Interscope Records is an American recording company that is a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, whose parent company is the Universal Music Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi S.A.. Interscope was founded in 1989 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Time Warner's Atlantic Records. At the time, it differed from most record companies by giving decision-making authority to its A&R staff, and allowing artists and producers complete creative control. It had its first hit records less than a year after it was founded and achieved profitability in 1993.