Hyperion Records is a British classical musicrecord label. Established in 1980, the label was independent until February 2023, when it was acquired by the Universal Music Group. Under Universal, Hyperion is one of the three main classical record labels, alongside Decca and Deutsche Grammophon.
In 2004, Hyperion became embroiled in a legal dispute with Lionel Sawkins, a music editor whose editions of works by Michel-Richard de Lalande had been used in Hyperion's recording of the composer's music. Sawkins sued the company for royalties accruing from his musical copyright in these editions.
Hyperion maintained that the editions were not original compositions and therefore were not subject to copyright, and further that Sawkins did receive payment in the form of a hire fee from the performers for their rental. The case came to court in May 2004, and the judgment went largely in Sawkins's favour.[3] Hyperion appealed in March 2005, and the court upheld the original judgment.[4]
While the damages Sawkins sought were thought to be small, the legal costs of the case were estimated to result in a liability to the company of hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling, making its future uncertain at the time.[5] By 2006, Hyperion had received financial support from musicians, consumers, and composers to enable its survival.[6] Many musicologists criticized this precedent-setting case, including Peter Phillips, the director of the Tallis Scholars and himself a music editor, who said:
"All the music I perform has to be edited, or we couldn't read it. But copyright should be there to reward creativity, not scholarship or diligence. How much an editor did or did not write should never be asked and judged during a million-pound lawsuit involving a small and innovative recording company."[7]
Following the death of Sawkins in September 2025,[8] Hyperion has restored this recording to download and CDR availability.
Acquisition by Universal Music Group
Entries at Companies House show that, on 14 February 2023, ownership of Hyperion moved to Universal Music Operations Limited, the British subsidiary of Universal Music Group (UMG), which later officially announced the acquisition on 15 March 2023,[9] making Hyperion a sister label of Deutsche Grammophon and Decca. In 2023, Universal announced plans for the first-ever streaming availability of Hyperion recordings in the history of the Hyperion brand.[10] With the absorption of Hyperion into Universal Music, Simon Perry remains as managing director of Hyperion.[9]
Hyperion's recordings have won many awards, among them several Gramophone Awards, including Record of the Year in 1996, 1998, 2002, and 2010. Ted Perry was voted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in April 2012.[13]
