Imperial Records - Wikipedia Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. [1] The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group . Contents 1 Early years to 1979 2 1990s to present 3 Label variations 4 Imperial Records artists (1947-1970)