Everest Records

Everest Records is a Canadian-American record label that is the main flagship label of the Everest Music Group. The label was founded in 1989 by Christopher Sharp, Jan Burkett, and Martin Sasaki in,. By 1993, the label's headquarters were moved to,.

During its first few years of success, the label was the haven of many acts from diverse genres - including hard rock, blues, R&B, synth-pop and dance music - at a time when all the majors were investing the majority of their financial efforts on grunge, alternative rock, hip-hop and adult contemporary acts. By the mid-1990s, Everest Records began seeing major chart success with hip-hop, teen pop, and alternative rock acts. In 1995, it established a country music division, Everest Nashville (headquartered in ), and in 1998 it established a Latin music division, Everest Latina (headquartered in, ).

Everest Records and the other labels of the Everest Music Group are among the largest and most influential independent record labels in history, and has been referred to as "a success story", with Ann-Marie Mullins of The Beacon saying "Sharp turned Everest from a tiny Canadian indie label into something that rivaled even the most powerful major labels."

Early years
In early 1988, Christopher Sharp, a successful businessman within the Canadian music industry, met Jan Burkett, a talent scout, agent, and manager who was then employed by Sjoerd Broekhuizen Presents and served as the manager for the It's the Paul Taylor Program! cast, as well as a North American manager for several English comedians.

Sharp and Burkett, along with radio personality Martin Sasaki as a business partner, formed Everest Records in, in 1989 with a start-up investment of $16,000 provided by Burkett's employer. Everest's debut release was Make Your Own, an album by -based political hardcore punk band Freedom Seed.