MCA Records: A Pope Album, Tom Petty's Bankruptcy and Mob-Linked Cutouts

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MCA Records grew out of American Decca, cut loose in 1937 by its British owner as war approached. In 1962 the Music Corporation of America, a talent agency and TV producer, bought Decca mainly to get Universal Pictures, and antitrust rules then forced it out of the agency business. In 1971 Mike Maitland merged Decca, Kapp and Uni into MCA Records, which in the 1970s released Elton John's Crocodile Rock, Neil Diamond's live albums, the Who's Quadrophenia and the soundtracks to The Sting and American Graffiti.

Overreach followed. The Infinity Records division scored with Rupert Holmes' Pina Colada song, then pressed a million copies of an album featuring Pope John Paul II that flopped, and Infinity closed in 1980. Tom Petty fought having his contract absorbed in the 1979 ABC Records purchase, declared bankruptcy to escape it, and later blocked a $9.98 superstar price for Hard Promises. With warehouses full, the label was nicknamed the Music Cemetery of America, and Los Angeles Times reporting by William Knoedelseder tied its cutout sales to Sal Pisello.

Irving Azoff took over in 1983 and is credited with pulling MCA back from the brink.
MCA dropped Frank Zappa's Thingfish over lyrics, then led industry opposition to PMRC warning stickers.
An MCA executive reportedly called Black Flag's Damaged an anti-parent record, and the band stickered over the distributor's logo.
MCA dropped Alanis Morissette before Jagged Little Pill sold about 30 million copies elsewhere.
After Seagram bought 80% in 1995, market share fell to 2.61% by 2002, Shaggy's Lucky Day flopped, and MCA was folded into Geffen in 2003.

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