Koch Records (later known as E1 Music) emerged as a powerful independent record label and distributor in the Long Island/New York region, as headquartered in Port Washington. Operating outside of the Manhattan major-label sphere, Koch carved out a unique niche by offering artists more flexible deals—often allowing them to retain ownership of masters—and leveraging a robust distribution network that reached major retail outlets across the country.
From its offices on Long Island, Koch supported an eclectic mix of genres, including hip-hop, rock, country, jazz and classical. Among its key hip-hop releases, DJ Khaled launched his album We the Best via Koch/Terror Squad, as featuring star-studded collaborations (Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Lil Wayne) and spawning hits like “We Takin’ Over” and “I’m So Hood.” Similarly, Joell Ortiz released his The Brick: Bodega Chronicles on Koch.
The label’s roster extended well beyond hip-hop. It worked with classic rock and singer-songwriter artists, country musicians, and jazz/new-age acts. While detailed lists vary, archival label-roster indexes show Koch associated with a broad array of names—from 2Pac (via Death Row/Koch) and Foxy Brown to country singer Dean Miller (Platinum, Audium/Koch) and obscure jazz/new-age labels distributed through Koch. Other artists with Koch-released and/or Koch-distributed titles include Carole King, Ringo Starr, Kenny Rogers, Barney, RZA, Lady Blacksmith Mambazo, Slash's Snakepit, The Kinks, Norah Jones, WWE composer Jim Johnston, and Public Enemy.
In a 2002 profile, Koch’s Port Washington facility was noted for annual sales in the hundreds of millions, and the business claimed the status of “#1 independent music distributor in the U.S.” at that time. Koch would eventually evolved into Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records and later MNRK Music Group. In April 2021, following the acquisition of its parent company by toy and entertainment company Hasbro, eOne announced that it would divest its music business to the private equity firm The Blackstone Group for $385 million, in order to focus more on its film and television entertainment businesses.
Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on November 1, 2025.