Label Code: LC 7266 / LC 07266.

Geffen Records was started by David Geffen in 1980. Its first album was Donna Summer's "The Wanderer", its second was "Double Fantasy", the last album by John Lennon (in collaboration with Yoko Ono). It was distributed in the US by and internationally by WEA International Inc. throughout the 1980s. In March 1990, it was announced that David Geffen had sold the label to MCA Records however Geffen remained with WEA as distributor worldwide until 1 January 1991 when contracts expired and distribution moved to MCA or BMG. Any MCA credit is after that date in the US and after March 31, 1991, outside the US (when MCA's own deal with WEA expired). Similarly, any distribution credit for BMG is 1 April 1991 or later with the possible exception of Brazil where WEA had a distribution deal with the local BMG company. If the WEA company is referenced on a Brazilan issue, it is pre-1991.

Geffen also distributed the first incarnation of Rick Rubin’s Def American Recordings through Warner Bros. Records from 1988 to 1990. At the time of its sale, it was the world’s largest independent label to have major-label distribution. In 1999, after the merger between MCA and PolyGram, which created the Universal Music Group, Geffen became a subsidiary of Interscope Records and was merged into the Interscope Geffen A&M division of the Universal Music Group. In 2003, Geffen Records absorbed the entire MCA Records catalog and roster when the MCA name was retired, as was DGC and DreamWorks Records the same year.

In 2017, Geffen was revitalized by Interscope Geffen A&M CEO John Janick and Geffen president Neil Jacobson. Since 2024, Geffen has been a part of Universal Music's newly-consolidated Interscope Capitol Labels Group, which consists of labels belonging to Capitol Records and Interscope Records.

Often credited on releases as "Geffen" or as a stylized "G ball / sphere" brand.

NOTE: Releases with references to both Geffen Records and DGC or David Geffen Company as a label, should be listed under Geffen Records and DGC together.