Jive Records

Last updated

Jive Records
Jive Records logo.svg
Parent company Sony Music Entertainment
Founded1981;42 years ago (1981) [1]
Founder Clive Calder
DefunctOctober 7, 2011;11 years ago (October 7, 2011)
Status
  • Inactive
Distributor(s) Legacy Recordings (reissues)
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States
Location New York, Chicago
Official website www.jiverecords.com (dead link)

Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, and dance acts in the 1980s and 1990s, along with teen pop and boy bands during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Contents

Jive was acquired by Bertelsmann Music Group in 2002. [2] In 2008, BMG itself was bought out by Sony Music Entertainment. [3] Jive Records thereupon remained a unit wholly owned by Sony up until the label’s dissolution in 2011, when Jive was absorbed into RCA Records.

History

1970s: Beginnings

In 1971, South African businessmen Clive Calder and Ralph Simon began a publishing and management company. It was named Zomba Records and relocated to London, England, four years later; their first client was a young Robert "Mutt" Lange. Zomba originally wanted to avoid record labels to instead focus on their songwriters and producers while allowing other established labels to release the material. [4] Later that decade, the company opened offices in the US, where Calder began a business relationship with Clive Davis, whose Arista Records began releasing material by Zomba artists. [4]

1980s: Formation and early distribution at Arista and RCA

In 1981, Zomba formed Jive Records, whose operations began with the release of British dance and pop music from groups such as Q-Feel, A Flock of Seagulls, and Tight Fit. [1] Its name was inspired by township Jive, a type of music that originated in South Africa. [5] Clive Davis had hoped that Zomba's connection with Mutt Lange would help alleviate the difficulties Arista was having with launching rock acts to success.

By 1982, Calder was introduced to Barry Weiss, a young college graduate who took Calder out to hip-hop clubs in New York City for his job interview with Zomba. [6] Weiss and Calder began grooming musicians for what would eventually become the hip hop group Whodini. [4] After two days, the group created and recorded its hit single "Magic's Wand." While the group would eventually leave Jive, the early success allowed the label to focus on hip-hop artists throughout the 1980s. [1] [7] In 1987, Jive cut distribution ties with Arista, effectively separating them from Davis, who eschewed hip hop music at his label. [8] As the 1980s drew to a close, the label entered a distribution deal with Arista's sister label RCA Records, and it continued to sign hip hop acts including DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Too $hort, Schoolly D, in addition to rap act Kid Rock. [7] [9]

1990s: Hip hop and teen pop

In 1990, Calder bought Simon’s stake in Zomba and became the sole owner of Jive Records. [10] [11] Jive's distribution deal with RCA expired in 1991. At this time, Bertelsmann Music Group acquired a minority share of the label and began to distribute its records directly. [12] Weiss became chief executive of Jive Records that year. [13] Jive opened branches in Chicago and had also become a premier label in the genres of hip hop and R&B with the success of acts like D-Nice, E-40, UGK, A Tribe Called Quest, Hi-Five, KRS-One/Boogie Down Productions, R. Kelly [14] and Aaliyah. In 1996, BMG deepened their relationship with the label by purchasing a 20 percent stake of Jive. [8] By the late 1990s, Jive began signing pop acts Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears. All three acts achieved massive success as the 2000s dawned, becoming the three best-selling acts in the label's history. [15]

2000s: Acquisition by BMG and Sony

In 2002, Calder sold Zomba to BMG for US$2.74 billion, [16] [17] which at the time was the largest-ever acquisition of an independent label with major-label distribution. [18] Calder then announced his resignation from Zomba, but continued to stay on at Jive in a temporary advisory role as Zomba was integrated into BMG. [19] Weiss succeeded Calder as the new head of Zomba. [2] [20] In 2004, BMG merged with Sony Music Entertainment to form Sony BMG. [21] During this time, Jive's management and distribution were restructured under the newly formed Zomba Label Group. [22] Artists who had previously been on LaFace and Arista Records were subsequently absorbed under the Zomba group and placed under the purview of Jive Records’ staff. Thus, artists such as Pink, Usher, and Outkast became de facto Jive artists. Though both physical record sales and teen pop had steadily declined since the early 2000s, the output from Jive’s newer artists — particularly Usher’s Confessions album and Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below — would prove to be profitable successes for Jive. In addition to releasing Spears’ 2007 album Blackout , [23] Jive was now also the home of a solo Justin Timberlake, whose FutureSex/LoveSounds also saw high sales. [24] Other Jive artists at that time included Ciara [25] and Chris Brown. [26] [27]

By early 2008, the BMG Label Group was said to include RCA Records, J Records, LaFace, Arista, Volcano Entertainment, Verity, GospoCentric and Fo Yo Soul — all overseen by Weiss. [28] Later that year, Sony and BMG dissolved its merger, with the former buying out shares of the latter. [29] As a result of Sony's buyout, Jive (along with its BMG sisters RCA and Arista) became a wholly owned unit of a refreshed Sony Music Entertainment. Starting in 2008 Jive was all capital (e.g. JIVE Records), this change started when BMG Label Group was renamed RCA/JIVE Label Group.

2010s: Dormancy

After two decades as president of Jive, Barry Weiss left for Universal Music Group [30] in March 2011. [31] [32] On October 7, 2011, it was announced that Jive, along with Arista and J Records, would be retired to refresh and re-brand RCA Records by not confusing or diluting it with other labels. [33] All retained artists on those labels were then moved to RCA Records. [34] [35] [30]

The label is currently in hibernation, with the distribution of its back catalog handled by Sony Music's Legacy Recordings. Previously, the Jive brand was being exclusively used under the Sony Music France division under the name Jive Epic in France until 2019, when it was absorbed into RCA Records France. [36]

Criticism and controversies

On September 27, 2021, singer R. Kelly was found guilty by a federal jury of acts including bribery and sexual exploitation of a child. [37] Allegations of Kelly’s sexual misconduct had long followed the singer since his early career with Jive in the early 1990s, [38] [13] as well as throughout the 2000s when a video tape surfaced allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sexual acts with a minor and when Kelly was arrested for possession of child pornography. [39] [40] Despite the scandals, Kelly remained signed to Jive’s roster and continued to release albums with the label up to 2010. [13] In 2018, the Washington Post ran a lengthy article alleging industry executives at Jive had been aware of Kelly's sexually abusive behavior towards young women for years, but did nothing about them due to his success as a performer and songwriter. [13] Though the article reported Clive Calder had been warned about Kelly’s behavior as early as 1994, Calder retrospectively told the Post he regretted not having done more at the time, saying "Clearly, we missed something”. [13] Former Jive president Barry Weiss told the newspaper that during his 20 years with the label, he never concerned himself with Kelly's private life, and was unaware of two lawsuits filed against Kelly and the label by women alleging sexual misconduct, suits in which the label had successfully argued it was not liable. [13] Larry Khan, another Jive executive who worked closely with the singer even after viewing the sex tape, similarly implied Kelly’s misconduct was not the label's responsibility. [13]

Discography

Artists

See also

    Zomba Group of Companies

    RCA/Jive Label Group

    List of record labels

    Related Research Articles

    A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label", derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Clive Davis</span> American music executive (born 1932)

    Clive Jay Davis is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000.

    RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Arista Records, and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, classical, rock, hip hop, afrobeat, electronic, R&B, blues, jazz, and country. Its name is derived from the initials of its defunct parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA Records was fully acquired by Bertelsmann in 1987, making it a part of Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and became a part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment after the 2004 merger of BMG and Sony; it was acquired by the latter in 2008, after the dissolution of Sony/BMG and the restructuring of Sony Music. RCA Records is the corporate successor of the Victor Talking Machine Company, founded in 1901, making it the second-oldest record label in American history, after sister label Columbia Records, founded in 1889.

    Arista Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainment, the North American division of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Though the label was founded in November 1974 by Clive Davis, Arista in its current form was re-established in 2018. Along with Epic Records, RCA Records, and Columbia Records, Arista is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertelsmann Music Group</span> American record label

    Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music company was formed as RCA/Ariola International in 1985 as a joint venture to combine the music label activities of RCA's RCA Records division and Bertelsmann's Ariola Records and its associated labels which include Arista Records. It consisted of the BMG Music Publishing company, the world's third largest music publisher and the world's largest independent music publisher, and the 50% share of the joint venture with Sony Music, which established the German American Sony BMG from 2004 to 2008.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Music</span> American multinational music company

    Sony Music Entertainment (SME), simply known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Sony Entertainment and managed by the American umbrella division of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony. It is the recording division half of the Sony Music Group, with the other half being the publishing division, Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV).

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">J Records</span> American record label

    J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 2000 by Clive Davis and was dissolved into RCA Records in 2011.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomba Group of Companies</span> Record label

    The Zomba Group of Companies was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was placed under the RCA/Jive Label Group umbrella. In 2011, the RCA/Jive Label Group was split in half. Multiple Jive Label Group artists were moved to Epic Records while others stayed with Jive as it moved under the RCA Music Group. In October 2011 Jive Records was shut down and their artists were moved to RCA Records.

    BMG Heritage Records was the record label of the BMG Strategic Marketing Group reissue division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment which handled the reissue of recordings first issued on the RCA Victor, Arista, Buddah, Windham Hill and Jive Records, as well as other labels BMG or predecessor companies acquired over the years. It was founded on November 2001 and formally established on January 1, 2002 as the successor company to the Buddha Records reissue label. In 2005, Sony BMG folded BMG Heritage into Legacy Recordings.

    Clive Ian Calder is a South African-born British billionaire record executive and businessman primarily known for co-founding the Zomba Group with Ralph Simon, and its subsidiary Jive Records. As of October 2021, Calder has an estimated net worth of US$5.5 billion.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">RCA/Jive Label Group</span> Short-lived American record label group

    RCA/Jive Label Group was a short-lived American record label group, owned by Sony Music Entertainment and representing the merger of the RCA Music Group and JIVE Label Group. The umbrella group was formed in 2007 under the name BMG Label Group, was rebranded as RCA/Jive Label Group in 2009. In July 2011 it was finally dissolved into two separate labels: the RCA Music Group and Epic Records which took Jive subsidiaries until October 2011 when it retired Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. The artists on those three labels were moved to RCA Records.

    Silvertone Records is a current British record label, owned by Sony Music UK. Originally an independent record label, owned by Clive Calder's Jive Records, which was acquired in time by Bertelsmann Music Group, the original BMG company which would go on to merge with Sony Music, bring the Jive catalogue to Sony as the Zomba Music Group. In 2017, Sony Music UK relaunched the brand as a label for left-field acts, with indie, alt-folk, blues and jazz acts represented in its signings.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Weiss</span> American music executive and producer (born 1959)

    Barry Weiss is an American music executive and producer who is currently an executive with RECORDS, a label he co-founded. He got his start at Clive Calder's Jive Records before working his way up to the head of the RCA/Jive Label Group. While at Jive, Weiss fostered artists like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, NSYNC, Chris Brown, Backstreet Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, and many others. He left the organization in 2011 to join the Universal Music Group prior to co-founding RECORDS in 2015.

    Edward Kwasi Martin, better known as Eddie Martin or Kwasi Jones Martin, is an English musician, songwriter and producer. Martin is the founding member of several production teams and recording groups. He has written and produced for a number of artists, and has his own publishing label called Monastery Music Group.

    RCA Music Group was an umbrella group of labels distributed by Sony Music Entertainment that existed between March 2004 and 2009, and for a short period of time between July 2011 and October 2011 as all RCA Music Group labels were merged with RCA Records.

    RCA Inspiration is a gospel music group operating under Sony Music.

    Peter Edge is an English-American record executive. He is the chairman and CEO of RCA Records.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">LaFace Records</span> Record label

    LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achieved its greatest commercial success during the 1990s, dealing largely in the field of urban music. It was originally distributed by its co-creator Arista Records from 1989 through 2001, after which it was shuttered and absorbed into Arista. In 2004, the label was rebooted, and it began operating through Jive Records until both were absorbed into RCA Records in 2011. Today, the label's back catalog and reissues are managed by Legacy Recordings.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Malan, Rian (July 25, 2002). "The $3 Billion Man: Clive Calder". Rolling Stone . Vol. 901. pp. 26, 28.
    2. 1 2 Brandle, Lars; Christman, Ed; Spahr, Wolfgang (April 5, 2003). "BMG 2002 Profits Up; Zomba Cuts Begin". Billboard . p. 7.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    3. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (October 2, 2008). "Sony Buys Out Bertelsmann, Ending Sony BMG". Rolling Stone .{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    4. 1 2 3 Knopper, Steve (2009). Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age . New York: Free Press. pp.  80–104. ISBN   978-1-4165-5215-4.
    5. ↑ "History of Zomba Records Ltd". Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
    6. ↑ Newman, Melinda (April 25, 2008). "BMG's Weiss brings in business savvy". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    7. 1 2 Goldstein, Patrick (June 19, 1988). "A Rappin' Big Year for Little Jive Records". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    8. 1 2 Seabrook, John (2015). "6 | Martin Sandberg's Terrible Secret". The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN   9780393241938 . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
    9. ↑ "Kid Rock". Biography. Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    10. ↑ White, Adam; Newman, Melinda (May 5, 2001). "The Untold Saga of the Zomba Group". Billboard . Vol. 113, no. 18. pp. 1, 98–100. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
    11. ↑ "Jive Talking". Forbes. March 19, 2001.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    12. ↑ Holson, Laura M. (June 12, 2002). "BMG to Buy Rest of Zomba, The Home Of Pop Stars". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
    13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Edgers, Geoff (May 4, 2018). "How the music industry overlooked R. Kelly's alleged abuse of young women". Washington Post . Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    14. ↑ McAdams, Janine (November 14, 1992). "Jive Records Jibing in R&B Arena". Billboard . Vol. 104, no. 46. pp. 20, 23. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
    15. ↑ Paoletta, Michael (October 30, 1999). "Jive Rides Teen-pop Wave: Trend-savvy Label Looks Beyond Legal Tangles". Billboard . pp. 1, 72.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    16. ↑ Leeds, Jeff (July 23, 2007). "Oops! ...They Did It Again". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    17. ↑ Arango, Tim (November 27, 2002). "BMG GETS FLEECED – SHELLS OUT $2.74B FOR ZOMBA, WITHOUT CALDER". New York Post . Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    18. ↑ Green, Tim (March 3, 2020). "'This business is about what's coming next. It always has been.'". Music Business Worldwide.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    19. ↑ Benz, Matthew; Horwitz, Carolyn (December 7, 2002). "BMG's New Task: Maintaining Zomba's Culture, Creativity". Billboard . Vol. 114, no. 49. pp. 3, 4. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
    20. ↑ Christman, Ed (August 7, 2004). "Sony BMG". Billboard . Vol. 116, no. 32. p. 68.
    21. ↑ Willis, Barry (August 9, 2004). "Done Deal: Sony BMG". Stereophile. Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    22. ↑ Dansby, Andrew (January 14, 2004). "L.A. Reid Exits Arista". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    23. ↑ Ollison, Rashod D. (October 27, 2007). "Britney's back, breathy as ever". Baltimore Sun .
    24. ↑ "Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds Enters the Billboard Top 200 as the #1 Album in the Country". Sony Music Entertainment . September 20, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    25. ↑ "Ciara Pleas To Be Released From Jive". MTV News. February 15, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    26. ↑ Hildebrand, Lee (October 1, 2006). "Brown runs with it". SF Gate . Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    27. ↑ Wang, Amy X. (March 6, 2020). "At Work With Barry Weiss, CEO of RECORDS". Rolling Stone .{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    28. ↑ Christman, Ed (April 26, 2008). "Barry's Big Day" (PDF). Billboard . p. 10.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    29. ↑ Hefflinger, Mark (August 5, 2008). "Bertelsmann Sells Stake in Sony BMG for $1.2 Billion". Digital Media Wire. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    30. 1 2 Perpetua, Matthew (October 7, 2011). "RCA Folds Arista, Jive and J Records". Rolling Stone . Retrieved June 22, 2021.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    31. ↑ "Barry Weiss Exits RCA/Jive". HITS Daily Double. March 2, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    32. ↑ "Universal Music Hires Sony Executive Barry Weiss". Bloomberg Businessweek . Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
    33. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (October 7, 2011). "RCA Execs Confirm Jive and Arista Labels Shut Down". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    34. ↑ Szalai, Georg (August 8, 2011). "Peter Edge Named CEO of Sony's RCA Music Group". Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    35. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (July 12, 2011). "L.A. Reid's First Week at Epic Has Some Staffers Feeling 'Energized'". Billboard . Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    36. ↑ "Labels - Sony Music - France". Sony Music France. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
    37. ↑ Clifford, Tyler; Cohen, Luc (September 28, 2021). "R. Kelly convicted of luring women, underage girls for sex". Reuters . Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    38. ↑ Closson, Troy (August 30, 2021). "In R. Kelly Trial, the Verdict May Hinge on a Circle of Enablers". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    39. ↑ DeRogatis, Jim; Pallasch, Abdon M. (February 8, 2002). "City police investigate R&B singer R. Kelly in sex tape". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on February 12, 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
    40. ↑ Susman, Gary (January 23, 2003). "R. Kelly is arrested on porn charges...again". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved September 28, 2021.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

    Bibliography

    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.