David Dollimore, former boss of Ministry Of Sound and RCA, is returning to his dance music roots with a new label in partnership with Geffen Records.
Dollimore has unveiled electronic music label Disorder Records in partnership with Geffen Records and its president Tom March. The JV will partner with and sign DJs, producers, artists, brands and labels.
Disorder’s first major partnership is with Manchester’s The Warehouse Project on WHP Records, an original recording imprint.
The launch by one of the most high-profile label execs in the UK comes at a time when dance music is booming, including breakthrough stars Jazzy, Eliza Rose, LF System and Hannah Laing alongside chart stars such as Becky Hill, Jax Jones and Calvin Harris.
At Ministry Of Sound, David Dollimore went from intern to MD during a decade in which he launched and guided the careers of Eric Prydz, Duke Dumont, Axwell, Benny Benassi, MK, and Avicii.
When Ministry of Sound Recordings was acquired by Sony Music UK, Dollimore became president of RCA Label Group, including overseeing MoS. Under his leadership, the label had domestic success with CamelPhat, Cat Burns, Aitch, Fredo, London Grammar and Jade Thirlwall.
Dollimore was president of RCA from 2016 until 2023. He successfully steered the Sony Music UK label to a No.1 market share position in 2021. RCA retained its No.1 position for Track Streams last year.
Dollimore has teamed with Geffen Records president Tom March, whose own career began in dance music PR, working acts including Fatboy Slim, Damian Lazarus and Royksopp. He has since played a role in the success of Avicci, Alesso, Chemical Brothers, Tiesto, Deadmau5, Jax Jones, DJ Snake, Zedd, Meduza, Swedish House Mafia and Becky Hill, amongst others.
Disorder will be an incubator for the future of dance music and redefine the landscape
David Dollimore
Geffen provides access to a global infrastructure, feeding into the Disorder offices in London and Interscope Geffen A&M offices in Los Angeles.
Disorder is working with The Warehouse Project’s Richard McGinnis and Sam Kandel. The Warehouse Project sells in excess of 300,000 tickets every winter season and supports the development of new talent. It has featured acts including Fred Again.., Peggy Gou, Interplanetary Criminal, Four Tet, LCD Soundsystem, Nia Archives, and more.
David Dollimore said: “Disorder will be an incubator for the future of dance music and redefine the landscape as we see it. This label will be a portal to the underground club world, distilling future trends for mass consumption. We will be leading a generation forging alternative routes to the top, outside the confines of dated traditional structures. The Disorder artist will resonate in fashion, culture, lifestyle and entertainment, across multiple platforms, forming a new-gen of future visionaries within the field.
“Together Tom March, Rich, Sam and the impressive team at The Warehouse Project and I, have the network, the platform and the global infrastructure with Universal to make this one of the most successful partnerships in dance music.”
Tom March said: “At Geffen we are always looking to partner with our industry’s most successful and innovative entrepreneurs. I couldn’t be more excited to partner with David as he heads back to what I consider him to be the best in the world at – signing and A&R-ing dance music. Between us, we have worked with many of the great names in the last 20 years of electronic music. I am so happy to be joining forces with him now.”
I couldn’t be more excited to partner with David as he heads back to what I consider him to be the best in the world at – signing and A&R-ing dance music
Tom March
In a statement, The Warehouse Project said: “Having spent the last two decades dedicated to finding and breaking talent, we can’t believe it has taken us this long to make this jump but David was the one person we wanted to do it with. Being able to work with artists in a whole new way, providing tangible support in the live space alongside equitable partnerships, with David and Tom who share our passion for this culture is an exciting new chapter for us.”
Geffen recently had a No.1 album around the world with Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts, as well as a No.3 US album with the Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds.
Geffen also has a partnership with HYBE, which has delivered hits for V, Jung Kook and others. Additionally, HYBE and Geffen have a joint venture to establish a global girl group.
The label is also behind Kali Uchis, whose Moonlight amassed more than a billion streams globally.
Earlier this year in the US, Geffen’s New Jeans had a No.1 album and label mates JK and Jimin both had No.1 Hot 100 singles.
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