amusement records

In 2023, Grammy-winning producer Daniel Nigro founded his independently-funded Amusement Records primarily as a home for a then-independent Chappell Roan to release the album they made together, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Roan at the time had been recently dropped by her former label, but as Nigro told Billboard when announcing Amusement: “I was so in love with everything that we were doing. I believe in [Chappell] so much that I was like, ‘Do I want this added stress in my life? Is it worth it? Yes.’”

And it sure was. Last August, almost one year after her debut album’s release, The Rise and Fall peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The following month, she scored her highest-charting Hot 100 hit with “Good Luck, Babe!” And this February, Roan won the Grammy for best new artist.

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Now, on Wednesday (March 26), Universal Music Group and Nigro announced an expanded partnership with Amusement following the knockout success of Roan and building on the producer’s long-term creative relationship with superstar Olivia Rodrigo (who is signed to UMG label Geffen/Interscope). Going forward, Amusement will operate as a label venture within UMG, allowing new signees to partner with any of UMG’s labels.

“Daniel embodies the type of creative brilliance and entrepreneurial spirit that is at the heart of UMG,” UMG chairman and CEO, Sir Lucian Grainge, said in a statement. “I can’t wait to hear the culture shaping music and artists [he] will bring next to our global family.”

Since Nigro founded Amusement, he and Roan have both celebrated new highs. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess spawned six Hot 100 hits, including the top 10 smash “Pink Pony Club.” Meanwhile, Nigro earned his second Grammy for producer of the year at the 2025 ceremony for his work with Roan, Rodrigo and the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. (His first win was for Rodrigo’s debut album Sour.)

“After 6 years of working almost exclusively with the various labels [and] artists under Universal, it made perfect sense to make the relationship more formal,” Nigro said in a statement. “I want Amusement Records to be a place where artists can feel comfortable growing and developing at their own pace but with all the real resources needed to thrive and succeed.”

“Also,” he added, “a place where I can have the freedom to help choose the right team each time for the artist. I know in my heart that the people at Universal understand this, and I am beyond excited about what’s to come.”