Started by David Geffen in 1980, it was distributed by Warner Records until 1991, when David Geffen sold the label to MCA Records.

In 1999, after the merger between MCA and PolyGram to create the Universal Music Group, Geffen became a subsidiary of Interscope/Universal Records and was absorbed into the Geffen-A&M-Interscope division of the Universal Music Group.

In 2003, Geffen Records absorbed the entire MCA Records catalogue when the MCA name was retired.