Jem Records (also known as JEM Records) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

record label that existed from 1970 to 1988, at the time principally known as the parent company of

Passport Records Passport Records was a U.S.-based independent record label that existed between 1973 and 1988. It was notable for popularizing such artists as Larry Fast, FM, Richard Barone, and Wendy O. Williams. It was distributed by Jem Records in the United ...

. The label was resurrected in 2013 as Jem Recordings.

History

Jem Records, based on

South Plainfield, New Jersey South Plainfield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the bo ...

, was founded in 1970 by college friends Jeff Tenenbaum, Ed Grossi, and Marty Scott, also known as Martin L. Scott. Scott was attending

Franklin and Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Frankli ...

, while Tenenbaum was attending

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and Grossi was attending

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

.Interview: Excavating Jem with Marty Scott

The Second Disc ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

. Retrieved 2013-08-27. The label name is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for the first letters of the first names of the three founders of the label. The company was formed to sell imported records from Europe. Julia Flynn Siler
Business People: Jem Records president confident despite woes
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 22, 1988. Retrieved 2013-08-20. The motivation for establishing the label was when co-founder Marty Scott discovered that he could only obtain the album '' Direct Hits'', by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, by importing it from England. The co-founders also imported foreign releases of records by US artists and sold them at their respective colleges. Jem's most successful deal was the licensing from

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

of the right to import ''

Cheap Trick at Budokan ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' is the first live album by American rock band Cheap Trick, and their best-selling recording. It was first released in Japan on October 8, 1978, and later released in the United States on February 1979, through Epic Reco ...

'', which at the time was only available in the United States as an import from Japan. As a result of this success, Epic Records delayed release of the next Cheap Trick studio album, ''

Dream Police ''Dream Police'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick. It was released in 1979, and was their third release in a row produced by Tom Werman. It is the band's most commercially successful studio album, going to No. 6 on t ...

'' and released ''Budokan'' domestically, to great success. "

I Want You to Want Me "I Want You to Want Me" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick. It is originally from their second album '' In Color'', released in September 1977. It was the first single released from that album, but it did not chart in the United S ...

", from the album, became the band's breakout single.Jem Recordings
What is Jem Recordings?
www.jemrecordings.com. Retrieved 2013-08-25. Another notable success was importing ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

'' soundtrack album. The record, released in 1975, had been deleted everywhere but in Canada. Marty Scott contracted with

Lou Adler Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Ro ...

, whose label,

Ode Records Ode Records (also known as Ode Sounds and Visuals) was an American record label, started by Lou Adler in 1967 after he sold Dunhill Records to ABC Records. It was distributed by CBS's Epic Records except between 1970 and 1976, when the label was ...

, had originally released the album, to distribute Canadian copies, under a production and distribution license in the US. Jem Records also released in the United States the first albums by

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

, and

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

. These were licensed from foreign labels. Jem Records was also the exclusive US distributor for such labels as

WEA International Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

EG Records E.G. Records was a British artist management company and independent record label, mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s. The initials stood for its founders, David Enthoven and John Gaydon. The pair signed on as managers of King Crimson in ...

, and the Virgin International division of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. The company's principal record label was

, which it formed in 1973, in partnership with the Sire Records Group. Concurrently with the founding of Passport Records, the company established an alternate record distribution network, with warehouses on both the East and West coasts of the US. The Passport Records partnership was dissolved in 1977, when Sire Records was acquired by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. Jem operated Passport Records on its own, thereafter. Jem Records went public in 1984, with its initial public offering meeting with mixed success, resulting in a reduction in the offering price. At the same time, the import and distribution activities of Jem Records were negatively affected by the loss of a copyright lawsuit brought by T.B. Harms Music. Prior to this judgement, Jem Records had not been paying royalties on imported records. Jem Records went from reported net income of approximately $391,000 on sales of approximately $14 million in 1984 to a loss of approximately $225,000 on sales of approximately $16 million in 1985. In early 1987 Passport Records separated from Jem Records, to be led as a separate operation by Marty Scott. Tenenbaum and Grossi left soon afterwards. They sold their shares to

John Matarazzo John Matarazzo is an American musician, composer, producer and performer. He has worked with artists including Bill Laswell, Blood Sweat & Tears, Bob Dylan, Ike & Tina Turner, Sly & The Family Stone, Ravi Shankar, Herbie Hancock, Daniela Mercury ...

, who became chairman and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, owning 40% of the equity. Also in 1987, Jem Records signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to sell its distribution and record operations to

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...

. In 1988, Enigma declined to complete the transaction. Jem Records subsequently went bankrupt, in 1988. In 2013 Marty Scott resurrected the label, as Jem Recordings, with a focus on signing new artists and licensing older recordings for release under the label.Marty Scott resurrects JEM Records
All Access Music Group. Retrieved 2013-08-20. The first release of the reconstituted label was announced as

The Bongos The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

' ''Phantom Train'', recorded in 1986 and remixed in 2013 by

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...

. Richard Ross
Flash: Marty Scott resurrects Jem Recordings; Legendary lost album from The Bongos to be label's first release
Popdose, July 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-24.

References

{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1970 Companies based in Middlesex County, New Jersey South Plainfield, New Jersey New Jersey record labels Record labels disestablished in 1988 Record labels established in 2013