017). "SHAED". Interview Magazine. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  17. ^ Victoria's Secret (May 15, 2018), Victoria's Secret Stretch Cotton Collection Commercial, retrieved December 14, 2018 – via YouTube
  18. ^ Hampp, Andrew (March 20, 2019). "Songs for Screens: Shaed Is the Latest Act to Get Rocket Fuel From an Apple Ad". Variety. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  19. ^ "MacBook Air Advert Music". October 31, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  20. ^ "Alternative Songs: June 8, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  21. ^ Cantor, Brian. "SHAED's "Trampoline" Scores Double Platinum Certification In United States". headlineplanet.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  22. ^ "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - PHOTO FINISH SNAPS UP ROZES".
  23. ^ i don't know where i'm going, but i'm on my way - EP by ROZES, retrieved February 4, 2019
  24. ^ "Meet The Singer Behind The Official Anthem Of The 2019 Women's March". Bustle. January 4, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  25. ^ Dowd, Rachael (November 9, 2020). "SEE HOW 3OH!3 RETURNED TO THEIR ROOTS WITH FIRST NEW MUSIC IN FOUR YEARS". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  26. ^ "How MisterWives Went from Being Dropped by a Label Mid-Pandemic to Launching Their Own with Photo Finish (EXCLUSIVE)". May 25, 2022.
  27. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2009 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
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