Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles and Nashville), Razor & Tie releases were distributed by Universal Music Group.

A retail label was launched in 1995 to release new albums from established and developing artists, including Dar Williams, Graham Parker and Marshall Crenshaw.

Razor & Tie continued to expand their rock signings, and by 2016, with releases by artists including The Pretty Reckless, Starset, All That Remains and Red Sun Rising it had become a leader in the genre.

Releases on Razor & Tie have cumulatively exceeded sales of 45 million physical and digital albums, singles, videos and DVDs.

Balsam grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, graduated from Emory College and earned his law degree from New York University where he met fellow student Cliff Chenfeld.

In 2001, Balsam and Chenfeld launched Kidz Bop, a series of audio releases of kids singing pop hits that are appropriate for children.

Kidz Bop has expanded significantly to include a national tour, merchandise, music videos and a channel on Sirius XM.

Musicians as well as music fans, they played and wrote songs together while pursuing their degrees and continued to collaborate after they had begun working as lawyers.

Following several years of practicing separately at large, corporate firms, Balsam and Chenfeld began to explore the idea of releasing records from the 70s.

It was sold through a late-night television spot presented by The '70s Preservation Society, a fictitious entity that Balsam and Chenfeld had created to market the album.

Living in the 90s, released in 1995, was the label's bestselling album of the period; its success helped to establish Razor & Tie as the largest direct response music company in the United States.

They released new albums by established artists such as Marshall Crenshaw, Joan Baez, and Graham Parker, which allowed Razor & Tie to focus on broadening audiences rather than developing new ones.

Released in December through an "appropriately over the top, tongue-in-cheek" two-minute television spot, an abbreviated version was launched at retail the following June.

[25] In 2000, Balsam and Chenfeld created Kidz Bop, a series of records of kids singing pop hits that are appropriate for children.

Best-selling releases from Sh-K- Boom/Ghostlight have included the original cast recordings of Book of Mormon, Beautiful, In The Heights, Next To Normal, and Legally Blonde.

An alternative leaning label, Washington Square has since released records by artists including MOTHXR, Austin Plaine, Soren Bryce, My Jerusalem, and The Low Anthem.

Analog Spark, an audiophile imprint focused on the reissue of classic, critically acclaimed albums on 180-gram vinyl and SACD, was established in February 2015.

Analog Spark's first releases included titles from Glenn Gould and Dave Brubeck as well as the original cast recordings of My Fair Lady and West Side Story.

[3][33][34] In 2015, Billboard published its inaugural "Greatest of All Time" rankings, a comprehensive collection of the best-selling songs, albums and artists in music history.

Under the new venture, Concord Bicycle will administer Razor & Tie Music Publishing, support the expansion of the Kidz Bop franchise, and provide other strategic resources.

[35] In April 2018, RT Industries, a new label created by Razor & Tie's founders, was launched, acquiring earlier the catalogs of several Warner Music Group artists, including Fat Joe and Sheena Easton.