The label's first release in 1996 was the album
Pansoul by
Motorbass, a project of producers
Etienne de Crecy and Philippe Zdar of
Cassius. De Crecy’s next project,
Superdiscount, was released a year later and is still considered by some as the first album of the
French house genre. With the signing of acts like
The Hacker,
Tiga and
Vitalic the label started to develop a broad electronic artist roster. In 2008 Different Recordings licensed and released the eponymous debut album by
Crystal Castles which was named by the
NME as one of the best albums of the decade with the band featuring on the magazine’s cover twice in one year. In November 2022,
Universal Music Group purchased 49% stake in
[PIAS] (including Different). ==Artists==