Word Entertainment is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records. Word Entertainment represents Francesca Battistelli, for King & Country, Switchfoot, Skillet, Sidewalk Prophets, Chris August, Big Daddy Weave, in addition to many others, and is home to Word Distribution, 25 Live, Word Music Publishing and Word Label Group's Word Records and Fervent Records.
Word Records was founded in Waco, Texas, in 1951 by Jarrell McCracken, Baylor business major Henry SoRelle and radio and television executive Ted Snider.[1] The label's name is based on a 16-minute spoken word recording written and narrated by McCracken, the first recording released by the label, entitled "The Game of Life". The 23-year-old KWTX sportscaster in Waco had read an article by Jimmy Allen, a former athlete who became a Baptist preacher, and based his recording on the article which also is called "The Game of Life".[2] The event is based on a full length match between the forces of Good and Evil with JesusChrist and Satan coaching the two teams.
The label struggled initially until Marvin Norcross became an equity partner. By 1954, Word had become a publishing house as well.[2]
Several subsidiary labels were started over the years: Canaan Records in the sixties, Myrrh Records (1972)[3] and DaySpring Records in 1977, and Rejoice Records in the eighties. Two of these labels no longer exist today in their original form. The Myrrh Label was resurrected in 2005 as a praise and worship record label: Myrrh Worship.[3]
From 1984 to 1990, Word was distributed in the general market by A&M Records and then by Epic Records until 2002.
In 1992, Capital Cities ABC sold Word to Thomas Nelson, Inc. for $72 Million,[4] and Nelson made two major changes—developing the present swirling W logo for book products which was unveiled in 1995, and also moving its headquarters from Waco, Texas, to its present headquarters in Nashville. Nelson split the record label and book publishing arms in 1996 when the labels were sold to Gaylord Entertainment.[5][6][7] In an agreement with Gaylord, Thomas Nelson continued to use the "Word Publishing" name for its book imprint until 2002, at which time it became "W Publishing Group" and retained the swirling W logo. A highly controversial ad campaign introduced at the CBA convention in 2002 created litigation, settled later.
After Colin Reed took over Gaylord Entertainment in 2001,[citation needed] the hotelier made corporate changes at the company, including the ousting of longstanding president Roland Lundy, and sold off the Word Entertainment group to then-AOL Time Warner in 2002.[8] In 2002, former Atlantic Records Christian division manager Barry Landis briefly took the position of president of the label group division. Word went through a period of restructuring, closing their Los Angeles music publishing office, absorbing Myrrh Records, Squint Entertainment, and Everland Entertainment into the Word Label Group, and reducing in-house staff.[9]Curb Records also gained a stake in the company during this time. In 2004, the company was sold again as part of Time Warner divestiture of its music division, selling it to a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman to form a newly independent Warner Music Group. Canaan Records was re-opened in early 2007 with Dave Clark at the helm. Canaan Records was eventually shuttered.
In March 2016, it was announced that Mike Curb acquired 100 percent of Word Entertainment (excluding the print music division, which was eventually sold to The Lorenz Corporation) from Warner Music Group.[10] WMG has continued to distribute Word's output for the general market. Also in 2016, it was announced that Joseph Prielozny, the former Reach Records producer, would be in charge of the hip-hop imprint which is to be called 4 Against 5. They announced the name of the imprint when they signed Steven Malcolm to their roster.
Warner Music Group Corp. is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment (SME). Formerly part of Time Warner, WMG was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 2005 until 2011, when it announced its privatization and sale to Access Industries. It later had its second IPO on Nasdaq in 2020, once again becoming a public company. With a multibillion-dollar annual turnover, WMG employs more than 3,500 people and has operations in more than 50 countries throughout the world.
Horizon Records was an American independent record label founded in 1962 by Dave Hubert.
Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records.
Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 1982, by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton.
Canaan Records is a Christian record label and is a subsidiary of Word Entertainment.
Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, RiverSong, StarSong, Power Discs and Home Sweet Home. In the 1970s, Impact became the top label with artists such as New Dawn, the Imperials, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet, the Rambos, Dottie Rambo, the Archers, the Bill Gaither Trio, the Speer Family and Sandi Patty.
Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. is a hotel, resort, entertainment, and media company named after National Historic Landmark the Ryman Auditorium, built as a tabernacle by Captain Thomas G. Ryman in 1892 and later the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. The hospitality group was founded by Edward Gaylord. Prior to its public ownership, it was previously a subsidiary of the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Publishing Company, which was formerly owned by the Gaylord family for 71 years until 2011. The OPUBCO company was once the longtime publisher of the Daily Oklahoman newspaper. Until 2012, the company was known as Gaylord Entertainment Company, and earlier as Gaylord Broadcasting Company. The company has operated as a real estate investment trust since October 1, 2012.
Russell Taff is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contemporary country music, and rhythm and blues. He first gained recognition as lead vocalist for the Imperials (1976–81). One of his best-known performances is the song "Praise the Lord". He has also been a member of the Gaither Vocal Band, and occasionally tours with Bill Gaither in the Gaither Homecoming concerts. As a solo artist and songwriter, Taff is known for the 1980s anthem "We Will Stand". Taff has received various Dove and Grammy awards either as a solo artist or part of a larger musical group, most notably the Imperials.
Michael English is an American Christian singer and record producer. Initially, he was a member of his family's singing group, and later a member of The Gaither Vocal Band. During his solo career, he recorded eight studio albums. English's highest-charting solo single was "Your Love Amazes Me", which reached No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1996.
Chris Christian (born Lon Christian Smith on February 7, 1951 is an American songwriter, record producer, and a record label executive. His songs have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Olivia Newton-John, Hall and Oates, Natalie Cole, Sheena Easton, The Pointer Sisters, Al Jarreau, The Carpenters, Amy Grant, Patti Austin, Dionne Warwick, America, the Imperials, B.J. Thomas, B W Stevenson, Marilyn McCoo, Dan Peek, Cheryl Ladd, Jane Olivor, Sandi Patti, Pat Boone, Ali Lohan, Donnie Osmond, and others.
Heart Warming was a gospel record label started by John T. Benson Jr. Heart Warming and their chief rival Canaan Records were arguably the two biggest and best gospel labels in their time. The Oak Ridge Boys, Jd Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, Jake Hess & The Imperials, Dottie Rambo, Bill Gaither Trio and Speer Family all signed to it and had many recordings on it. The Cathedral Quartet produced two of their most popular albums on it With Brass and With Strings.
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Z Music Television was a Christian-oriented cable television channel with a music video format similar to that of MTV, and, in its earliest days, direct marketing appeals similar to The Home Shopping Network. Their programming, largely music videos with some documentaries, interstitial "Z Buzz" news updates, and media related shows, was characterized as being aimed at "12-to 54-year olds." Unlike style oriented channels such as Country Music Television, they were not limited to a particular musical genre; they played the full spectrum of Contemporary Christian music from reggae to country music. Z Music Television closed in 2000.
Myrrh Records was an American Christian music record label.
The 16th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on 1985 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1984. The show was held in Nashville, Tennessee.
The 14th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on 1983 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1982. The show was held in Nashville, Tennessee.
Kim Boyce Koreiba is an American Christian music singer. She is best known for her 1990s hit By Faith. She was Miss Manatee and Miss Florida 1983 and competed at Miss America 1984.
The 52nd Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation ceremony was held on Tuesday, October 19, 2021 at the Allen Arena located in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony recognized the accomplishments of musicians and other figures within the Christian music industry for the year 2021. The awards show was aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network on Friday, October 22, 2021.
References
↑ The Vernon Daily Record, Tue, December 4, 1951, Page 3
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