Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of Linton Kwesi Johnson's Dread Beat an' Blood (1981).
In 1983, Chris Wilson was hired as VP of A&R and the label began their association with Studio One label founder Clement Dodd and released Best of Studio One, a compilation of Dodd-produced music by artists including Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, The Gladiators, Marcia Griffiths, The Heptones, Slim Smith, Sugar Minott, and Johnny Osbourne, among others.
The label licensed music from a number of different Jamaican producers including Lee "Scratch" Perry, Joe Gibbs, Sonia Pottinger, Clancy Eccles, Alvin Ranglin, Duke Reid, Niney the Observer, Sly & Robbie, Steely & Clevie, and Lloyd Daley.
The label financed and booked the Heartbeat Culture Splash Tour, consisting of Michael Rose, Sister Carol, the Meditations, Derrick Morgan, and the S.A.N.E.
[4] In 2000, Heartbeat Records received a Grammy Award for Burning Spear's Heartbeat album entitled Calling Rastafari (1999) which has since been deleted from the catalog.