RCA/Jive Label Group

Last updated
RCA/Jive Label Group
RCA-JIVE label group logo.gif
Parent company Sony Music Entertainment
FoundedJanuary 2009;15 years ago (January 2009)
DefunctJuly 2011;13 years ago (July 2011)
StatusDefunct
Distributor(s)Sony Music Entertainment
GenreVarious
Country of origin United States
Location New York, NY
Official website http://www.sonymusic.com

RCA/Jive Label Group (sometimes stylized as RCA/JIVE Label Group) was an 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 (LaFace, Battery, etc.) 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.

Contents

History

Formation as BMG

RCA/Jive configuration began as the BMG Label Group during the last year of the Sony BMG merger. The group was officially formed in September 2007 when Bertelsmann Music Group restructured their RCA and Zomba groups into one entity bearing the BMG branding. [1] [2] Bob Anderson and Kevin Twitchell led the sales department for the new group, and John Fleckenstein was named senior VP of international. By early 2008, the BMG Label Group was said to consist of RCA Records, Jive Records, J Records, LaFace, Arista, Volcano Entertainment, Verity, GospoCentric and Fo Yo Soul. [3] [4] In April 2008, Jive head Barry Weiss was promoted to chairman and CEO of the whole BMG Label Group, a position he still held since the groups rebranding. [5] [6] Weiss replaced longtime music exec Clive Davis, who became the Chief Creative Officer. Though some interpreted this move by Sony as a way of shuffling Davis out of the company, he quickly reasserted his position as a hitmaker for Sony working with artists such as Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson. [7]

Rebranding to RCA/Jive Label Group

In August 2008, BMG sold their half of the Sony BMG merger back to Sony. [8] Since Bertelsmann retained the use of the "BMG" name, Sony renamed the BMG Label Group to RCA/Jive Label Group in early 2009, [9] while at the same time, the Zomba Label Group officially began the process of rebranding to Jive Label Group. [10] [11] During 2009, branding for both Zomba Label Group and Jive Label Group linked to the same website while RCA/Jive seemed to eschew the Zomba name, suggesting that the branding was in process during this time. By early 2010, the Zomba site was completely reworked as the rebranding process was completed. [12] Following the restructuring, Barry Weiss remained head of both RCA/Jive Label Group, and its constituent Jive Label Group. Weiss left the RCA/Jive Label Group in March 2011. [13]

Dissolution

In mid-2011, Sony Music split RCA/Jive Label Group. Staff and artists associated with Jive were moved to a restructured Epic Records which is aimed to focus on (mostly) urban music. RCA Music Group remained on its own, and even took on some of the non-urban artist from Jive, such as notable pop superstar Britney Spears. [14] L.A. Reid became Chairman and CEO of Epic Records and Peter Edge became Chairman and CEO of RCA Music Group. [13]

Structure

Though the RCA/Jive Label Group was often mentioned in press releases, and the entity often appeared as a copyright and phonograph rights holder on actual releases (this changed recently as of 2010, with each individual label being credited as itself on phonograph rights), it had a less public presence and no known website. Instead, both the RCA Music Group and the Jive Label Group operate as standalone units, but shared back-office functions and reported to CEO Barry Weiss. RCA/Jive consisted of several flagship record labels, which originally formed part of BMG before being absorbed into Sony's operations.

RCA Music Group

RCA Music Group
RCAMusicGroupLogo.jpeg
Parent company Sony Music Entertainment
FoundedMarch 2004 (March 2004)
Distributor(s)RCA/Jive Label Group
GenreVarious
Country of origin United States
Location New York, NY
Official website Official website

RCA Music Group was created by BMG in March 2004 shortly after the formation of Zomba Label Group. [15] It became a part of the BMG Label Group along with Zomba, and remained unscathed after the rebranding. The group continued its operations following the dissolution of its parent group in 2011. During the existence of the RCA/Jive Label Group, the RCA Music Group consisted of the following labels:

Jive Label Group

Jive Label Group
Jivelg.gif
Parent company Sony Music Entertainment
Founded2004;20 years ago (2004)
GenreVarious
Country of origin United States
Location New York, NY
Official website Official website

Jive Label Group is a music group which formed half of the RCA/Jive Label Group, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Jive Label Group was founded in 2004 as Zomba Label Group by BMG, their parent company at the time. In January 2009. BMG sold their half of the Sony BMG merger to Sony and Zomba Label Group was rebranded to the current Jive Label Group. [11] [16]

During the existence of the RCA/Jive Label Group, the Jive Label Group consisted of the following labels:

From 2004 until 2009, Jive Label Group was known as Zomba Label Group. Zomba label group.jpg
From 2004 until 2009, Jive Label Group was known as Zomba Label Group.

History

In late 2002, Zomba completed a US$2.74 billion transaction that required BMG to purchase the remaining shares of the Zomba Group of Companies. When BMG began their integration of Zomba labels into their operations, they created the Zomba Label Group in early 2004. Initially the group consisted of LaFace, Volcano, Silvertone and Jive, though later expanded to include other labels. In 2005, Zomba Label Group created a gospel division called Zomba Gospel to collate their gospel interests at the time. The group primarily consisted of GospoCentric Records and Verity Records, but also included some artist-owned imprints. After being shuffled under Sony in late 2008, the Zomba Label Group began rebranding to the Jive Label Group. Additionally, Zomba Gospel was rebranded as the Verity Gospel Music Group. In mid-2011, Jive Label Group was separated from the RCA Music Group and joined Epic Records under the newly formed Epic Label Group. Because of the stylistic focus of the new group (largely urban music), some of Jive's non-urban artists, such as Britney Spears, stayed with RCA Records. [13]

Artists

List of RCA Records artists

Discography

The record labels under RCA/Jive have been releasing material since before the entity's existence. For detailed discographies of those labels, please visit their respective pages. For a list of releases which contain RCA/Jive as the copyright holder, see: RCA/Jive Label Group discography.

Personnel

NamePositionTenure
Anderson, BobHead of salesSeptember 2007–July 2011
Davis, Clive CEO
September 2007-April 2008
Fleckenstein, JohnSenior VP, InternationalSeptember 2007–July 2011
Thea, PeterExecutive Vice PresidentApril 1999–July 2011
Twitchell, KevinHead of salesSeptember 2007–July 2011
Weiss, Barry CEO/ChairmanApril 2008–March 2011

See also

Related Research Articles

<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 owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.

Arista Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music Group, the North American division of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Founded in November 1974 by Clive Davis and deactivated in 2011, Arista was re-established in 2018. Along with RCA Records, Columbia Records, and Epic Records, it is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels.

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

Jive Records was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of 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.

<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.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout of the remaining 50% held by Bertelsmann. BMG was instead rebuilt as BMG Rights Management on the basis of 200 remaining artists.

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

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

<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 at the end of their merger. 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</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.

Clive Ian Calder is a South African-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.

GospoCentric Records was an Inglewood, California based Gospel music record label, started as an independent label by Vicki Mack Lataillade and Claude Lataillade in 1993. The label rose to prominence in the 1990s, largely on the runaway success of gospel artist Kirk Franklin. The label has grown to become one of the most prominent major gospel labels. GospoCentric later spawned the imprint B-Rite Music, which was used to launch artists like Trin-i-tee 5:7 and God's Property who found considerable mainstream success. GospoCentric was purchased by Zomba Music Group in the mid 2000s, which also owned the major gospel label Verity Records. GospoCentric has since been defunct, and the purchase now led to the record label RCA Inspiration which is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

Provident Entertainment is a division of Sony Music headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and focused primarily on Christian music. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity service.

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

Barry Weiss is an American music executive. He co-founded the record label RECORDS in 2015, an imprint of Sony Music Entertainment which specializes in young recording artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battery Records (hip hop)</span> Record label

Battery Records was a hip-hop label started by Neil Levine under Zomba Label Group, which is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was launched mid-2008 by Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The label primarily focuses on new talent, often overseeing early-stage development for acts that are destined for other labels such as J Records or Jive. However, it also serves established artists looking for non-traditional deals, such as releasing Q-Tip's solo album Kamaal the Abstract, which had been shelved nearly seven years prior. In September 2011 Levine left Battery before Jive shut down in the following month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battery Records (dance)</span> Record label

Battery Records was an American record label that served as the dance sublabel of Jive Records, and was active for a short time during the mid-1990s. The label was mostly known for releasing music by the Swedish Eurodance group Rednex in North America, namely its novelty hit "Cotton Eye Joe", as well as Insane Clown Posse's third studio album, Riddle Box. The Battery Records name was later revived by Sony Music Entertainment in 2008 with a focus on hip hop music.

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.

<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. Walsh, Chris M. (September 8, 2007). "RCA, Zomba merge". Billboard . 119 (36): 5.
  2. "BMG Label Group re-organizes business, legal, affairs, finance, production". HITS Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. June 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  3. Gallo, Phil (April 17, 2008). "BMG shakes up executives". Variety.com. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  4. Christman, Ed (April 26, 2008). "Barry's Big Day". Billboard . 120 (17): 10.
  5. Broven, John (2009). Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press. pp.  229. ISBN   978-0-252-03290-5.
  6. Moody, Nekesa Mumbi (April 18, 2008). "Clive Davis replaced by Barry Weiss as BMG head". USAToday.com . Gannett Co. Inc. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  7. Lauria, Peter (October 10, 2008). "Sony Music turns to Davis for Hit$". NYPost.com . NYP Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
  8. Hefflinger, Mark (August 5, 2008). "Bertelsmann Sells Stake in Sony BMG for $1.2 Billion". DMWMedia.com. Digital Media Wire, Inc. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  9. Gallo, Phil (January 14, 2009). "Keith Naftaly joins RCA/Jive". Variety.com. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  10. Billboard Staff (June 1, 2009). "UJA To Honor RCA/Jive Chief Barry Weiss". Billboard.biz. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  11. 1 2 "Zomba Now Jive". Hits Daily Double. January 25, 2009.
  12. "Zomba Label Group - Jive Records - LaFace Records". ZombaLabelGroup.com. Zomba Label Group LLC. Archived from the original on 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  13. 1 2 3 alex (21 April 2018). "Billboard biz". Billboard. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  14. Singersroom (28 June 2011). "Britney Spears Cuts Ties with Longtime Record Label, JIVE Records" . Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  15. "Big changes for BMG North America". TourDates.co.uk. TourDates.co.uk. March 25, 2004. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  16. Billboard Staff (June 1, 2009). "UJA To Honor RCA/Jive Chief Barry Weiss". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-12-02.