A specialty record label which started as a record shop in 1973 and became a label in 1978. They struggled to get their records distributed, but in 1986 they signed a 6-year distribution deal with Capitol Records.

In 1989, Rhino and EMI jointly purchased Roulette Records, where Rhino received the US rights.

When the distribution deal with Capitol ended in 1992, Rhino signed a new distribution deal with Warner, and in turn Time Warner bought a 50% stake in the company. In 1998, Time Warner bought the other half of Rhino and the company became a wholly-owned unit of Time Warner. In 1999, they formed the 'Rhino Handmade' imprint of limited edition reissues.