Universal Republic Records was an American record label, that operated as a division of Universal Music Group. It was based on the then-defunct Republic Records label founded by brothers Monte and Avery Lipman. In the summer of 2011, changes were made at one of the three Universal Music Group umbrella labels, Universal Motown Republic Group, and Motown Records was separated from Universal Motown Records (causing it to shut down and transfer its artists to either Motown Records or Universal Republic Records) and the umbrella label and merged into The Island Def Jam Music Group, making Universal Republic Records a stand-alone label and shutting down Universal Motown Republic Group. In mid-2012, the label reverted to its original Republic Records name, making this label defunct.