Iovine had been involved in the music industry for several years and had been a producer for acts as various as the New York-based singer Patti Smith to the phenomenally successful pop band U2. At the same time he started his record company, Field also founded Interscope Communications, a film production company which eventually produced such film hits as 'Three Men and a Baby,' and the thriller 'The Hand that Rocked the Cradle.'īesides Field's abundance of financial resources, Interscope had another advantage from its inception: the expertise and reputation of Jimmy Iovine. It was during this time that Field met music producer Jimmy Iovine, and, using $15 million of Field's own inheritance, the two together founded Interscope Records in 1990. In 1984, after a less than harmonious period of negotiation with his brother, Field inherited over $200 million from the family fortune and within a couple of years had settled permanently in California, where he developed an interest in film production. After spending much of his adolescence in Alaska, Field moved from school to school, finally becoming involved in race car driving and, later, fund-raising for the Democratic Party. From his childhood, however, Field proved himself to be a rebel and risk-taker. Born into the Chicago area Marshall Field family, Field was slated from childhood to follow in the family's footsteps, first attending prestigious private schools, then running the family fortune, which included the Marshall Fields department stores and the Chicago Sun Times. In an industry famous for its eccentric, iconoclastic characters, Interscope co-founder Ted Field upon first glance might seem an anomaly. Interscope specializes in producing the sort of music of which other, more traditional companies are wary hard-core, gangsta' rap, alternative fringe rock, and the sub-genre known as Goth are all a part of the company's roster.

After being initially funded by Time Warner, Interscope is now owned in part by Universal Music Group (previously MCA Records), which is a part of the Seagram Company. In addition to producing its own artists, Interscope has also been involved with the distribution of other, smaller industry labels, most notoriously that of Death Row Records, a high-profile West Coast rap label. Dre, Marilyn Manson, and Nine Inch Nails. Founded in 1990 by veteran music producer Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field, one of the heirs to the Marshall Field fortune, Interscope produces and distributes such musical stars as Primus, the Wallflowers, Dr. Interscope Music Group, with its Interscope Records label, is one of the most successful and controversial record companies in the music industry.

buys that percentage at a great profit to Interscope.ġ998: Interscope breaks its ties with Death Row Records.ġ999: Geffen and A & M record labels are folded into Interscope operations, following Seagram's purchase of PolyGram Records.

Dre's 'The Chronic.'ġ995: Time Warner sells its 50 percent of Interscope back to the company.ġ996: Edgar Bronfman's Seagram Co. NAIC: 51222 Integrated Record Production/Distributionġ990: Interscope founded by Ted Field and Jimmy Iovine.ġ992: Company has its first breakthrough with Dr.

Interscope records net worth