Interscope's artist roster includes Sting, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic, Dermot Kennedy, Blackpink, Dr. Dre, DaBaby, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Imagine Dragons, Olivia Rodrigo, Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, Playboi Carti, Kendrick Lamar, Jennifer Hudson, Ken Carson, GloRilla, Destroy Lonely, Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q, Lana Del Rey, JID, Maroon 5, Moneybagg Yo, Gwen Stefani, Rae Sremmurd, Gracie Abrams, Zedd, Machine Gun Kelly, U2, Yeat, Yungblud, Cuco, Juice Wrld, d4vd, Homixide Gang, Reneé Rapp, Nettspend, J. Cole and Karol G. In 1989, Ted Field began to build Interscope Records as a division of his film company, Interscope Communications.

Separately, Iovine, who had produced records for U2, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, and John Lennon, among others, was trying to raise money to start a label.

In a 1997 article in Rolling Stone, David Wild wrote: "Interscope's start-up coincided with a period of incredible change in the music world.

'"[8][9][10][11] Based in Los Angeles, California in the Westwood neighborhood at an office building on 10900 Wilshire Boulevard, Interscope was run by "music men".

[4] Interscope's first release was "Rico Suave" by Ecuadorian rapper Gerardo in December 1990; the single reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in April 1991.

Primus' Interscope debut, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, was released in May, followed by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's Music for the People in July.

In addition to a second Primus album, the label released No Doubt's self-titled debut, Helmet's Meantime, 4 Non Blondes' Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, acquired and re-released Rocket from the Crypt's Circa: Now!, and, through a joint venture with TVT/Nothing Records, the Nine Inch Nails EP Broken.

However, Interscope's success with alternative and rock music was eclipsed by controversy which began in September 1992, when Vice President Dan Quayle called on Interscope to withdraw 2Pacalypse Now, stating that it was responsible for the death of a Texas state trooper, who was shot to death in April by a suspect who allegedly was listening to the album on the tape deck of a stolen truck when he was stopped by the officer.

The trooper's family filed a civil suit against Shakur and Interscope, claiming the record's violence-laden lyrics incite "imminent lawless action".

[12][13] Earlier in 1992, Interscope negotiated a $10-million deal with Dr. Dre and Marion "Suge" Knight to finance and distribute their label, Death Row Records.

After hearing the album, Iovine agreed to put it out, although doing so required a complicated distribution agreement with Priority Records, Dre's label as a member of N.W.A.

Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle had sold more than 800,000 copies in its first week alone, and Primus and 4 Non-Blondes had released records which hit the US Top 20.

A $2.5 million investment to establish a joint venture with Trauma Records yielded three number-one Modern Rock tracks and a platinum-certified album with Bush's Sixteen Stone.

Marilyn Manson's Portrait of an American Family, The Toadies album Rubberneck and Helmet's Betty were commercially successful and critically embraced.

[18][19] In May 1995, the controversy related to gangsta rap and explicit lyrics intensified as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole accused Interscope of releasing music that glorified violence and degraded women.

Among others, the label was criticized by William J. Bennett, a former Education Secretary, and C. DeLores Tucker, the chairwoman of the National Political Congress of Black Women.

[22] Dre left Death Row in mid-1996 due to what was then reported as tension over the creative direction of the label, and founded Aftermath Entertainment, a new joint venture with Interscope.

[23][24][25] In November 1996, with records by Bush, Snoop Dogg, No Doubt, and Tupac Shakur, Interscope became the first label in 20 years to hold the top 4 positions on the Billboard charts.

The label was frequently criticized for overspending on artist acquisitions and joint ventures, however, with revenue for 1996 estimated at $250 million, it operated at a profit.

Records by Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Dre, Eve, Nine Inch Nails, Enrique Iglesias, Blackstreet, Smash Mouth and others generated an estimated $40 million in profit during the final six months of 1999.

The founder of Fueled By Ramen, Janick had previous success with artists including Jimmy Eat World, Fall Out Boy, Panic!

At the time of his appointment, it was reported that Iovine had chosen Janick as his eventual successor—Iovine's attention had increasingly turned to Beats, which dominated the headphone market with 2012 revenues of $512 million.

[53][54] Six Interscope releases appeared in the Billboard year end album charts in 2014: The Marshall Mathers LP 2 by Eminem, Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey, V by Maroon 5, Native from OneRepublic, Lady Gaga's ARTPOP, and Oxymoron by Schoolboy Q.

The label was embroiled in controversy over delaying the release of the singer Bilal's second album, Love for Sale, because of its creative direction.

[71] In discussing his 2006 album The Captain & the Kid with Cameron Crowe in Rolling Stone, Elton John said: "I was so furious with Interscope Records because they put it out and they dropped it.

In 2007, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor criticized Universal Music Group for the inflated price of Year Zero in Australia.

In an interview with the Herald Sun in Melbourne, he said that an employee of UMG stated that NIN had "a core audience that's gonna buy whatever we put out, so we can charge more...True fans will pay whatever.

[74] On November 7, 2011, it was reported that the South African hip hop/rave group Die Antwoord was leaving Interscope Records over a dispute with the label wanting their second studio album Tension to be re-worked for "mainstream appeal".

[75][76] Problems with Interscope first arose when the group decided the lead single for their second album would be "Fok julle naaiers" (loosely translated to "Fuck you fuckers").

[83] The Drug Enforcement Administration inspected the year-long case and stated that the Los Angeles offices of Interscope Records were used for pickups and deliveries of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine in 2010 and 2011.