Universal Motown Records was an American

record label 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 produ ...

that operated as a division of

Universal Motown Republic Group Universal Motown Republic Group (UMRG) was an umbrella label founded in 1999 by Universal Music Group to oversee the labels assigned to its unit. UMRG was formed in 1999 by pooling together Universal Records, Motown Records, and Republic Records, ...

. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

label, and the "

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

" half of UMG, although there were some

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

artists on the label (along with its sub-labels) as well.

Background

In 2005, Motown Records was merged with the urban artists on

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

to create Universal Motown Records, headed by former CEO of Elektra Records Sylvia Rhone, and placed under the newly created umbrella division of

. Motown Records began celebrating its fiftieth anniversary (January 12, 2009) in late 2008, including the release of a ''The Complete No. 1's'' boxset containing Motown #1 hits from ''Billboard's'' pop, R&B, and disco charts, reissues of classic-era Motown albums on CD, and other planned events, which were released in collaboration with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

's catalog division. Changes were made at Universal Motown Republic Group in 2011, and Motown Records was separated from Universal Motown Records and the umbrella label and merged into

The Island Def Jam Music Group The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

, making

Universal Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an i ...

(now shortened back to Republic Records as of late 2012) a stand-alone label and shutting down Universal Motown Republic Group.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Record labels established in 2005 Record labels disestablished in 2011 American record labels Labels distributed by Universal Music Group Motown