Essential Records is a

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it i ...

record label based in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

. It is a division of the major label

Sony Music Nashville Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Nashville, and RCA Nashville, as well as ...

History

It was established in 1992 and acquired by

Brentwood Music Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) (formerly known as EMI Christian Music Group) is an American music group that, since 2013, is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Capitol CMG is in the Ch ...

in 1993. The label's first big hit release was "

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

" by Jars of Clay in 1996. The song was a hit on mainstream radio before hitting on Christian formats; it hit No. 12 on the

Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and appeared in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Today it is part of the

, a division of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Artists

Current

The current roster of artists: *

Branan Murphy Branan Murphy (born August 13, 1986) is a pop vocalist, rapper, songwriter and producer signed to Paravel Records / Dream Records. Career Henry “Hank” Branan Murphy grew up in Louisville, GA, first listening to The Beach Boys as a kid and ...

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They late ...

* Elle Limebear * Jamie Kimmett * KB (Essential Sound/ Provident) * Land of Color * Matt Maher * Matthew West *

One Sonic Society One Sonic Society is a contemporary worship music collective from around the globe. That collective is composed of songwriter Jason Ingram on vocals, guitar and piano, Delirious? Delirious? (formerly known as The Cutting Edge Band) were an ...

* Red Rocks Worship * Rhett Walker * Tauren Wells * Elevation Worship * Vertical Worship * Zach Williams

Former

* Warren Barfield * Brooke Barrettsmith (active) *

Caedmon's Call Caedmon's Call is a contemporary Christian band which fused traditional folk with world music and alternative rock. They were composed of Cliff Young (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Danielle Young (vocals), Garett Buell (percussion), Jeff ...

(disbanded, formerly with Fair Trade Services) * Andy Cherry (active) * Day of Fire (inactive)Jesusfreakhideout.com: Day Of Fire Discography, Day Of Fire Artist Database, Day Of Fire Lyrics
jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved April 29, 2011. * FFH (inactive) * Mia Fieldes * Fireflight (active, with RockFest Records) * Brian Goodell *

Grey Holiday Grey Holiday was a four-member American Christian rock band from Austin, Texas. The band was signed to Essential Records. Band members included Matthew Minor (vocals, keys, guitar), Steven Bedingfield (guitar, electronics, programming), R.T. Bod ...

(disbanded) * Jars of Clay (active, with Gray Matters) * J Monty (active, independent) *

KJ-52 Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino (born June 26, 1975), better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac,"

(active, with BEC Records) * Los Caminos (inactive) * Leeland (active, with Integrity Music) * Krystal Meyers (inactive) * The Neverclaim * Bebo Norman (active, with BEC Records) *

Paul Colman Trio Paul Colman Trio (often stylised as pc3) are an Australian contemporary Christian music group formed in 1998, composed of Paul Colman on lead vocals and guitars, Phil Gaudion on drums and vocals, and Grant Norsworthy on bass guitar and vocals. ...

(solo act/disbanded) * Chuckie Perez (active, independent) * Andrew Peterson (active, with

Centricity Music Centricity Music is an American contemporary Christian music record label that was founded in Washington. The label's roster includes artists such as Lauren Daigle, Jordan Feliz, Jason Gray, North Point Worship, Andrew Peterson and NEEDTOBREATH ...

) *

Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

(active) * Plumb (active, with

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

) * Red (active, independent) *

Revive Revive or Revived may refer to: * Revival, especially bringing back to life * Revive (video gaming), resurrecting a defeated character. Music * Revive (band), a Christian rock band * ''Revive'', classical album by Elīna Garanča 2016 * ''Revive' ...

(disbanded) * Kerrie Roberts (active, with

Reunion 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. History The label was formed by Amy Grant' ...

) * The Royal Royal (active) * Royal Tailor (disbanded) * Tal & Acacia (active) * Tenth Avenue North (disbanded) *

Third Day Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...

(disbanded) * True Vibe (disbanded) * V*Enna (disbanded) * Rhett Walker Band (disbanded) *

I Am They I Am They is an American Christian music band from Carson City, Nevada, formed in 2011. The band consists of five members and was first signed to Essential Records (Christian), Essential Records. Their I Am They (album), self-titled debut album w ...

(Big Future Music Group/Truss Records)

References

External links

* {{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1992 Christian record labels Sony Music