679 Artists

679 Artists, previously known as Sixsevenine and 679 Recordings, was a British record-label brand based in London. The label was established by Nick Worthington after he left XL Recordings in 2001. Worthington founded the company in partnership with Warner Music Group and served as its managing director and A&R director, combining label management with responsibility for identifying and developing artists. The name 679 referred to the address of the Pure Groove record shop on Holloway Road in London. The label’s first release was The Streets’ debut album, Original Pirate Material, issued in March 2002. The album became a defining release in the development of British garage, alternative hip-hop and spoken-word-influenced pop, and gave the young label an immediate association with innovative UK music. The Streets remained one of 679’s most commercially important acts: the group’s second album, A Grand Don't Come for Free, became a million-selling release and substantially increased the label’s profile. Across its active period, 679 worked with a broad range of artists rather than concentrating on one genre. Its roster and release catalogue included British indie and alternative acts such as The Futureheads, Mystery Jets, The Rifles, King Creosote and The Webb Brothers; electronic and dance-oriented projects including MSTRKRFT and Wideboys; and hip-hop, grime and related urban artists such as Kano and Plan B. The label also released music by international or internationally oriented acts including Death From Above 1979, The Polyphonic Spree, Secret Machines and The Stills. This eclectic roster reflected the label’s A&R-led identity and its role in bringing distinctive emerging acts into a major-label distribution structure. In 2008, Warner Music Group acquired 679. The transaction placed the label more directly within Warner’s corporate structure while retaining its identity as a specialist imprint associated with artist development and alternative music. A later major release was Plan B’s The Defamation of Strickland Banks, issued in 2010 and described in the reference material as having sold more than one million copies by 2011. At the end of 2009, The Observer Music Monthly named Original Pirate Material the best album of the 2000s, reinforcing the long-term critical importance of 679’s debut release. The available reference material does not clearly establish whether 679 Artists formally remains active, has been discontinued, or has been fully absorbed into another Warner operation. Its current website, leadership and present-day release activity are therefore not confirmed here. Nick Worthington later formed another record label, 37 Adventures, but that later venture is separate from 679 Artists.

679 Artists was created in London in 2001 by Nick Worthington, who had previously worked at XL Recordings. Worthington established the label in partnership with Warner Music Group and held the combined roles of managing director and A&R director. The imprint was named after number 679 on Holloway Road, the address associated with the Pure Groove record shop. The label began its release history in March 2002 with The Streets' Original Pirate Material. The album gave 679 an important early identity: it was commercially successful while also being regarded as a distinctive British interpretation of garage, hip-hop and spoken-word songwriting. The Streets' subsequent album, A Grand Don't Come for Free, became a million-selling release and was one of the label's most significant commercial achievements. 679 developed a varied catalogue spanning indie rock, alternative music, electronic music, dance and British urban music. Artists connected with the label included The Futureheads, Mystery Jets, King Creosote, The Rifles, Kano, Plan B, Little Boots, Marina, Death From Above 1979, MSTRKRFT, Secret Machines, The Stills and The Polyphonic Spree, among others. The breadth of this roster suggests that the label operated primarily as an eclectic specialist imprint rather than as a narrowly defined genre label. Warner Music Group acquired 679 in 2008. The acquisition strengthened the relationship that had existed from the label's founding and placed 679 within Warner's broader label portfolio. The imprint continued to be associated with notable releases, including Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks. That album was released by 679 and was reported in the reference material to have sold more than one million copies by 2011. The label also achieved retrospective critical recognition. At the end of 2009, The Observer Music Monthly selected Original Pirate Material as the best album of the 2000s. This recognition emphasized the lasting influence of a release that had introduced both The Streets and the 679 brand to a wide audience. The available sources do not provide a confirmed closure date, current management structure or current release programme. Accordingly, the present operating status of 679 Artists is recorded as unknown rather than being described as definitively active or defunct. Nick Worthington subsequently established 37 Adventures, a separate record-label venture.

1. 2010Plan B releases The Defamation of Strickland Banks

   The label released Plan B's commercially successful album The Defamation of Strickland Banks.

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2. 2009Original Pirate Material named album of the 2000s

   The Observer Music Monthly selected the album as the best album of the 2000s at the end of the decade.

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3. 2008Acquired by Warner Music Group

   Warner Music Group acquired 679, formalizing the label's place within the major-label group.

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4. 2002First release: Original Pirate Material

   The Streets' debut album became the label's first release and an important early statement of its musical identity.

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5. 2001Label founded

   Nick Worthington founded the company after leaving XL Recordings, in partnership with Warner Music Group.

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A London-originated, A&R-driven record-label imprint associated with innovative British alternative, electronic, indie, hip-hop and urban music, operating within the Warner Music structure.

• Original Pirate MaterialAlbum release2002

  The Streets' debut album and 679 Artists' first release, issued in March 2002. Its mixture of British garage influences, hip-hop structures and conversational delivery established a distinctive early identity for both the artist and the label. The album later received major retrospective recognition when The Observer Music Monthly named it the best album of the 2000s.

• A Grand Don't Come for FreeAlbum release

  The Streets' second album and one of the most commercially important releases associated with 679 Artists. The album achieved million-selling status according to the reference material, expanding the audience reached by the label's flagship act and strengthening 679's profile within the British music market.

• The Defamation of Strickland BanksAlbum release2010

  Plan B's album released through 679 Artists. The project represented the label's continued involvement in commercially ambitious British urban and pop-oriented music and was reported as having sold more than one million copies by 2011.

• 2008Warner Music Group acquisitionM&A

  679 had been established in partnership with Warner Music Group and built a catalogue of commercially successful and critically recognized artists.

  What changed. Warner Music Group acquired the label and incorporated it more directly into its label structure.

  Aftermath. The imprint continued to be associated with releases including Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks, although the available material does not document its later corporate status in detail.

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• 2011Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks passes one million sales

  679 released Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks, which the reference material identifies as having sold more than one million copies.

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• 2009Original Pirate Material receives major retrospective recognition

  At the end of the decade, The Observer Music Monthly named Original Pirate Material the best album of the 2000s, highlighting the cultural impact of 679's first release.

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• 2008Warner Music Group acquires 679

  Warner Music Group acquired 679, bringing the London label more directly into the group's corporate structure.

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• 2002679 Artists releases The Streets' debut album Original Pirate Material

  The label's first release was The Streets' debut album, Original Pirate Material, which became a landmark release associated with the early-2000s British garage and alternative hip-hop scene.

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1. 679 Artists