The pair signed on as managers of King Crimson in early 1969, during the formative stage of the band and prior to the release of debut In the Court of the Crimson King, with it springboarding their entrance into the record label and music publishing markets.
[1] Samuel George Alder[2] and Mark Fenwick (later managing Roger Waters) took over control of the companies, re-releasing material from King Crimson in addition to new releases from acts such as Iain Ballamy, Bill Bruford, The Chieftains, Earthworks, Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Human Chain, Killing Joke, Loose Tubes, Man Jumping, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Elan Sicroff, Toyah Willcox, and U.K.
Alder and Fenwick were investors in Lloyd's of London and attempted an entrance into the real estate market; major losses on both ventures through 1988-1991 led them to have E.G. loan 4 million pounds towards their failing businesses, which led to no royalty payments to their roster for that time period.
[4][5] Fripp has been publicly critical of Sam Alder's business practices, both in regards to the non-payment of royalties and beyond, recounting the development of the situation that led to the lawsuit and digitizing/reproducing financial/legal documents multiple times on his online diary.
[1] John Lurie of American group The Lounge Lizards, whose first album was released by the label in 1981, was also critical of E.G. Records business practices, which he described as deceptive and unethical.