The Zomba Group of Companies (sometimes referred to as Zomba Music Group or just Zomba Group) was a music group and division owned by and operated under
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 Entertainment ...
. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was placed under the
RCA/Jive Label Group
RCA/Jive Label Group was a short-lived 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, ...
umbrella. In 2011, the RCA/Jive Label Group was split in half. Multiple Jive Label Group artists were moved to
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 ...
while others stayed with Jive as it moved under the
RCA Music Group
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 ...
. In October 2011 Jive Records was shut down and their artists were moved to
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
.
Founded independently in the mid-seventies by
Clive Calder
Clive Ian Calder (born 13 December 1946) is a South African-born 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 ...
and
Ralph Simon Ralph Simon, FRSA, is a business executive, first in the music industry, and now in the mobile entertainment industry.
Early life
He was raised in Johannesburg, South Africa where he went to the University of the Witwatersrand, and left South Afri ...
, the group has had interests in music release, distribution, production, publishing, equipment rental, recording studios, and artist management. Though the financial structure and annual revenue of Zomba during the company's independent period was only known to
CEO Clive Calder
Clive Ian Calder (born 13 December 1946) is a South African-born 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 ...
(the company was registered privately offshore in the
Dutch Antilles
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
), Zomba was widely regarded as the most successful of the
independent music companies.
The group is perhaps best known for its role in developing some of the most popular forms of music, such as
hip-hop in the 1980s, and the
teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...
/
boy band phenomenon in the late 1990s through their first record label
Jive, though they have also had substantial activities in both the Christian and gospel music field. Calder and Simon both served as CEOs until 1990 when Calder bought out Simon's share and ran the company himself until 2002. In 2002,
BMG purchased the company and subsequently restructured the labels under the umbrella company Zomba Label Group, which was the most public face of the company. The label group served as a parent for many different labels, including Jive,
Silvertone,
Volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
and
LaFace
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 achie ...
.
Today, the only Zomba labels still in operation are
So So Def Recordings
So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and owned by producer Jermaine Dupri, specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B and bass music. So So Def has managed artists such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, T ...
,
Music for Nations
Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment.
Launched i ...
,
Silvertone and Christian focused music labels. The remaining labels were absorbed into
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
and
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 ...
, as well as
Legacy Recordings, Sony's division for catalogue reissues.
The company still owns the "Zomba" and "Jive" trademarks as of 2018 through a Swiss company called Zomba Corporation.
History
South African Roots: Calder, Simon and Lange
In late 1971,
Clive Calder
Clive Ian Calder (born 13 December 1946) is a South African-born 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 ...
and
Ralph Simon Ralph Simon, FRSA, is a business executive, first in the music industry, and now in the mobile entertainment industry.
Early life
He was raised in Johannesburg, South Africa where he went to the University of the Witwatersrand, and left South Afri ...
began their two-decade partnership in forming businesses in record production and promotion, music publishing, artist management and concert promotion in South Africa.
Because of the market in South Africa, there was a need to branch out into various aspects of the business, instead of just focusing on one aspect of the industry. "You couldn't do just one thing. It was too small," explained
David Gresham, CEO of David Gresham Record Company. "This is not a country where you have a million-seller. A No. 1 record is a 10,000 unit seller. That only pays the rent for a month or two."
While almost mandatory in South Africa, this early style of music company would be adapted to other markets throughout the companies history, and would become a staple of Calder's managing legacy.
Early companies formed by Calder and Simon were Sagittarius Management and Clive Calder Productions (CCP).
CCP was distributed by
EMI Records South Africa who purchased the company in 1972. Although Calder has no stake in it now, it still exists as a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Music, having acquired most of EMI in 2013, specializing in the recording, development and marketing of domestic artists. Calder's relationship with EMI began when he had been an A&R Manager at EMI South Africa for eighteen months. There he had signed some big groups for the time such as Freedom's Children and the Otis Waygood Blues Band.
During this time, Calder was also a bassist in a few bands. He formed the Four Dukes and the In Crowd with EMI artist Peter Vee, whom he also produced. Calder eventually paired Lee with a young producer named
Mutt Lange
A mutt is a mongrel (a dog of unknown ancestry).
Mutt may also refer to:
People
* Mutt, a derogatory term for mixed-race people
Nickname
* Larry Black (sprinter) (1951-2006), American sprinter
* Mutt Carey (1886–1948), New Orleans jazz trump ...
, who at the time had produced for David Gresham and David Gresham Records local hit "Sunday Monday Tuesday" by Jessica Jones on Gresham's Nitty Gritty Records.
Zomba in London
The trio of Calder, Simon and Lange decided in 1974 that they had to get out of South Africa, with Simon saying, "We were politically very much opposed to the old apartheid regime". The trio pooled together what little money they had and moved to London.
Having landed right in the middle of the British
punk rock movement, they opted to create a publishing company; Zomba Corporation was officially registered in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in 1975, operating out of Calder's bedroom space in London.
The name "
Zomba" referred to the capital of African country
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
(
Lilongwe superseded Zomba as Malawi's capital in 1974).
Next, Calder and Simon began looking for songwriters. The first was
Henri Belolo
Henri Belolo (; 27 November 1936 – 3 August 2019) was a French music producer and songwriter active during the disco era.
Born in Morocco, he started his career as a club DJ and A&R man. In the 1970s, with his friend, composer Jacques Moral ...
, the French producer who helped create the
Village People
Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...
. Zomba became the
disco group's British publisher. Though the band had been turned down by a few UK labels, Calder and Simon thought they could retain the most control of Zomba if they stayed in the publishing and management business, allowing other labels to release their artists' music.
Meanwhile, Lange was building a name for himself as a producer, with albums by the
Boomtown Rats,
Graham Parker
Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.
Life and career Early career (1960s–1976)
Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...
and eventually
AC/DC's 1979 ''
Highway to Hell
''Highway to Hell'' is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979. It was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who would die early the following year on 19 February 1980.
Background
By 1978 ...
'', his breakthrough album.
This led to Lange becoming one of the world's leading hard-rock producers, later adding
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
,
Foreigner and
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
to his resume. For Zomba, this increased exposure and credibility led to many new producer and songwriter management deals. Additionally, artists would sign publishing deals, giving their publishing company a constantly burgeoning collection.
In early 1978, Zomba opened offices in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and began looking for more artists and songwriters.
Clive Davis
Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) 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.
From 1967 to 1 ...
was one of the first to contact the group, who used his recently formed
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
to distribute Zomba artists. The first major signing was
Billy Ocean
Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...
.
Over the next few years, Zomba's songwriters achieved success and the publishing profits kicked in, marking the beginning of the company's first major expansion into record labels. Though Davis wanted Calder to head Arista's West Coast A&R operations, Calder had different plans altogether, and instead presented
Jive Records to Davis.
Jive: taking a chance with rap
Arista had been having trouble pushing rock acts in the US, and Clive Davis had hoped that with Zomba's Mutt Lange connection, Jive would fill that role. However, Calder had other ideas. In 1981, Jive began operations by releasing British dance and pop music such as
Q-Feel
Q-Feel was a British synthpop group. They released their self-titled album in 1982, which included their only hit single, "Dancing in Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop)". It was an entry in the 1982 ''A Song for Europe'', the UK's pre-selection for the ...
,
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s.
The ...
and
Tight Fit
Tight Fit is an English pop group which had several hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 for three weeks with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982.
History
In 1981, record producer Ken Gold came up with the idea ...
. By 1982, Calder was introduced to a young fresh college graduate named
Barry Weiss
Barry Weiss (born February 11, 1959) is an American music executive and producer who is currently an executive with RECORDS, a label he co-founded. He got his start at Clive Calder's Jive Records before working his way up to the head of the ...
who, for his job interview with Zomba, took Calder out to
hip-hop and black clubs all over New York City. Calder was immediately impressed with the man and had him scanning sales data all over the country searching for unknown acts on small labels selling large numbers. Calder got one of his songwriters
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher.
Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...
to create a catchy hook for local DJ
Mr. Magic
John "Mr. Magic" Rivas, (March 15, 1956 – October 2, 2009) was a prominent hip hop radio DJ.
Career
Mr. Magic debuted in 1979 on WHBI in New York City with “Disco Showcase” on the pay-for-time FM station. It was a far cry from the prime ...
to rap over. Mr. Magic had to cancel at the last minute, but fortunately knew another rapper, Jalil Hutchins. Weiss's stress level shot up when Hutchins came to the session with another unknown rapper named Ecstasy and no rhymes. After two days, the group created and recorded "Magic's Wand", which turned into a hit single. Weiss named the group Houdini, but Calder changed it to
Whodini
Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; J ...
. Calder flew the group to London to record an album, then to Germany to record with producer
Konrad "Conny" Plank of
Devo and
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
fame. While the group would eventually leave Jive after a few albums, the early success resulted in Jive becoming a label with a focus on hip-hop artists throughout the eighties. At a time when the record establishment wouldn't touch
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 ...
music like
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
, a white South African successfully marketed some of the edgiest black music.
After Whodini, Jive began signing other rap artists into the later half of the decade.
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...
was signed on the strength of their first record ''
Criminal Minded
''Criminal Minded'' is the debut studio album by hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, released on March 3, 1987 by B-Boy Records. It is considered a highly influential hip hop album and one of the first in the gangsta rap genre.
Since its rele ...
'', and their Jive debut ''
By All Means Necessary
''By All Means Necessary'' is the second album from American hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, released in April, 1988 on Jive Records. After the 1987 murder of DJ-producer Scott La Rock, MC KRS-One moved away from the violent themes that d ...
'' was released in 1988.
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
rapper
Too Short
Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...
was picked up by Jive after his independently released ''
Born to Mack
''Born to Mack'' is the fourth studio album and debut major label album by American rapper Too Short. The album was released in 1987 via Dangerous Music. It was re-released in 1988 by Jive Records/RCA, after the success of ''Life Is...Too Short'', ...
'' sold over 50,000 copies. Jive gave the album national distribution which led to gold status, and then quickly issued his follow up ''
Life Is...Too Short,'' which achieved platinum status. Meanwhile, Jive signed
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and disc jockey Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active full time from 1986 to 1994 and occasion ...
in 1986 and released their debut ''
Rock the House''. The duo was a great success for Jive, helping make rap music more accessible.
Jive continued to support rap artists into the nineties, with the aforementioned groups and the signing of new acts.
KRS-One, the primary force behind Boogie Down Productions, released a string of solo albums with Jive beginning with ''
Return of the Boom Bap
''Return of the Boom Bap'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper KRS-One, released on September 28, 1993 by Jive Records. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios and at Battery Studios in New York City, New York. Production was ha ...
'' in 1993. In 1991, Jive signed R&B artist
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
who, along with his backing band
Public Announcement
A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
, released their debut album ''
Born into the 90's'' in early 1992. R. Kelly began his solo career with ''
12 Play'' in 1993, and would go on to spend eighteen years with Jive in a partnership that produced ten studio albums.
A Tribe Called Quest was signed by Jive in 1989 following a successful independently released single "Description of a Fool." The group's debut album ''
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
''People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on April 10, 1990 on Jive Records. After forming the Native Tongues collective and collaborating on sever ...
'' was released by Jive in 1990 and framed the group as one of the most intelligent rap groups. Many other rap and R&B artists were signed throughout the eighties and nineties before the teen-pop explosion in the later half of the decade.
Expansion
By 1990, Zomba was worth $225 million with over fifty companies. Contrary to many other record businesses at the time, Zomba was known for its frugality. "The Jive offices were crummy, cardboard desks. They just really did everything on the cheap", said attorney Gary Stiffelman. The company began to attract more major label attention when EMI attempted to buy the company, but was ultimately turned down.
This period also saw Ralph Simon leaving Zomba at the start of the decade. Through an unspecified "ethical disagreement", Calder and Simon ended their relationship of over two decades.
Calder bought out Simon's half of the company and subsequently gained full control of the company.
In late 1991, BMG furthered its relationship with Zomba by purchasing a 25% stake in their music publishing business, allowing them to sub-publish Zomba compositions in foreign markets.
BMG continued their involvement with a 20% purchase of Zomba's records division in 1996.
Building on the successes of the Jive label, Zomba began expanding its reach by purchasing and creating new labels, and by creating new divisions that helped expose more people to Zomba artists and services. In 1988,
Andrew Lauder formed the UK-based
Silvertone Records under the Zomba Group. While Jive focused on hip hop, Silvertone focused on more rock-oriented music. The label's roster was initially bolstered by
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...
, but quickly expanded to include blues, acoustic, and roots music.
Other artists featured early on Silvertone include
John Lee Hooker,
J.J. Cale and
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodica ...
. This period also saw one of the few times that Zomba attempted cracking the
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
market. In 1992, Zomba purchased UK classical music group Conifer Classics with the aide of the group's head Alison Wenham. Though the deal appeared to be solid, Zomba sold the company to BMG in 1995.
Classical music activities have remained minimal within the company since then. Building on existing publishing deals, Zomba briefly co-owned the UK label
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
. While the co-ownership only lasted between 1989 and 1991, the two companies continued working together in other avenues, including a publishing deal with Sanctuary artists
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
.
In 1998, Zomba purchased a 50% stake in the troubled label
Volcano Entertainment
Volcano Entertainment (sometimes referred to as Volcano Records) was an American all-round music record label founded in 1996 which released albums by Tool, 311, Size 14, Survivor and "Weird Al" Yankovic. (The latter two were former Scotti Bros. ...
(then called
Freeworld). The label had been under financial pressure due to various reasons, including a lawsuit from flagship artist
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
. Though the purchase was initially shared with management firm Q-Prime, Q-Prime promptly sold their half to Zomba, making Volcano a wholly owned Zomba subsidiary. Zomba's first action was to settle the lawsuit with Tool, who would go on to become another Zomba success throughout the 2000s, representing the broad stylistic reach of artists under the Zomba Group umbrella. In December 2000, Volcano Entertainment purchased
Capricorn Records
Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre.
History
Label and studio foun ...
from
Phil Walden
Phil Walden (January 11, 1940 – April 23, 2006) was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter.
Biography
Walden received his undergraduate degree in economics from M ...
, an independent record label launched by Walden, his brother
Alan Walden
Alan Walden (born May 23, 1943) is an American manager, publisher, booking agent, and promoter.
He has worked with musical acts including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge, Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley, Al Green, Joe Tex, ...
and
Frank Fenter
Frank Fenter (February 25, 1936 – July 21, 1983) was a South African music industry executive.
Fenter was the first managing director of Atlantic Records for Europe, where he helped discover and get signed to Atlantic late-1960s British Invasi ...
in 1969. With the acquisition, the Zomba subsidiary gained a large catalog of music as well as active bands
311 311 may refer to:
* 311 (number), a natural number
* AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD
* 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 311 (band), an American band
** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album
...
,
Goldfinger,
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...
,
2 Skinnee J's
2 Skinnee J's (also spelled Two Skinnee J's or Too Skinnee J's) is an American hip hop band from Brooklyn, New York, whose music has been categorized as nerdcore and rap rock. The band was founded in 1991 by Special J (vocals), Rabbi J-Slim (vo ...
and the jam bands Galactic and
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and g ...
.
In 1993, Zomba created Zomba! Music Services in order to facilitate publishing rights for those in the film and television industry.
The division would act as a channel through which clients could acquire products and services from any company within Zomba. Songs published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd., or released on any of the Zomba labels, or specialty recordings owned by the division itself, could be sourced for inclusion on film soundtracks, television shows or commercials.
This move generated profits for Zomba by providing access to the company's vast publishing catalogue.
The year 1994 saw the first of many of Zomba's successful forays into the Christian music scene with the purchase of the Brentwood Music Group.
Brentwood was an established company consisting of an extensive Christian distribution network, several labels, and one of the largest music publishing divisions in printed choral music in the U.S. Expanding on the Brentwood purchase, Zomba purchased the Christian label group
Reunion Records from BMG in October 1996.
In 1997, Zomba purchased yet another Christian music affiliated company, the
Benson Music Group
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, R ...
, from Music Entertainment Group.
An important asset of the Brentwood acquisition was the publishing arm, founded in 1902, that included 46,000 copyrights from artists such as
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
,
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, and
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
.
In reaction to the surge in Christian-oriented labels acquired over the past few years, Zomba created the
Provident Music Group
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.
Provident Label Group
...
in June 1997. The Nashville-based group was led by Jim Van Hook and was essentially a continuation of the Brentwood group and an amalgamation of the other Christian-oriented labels. The group consisted of the Benson, Brentwood and Reunion groups, as well as the Brentwood/Benson Publishing Group and the newly formed Provident Music Distribution arms.
This new group allowed the three main sublabels to unify their resources and distribution while still retaining their separate personalities in the market.
In 1996, Zomba acquired the Windsong Holdings, which gave them control of many new companies including
Windsong International
Windsong International Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom active in the early 1990s. It specialised in releasing recordings made for or by BBC Radio One for broadcast on the ''In Concert'' radio programme.
BBC Radio ...
,
Pinnacle Entertainment
Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was an American gambling and hospitality company. It was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2018. At the time of acquisition, it operated sixteen casino properties, located in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Miss ...
and
Music For Nations
Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment.
Launched i ...
.
It also gave them control of the established music company
Rough Trade (80% of Rough Trade Records
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
/
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
/
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(GSA) and 100% of Rough Trade
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
). Rough Trade was primarily known as a distributor, but it also ran many
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
music labels based in Germany. In July 1999, Rough Trade GSA was renamed Zomba Records GmbH, while the Benelux operation (which only had distribution at the time) was absorbed into Zomba Distribution. The Rough Trade name remained as an imprint of Zomba Records GmbH, but was largely abandoned by Zomba.
With the successful integration of Rough Trade into its operations in the GSA region and Benelux and to expand on recent teen pop successes, Zomba created a London-based international label group, Zomba International Records Group.
Directed by Stuart Watson, the new organization allowed each new local territory to freely sign and develop acts on its own.
If those artists could create a strong regional profile, it would be possible to "export" them to Zomba International for broader exposure.
Simultaneously, it allowed Zomba artists increased international exposure. The expansion was largely unhampered, with the exception of legal issues regarding the Australian branch. Australian record company Festival Mushroom Group lost at least a dozen employees to Zomba in early 1999 and placed an injunction that stopped Zomba from soliciting Mushroom employees; they also accused former employee Scott Murphy of trying to bolster Zomba's presence while still working for Mushroom.
However, the issue was resolved fairly amicably and ended with a distribution deal with BFM Distribution (a joint venture of Festival Mushroom Group and BMG).
As the record industry began evolving due to the increasingly widespread use of the Internet, and the growing ease with which artists could record music at home, Zomba made moves that illustrated their desire to adapt with the times. In 2000, they joined the growing list of record companies that made some music available via digital download with online distribution company Amplified Entertainment.
In 2002, Zomba joined
major labels EMI,
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
and BMG, with approving some of their Jive catalog for release on the new
DataPlay media. Though the media was largely unsuccessful, the move illustrated Zomba's competitiveness with the major labels in the growing digital world.
However, a negative outcome of the changing times was the closure of some of Zomba's Battery Studios and Dreamline equipment rental businesses during the end of 2001.
Teen Pop explosion
Around 1993, Clive Calder began his uneasy relationship with
Lou Pearlman
Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American record producer. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC. ...
. Pearlman had put together a new group,
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
The ...
, which was languishing on
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
without any hits. Pearlman presented the group to Calder along with
Jive A&R rep David McPherson. Though Calder was initially uninterested in the
boy band due to the dominance of grunge and alternative rock music, Calder later thought the group could help expand his operations overseas.
Zomba bought out the boys' contract for $35,000 and moved the group over to Zomba imprint
Jive. Calder immediately sent the group to Sweden and matched them with a group of producers found through Zomba scouts:
Dag Volle and
Martin Sandberg. In mid-1995, the band recorded three songs including their first single at
Cheiron Studios
Cheiron Studios () was a recording studio located in the Kungsholmen district of Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1992 by Denniz PoP and Tom Talomaa, it was famous for being the place where popular music acts of the late 1990s/early 2000s such a ...
in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Calder then connected the Boys with old friend Stuart Watson; Watson ran SWAT Enterprises, a company specializing in promotion in Asia. The Boys began touring relentlessly in Asia and released their
first album, which sold one million copies in three weeks. In 1997, when Calder thought the grunge phenomenon had sufficiently passed, he had the Backstreet Boys return to the United States where their
North American debut ended up selling upwards of 14 million copies, creating the first in a run of many hits that Zomba and the Backstreet Boys would enjoy together.
While Pearlman and Watson were breaking the Backstreet Boys overseas, Jive A&R man Steve Lunt was busy in the US seeking a female star, and was greeted with 15-year-old
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
. Initially horrified by Spears' karaoke
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
of a
Toni Braxton
Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...
song sung in the wrong register, Lunt was intrigued by a brief moment at the end where he heard the "kind of soul she had."
As was the standard at Zomba, Lunt took Spears to in-house songwriter and producer Eric Foster White in the company's publishing division, and the two recorded "
You Got It All." Like the Backstreet Boys, Spears was sent to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm to record with producer
. Within four months of debuting on radio in September 1998, Spears' song "
...Baby One More Time" reached number one on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in January 1999, a position it would hold for four consecutive weeks.
In 1999, Zomba was involved in a "boy band controversy" when trying to sign another group that Pearlman had put together himself,
*NSYNC.
NSYNC had recently left RCA due to allegations that Pearlman had taken approximately 50% of their profits and not the one-sixth that he had agreed to.
Seeing the group as a "free-agent," Jive quickly signed them and prepared to release their next album. On 12 October, Pearlman's company Trans Continental, in conjunction with RCA owner BMG Entertainment and
BMG Ariola
Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomera ...
Munich sued Jive Records, Clive Calder, and the members of NSYNC for $150 million, citing, among other things, breach of contract.
Pearlman sought an injunction against the release of the band's new album and demanded the group's recordings be given to him, but Pearlman was denied in court.
As a response to the suit, and in reference to treatment by Trans Continental, NSYNC released a statement citing the company's poor conduct as "the most glaring, overt, and callous example of artist exploitation that the music industry has seen in a long time."
The lawsuit was settled on 23 December with undisclosed terms, leaving Jive free to release future NSYNC albums.
The lawsuit, which ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' called "the music industry's nastiest legal skirmishes in years," was problematic for Zomba for two main reasons.
First, having heard that NSYNC was now signed to Jive, the Backstreet Boys did not want to be a part of the label anymore. Second, the lawsuit temporarily strained Zomba's relationship with BMG, whose distribution deal with Zomba was coming to a close. Jive initially announced they would not renew their deal with BMG, but reconsidered following the lawsuit with BMG and Trans Continental. The distribution deal may have factored into the lawsuit's outcome, since distributed Zomba product accounted for 5.5% of BMG's US market share, an arrangement BMG Entertainment CEO
Strauss Zelnick was under pressure not to lose.
Jive also signed a new deal with the Backstreet Boys that gave the band a 20% royalty rate.
From BMG to Sony, and recent activities
BMG had owned 25% of Zomba's publishing business since 1991 and 20% of its recording business since 1996.
As part of BMG's 1996 agreement with Zomba, the music giant was required to follow through on a
put option and buy the remaining shares it did not already own before 31 December 2002.
In June 2002, Clive Calder decided to exercise the put option.
Effective 26 November 2002, BMG Entertainment concluded its deal with Zomba for the purchase of the company's entire assets. While Calder had originally requested $3.2 billion for his shares in Zomba, valuation of the label's assets varied from $1.6 billion to $2.4 billion.
Following the purchase negotiations, a price of $2.74 billion was agreed upon, the biggest purchase of an independent label at the time. Zomba's sale had been the latest in a series of independent label sellouts including
Island Records and
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
(both sold to
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
for $300 million and $550 million, respectively), and
Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
(sold for $950 million to
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
). The $2.74 billion paid for the Zomba Group was more than was paid for the purchase of many others labels including Island, Geffen, Virgin,
A&M,
Motown,
Chrysalis, and
Def Jam, combined.
Initially, BMG took its time in integrating Zomba with the rest of its labels, hoping that the former independent would lift BMG’s worldwide ranking from fifth to fourth-largest record company. Calder resigned his position as CEO immediately after the purchase, but stayed on at Zomba in an advisory position for about another year.
In mid-2003, BMG began its worldwide integration of Zomba, cutting hundreds of jobs through the consolidation of regional operations.
While many of the key managers stayed, and the large offices in the US and the UK remained operational, all of the other regional offices were assimilated into BMG. In addition to the regional mergers, the Zomba and BMG publishing companies were integrated. The US and UK offices remained as stand-alone units, but many of the back-office functions were consolidated into BMG. The Provident Music Group, Zomba's foray into the Christian music market, was reassigned as a RCA sub-label.
By 2004, the record labels were reorganized under the Zomba Label Group.
In 2004,
BMG and
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 Entertainment ...
merged to form
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
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 ...
, taking Zomba with it. Though the merger was plagued with controversy and eventually ended with Sony buying out BMG's stake in late 2008, Zomba executives continued to expand the company's operations in various aspects. In 2007, as part of Sony BMG integration and consolidation, RCA Music Group and Zomba Label Group merged their international, sales and field staffs to form the BMG Label Group under Sony BMG. RCA and Zomba kept separate groups under BMG, but this configuration was short-lived due to the dissolution of the Sony BMG merger. Zomba became owned wholly by, and operated under Sony.
On 2 November 2004 the
American Federation of Musicians announced that it had entered into an agreement with Zomba. Effective 1 January 2005, the labor union covered all artists on any Zomba subsidiary labels (and any future labels) under the Federation's Sound Recording Labor Agreement.
The deal ensured that all artists under the Zomba aegis would receive, for the first time, a full range of benefits and protections, among which are scale payments, industry standard working conditions and pension contributions.
In 2005, Zomba formed Zomba Gospel under the Zomba Label Group in an effort to collate its recently expanding gospel labels. Zomba's interest in gospel began in the form of a distribution deal with
GospoCentric Records
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 o ...
(and sublabel B'Rite Music) in October 2001, which Zomba later purchased in 2004.
Verity Records
Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Artists
* 21:03
* Crystal Aikin
* Deitrick Haddon
* DeW ...
president Max Siegel was charged with heading the new entity which included Zomba labels Verity and GospoCentric, as well as four artist owned imprints: Quiet Water Entertainment (
Donald Lawrence), Fo Yo Soul Entertainment (
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...
), New Life Records (
John P. Kee
John P. Kee (born John Prince Kee on June 4, 1962) is an American gospel singer and pastor.
Kee has been active for more than 20 years in the music field. He is primarily known for mixing traditional gospel with modern contemporary gospel, an ...
) and F. Hammond Music (
Fred Hammond
Frederick William Hammond (born December 27, 1960) is an American gospel singer, bass guitar player, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most popular figures in contemporary gospel music. He is known for using a variety of differe ...
). Distribution was handled by Provident-Integrity for the Christian Bookselling Association, and through Sony Distribution (formerly Sony BMG) for the mainstream market.
Zomba's publishing division also continued its expansion. In 2006, Zomba Music Publishing purchased the catalogue of the UK-based Strongsongs Music Publishing from the Telstar Music Group.
This large acquisition expanded Zomba's rights to many international hitmakers including
Metallica,
Craig David
Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has re ...
and
Dannii Minogue, among others. Beginning with the appointment of David Mantel in 2005 as the head of Zomba Music Publishing US operations, the company began to take a different signing approach that focused on unknown or unsigned artists. Mantel's first signing was
T-Pain, whose two singles "
I'm Sprung
"I'm Sprung" is the debut single written, produced, and performed by American musician T-Pain from his debut album, ''Rappa Ternt Sanga'' (2005). The song is dedicated to his wife, Amber. T-Pain thanked DJ Felli Fel for being the first person to p ...
" and "
I'm ‘n Luv (Wit a Stripper)" hit number 8 and 5 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.
This type of signing was also used in the records division where artists or producers were given their own imprint. In October 2008, Zomba made an all-inclusive multiyear joint-venture deal with Hitz Committee Entertainment, an imprint that had been in the making for almost 5 years from Jive VP of A&R Mickey "MeMpHiTz" Wright.
Beginning in 2008, Hitz Committee consisted of a record label under Sony, music production, music publishing, artist and producer management, and TV and film projects.
Company structure
The structure of the Zomba Group during the independent era (1975 to 2002) is difficult to precisely pinpoint due to the private nature of Clive Calder's managing style. During that period, Calder's private investment group Summer Shore
NV controlled the Zomba group.
The company began as Zomba Management and Publishers as early as 1975. They expanded to the US, first with a publishing sector in 1978, and then a records division in 1981 while the management and publishing divisions became separate companies. Also sometime during that period, they started a production division initially called Zomba Productions Ltd., which would become Zomba Recording Corporation. From a legal standpoint, Zomba's
holdings are divided into their music publishing business (Zomba Music Holdings
BV) and music recording business (Zomba Record Holdings BV).
The former holds only music publishing (i.e., written music) rights, while the latter holds all of the recorded music rights, along with some publishing groups acquired over the years. In addition to those two, there is another holding company called Zomba Entertainment Holdings BV.
Below is a breakdown of most of the companies and divisions that have been owned by Zomba. Since the BMG integration in mid-2003, and further integration into Sony Music in early 2009, the exact status of some companies is not known.
Records division
Zomba labels were operated under the Zomba Label Group from approximately 2004 until 2009 (now part of the
RCA/Jive Label Group
RCA/Jive Label Group was a short-lived 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, ...
). The Provident Label Group contained other labels after its purchase in 1997, but is no longer a part of Zomba. The Windsong purchase gave Zomba control of labels through a variety of company structures including Pinnacle and Rough Trade, however, some of these labels are no longer a part of Zomba. These three groups are organized separately below, followed by a list of inactive or formerly owned labels from various periods.
Zomba's first, and flagship label is
Jive, formed in 1981. Since then, Zomba has acquired and created a variety of labels and label groups that either operate independently from, or under Jive. During its independent period, the various record labels under Zomba all reported directly to a records division. There was no formal public face for the labels until BMG formed Zomba Label Group in 2004. Though the term "Zomba label group" or "Zomba Group records division"
had been used previously to refer to the various labels owned by the company, it wasn't until then that an actual company was created to control the labels specifically.
The Zomba Recording Corporation continues to coordinate production activities on many Zomba subsidiary releases.
From 1981 until 1987, Zomba labels were distributed by
Arista. After 1987, Zomba signed a deal with
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
for distribution that lasted until 1991. The end of the deal coincided with BMG purchasing a large share of RCA, and a deal with BMG was signed for distribution. BMG remained the North American distributor for Zomba until after the purchase in 2002; however, other regions had various other distributors over time.
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
became an important distributor for Zomba in Europe via
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 (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
, but distribution details are listed below in the Regional Branches section. Zomba only controls one small vinyl pressing plant; therefore, most of their manufacturing has been outsourced to companies such as Sonopress (BMG affiliated), Sony, and Technicolor.
In 1996, Zomba acquired 75% of UK distributor and label group Pinnacle, 80% of the Rough Trade label and distribution in the Germany/Switzerland/Austria (GSA) region, and 100% of Rough Trade Benelux. Effective 8 July 1999, Rough Trade Records was renamed Zomba Records GmbH and the Rough Trade sales and distribution arm was renamed Zomba Distribution, operating as a division of Zomba Records GmbH.
As of the BMG purchase, Zomba conducted its own distribution in the UK (with Pinnacle), Germany, Austria and Benelux (all with Zomba Distribution). In those areas, Zomba also distributed for various smaller independent labels. In France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, Zomba had its own marketing and sales; however, distribution was handled by EMI (through Virgin in most cases). In Finland and Greece, Zomba material was exclusively licensed to EMI who controlled marketing, sales and distribution. North American distribution has almost exclusively been with BMG. Following the BMG purchase in December 2002 and subsequent integration in June 2003 and the end of contracts with EMI (also in June), all distribution has been handled by the local BMG companies. When BMG merged with Sony,
Sony BMG became Zomba's distributor from 2004 until early 2009. Zomba products were thereupon distributed by Sony Music since Sony purchased BMG's interest in their joint-venture.
Zomba Recording Corporation
Zomba Recording Corporation (previously Zomba Productions Ltd., and sometimes colloquially referred to as Zomba Records) is a music company and division of the Zomba Group. The US affiliate is Zomba Recording LLC
and the UK affiliate is Zomba Records Ltd. The company also runs an investment and financial services company called Zomba Ventures Inc.
Primarily a production company, Zomba Recording Corporation coordinates various activities for the recording process including the hiring of musicians, managing studios, and organization of production, mixing, and mastering personnel. Recordings made under the coordination or supervision of this division were marked with the phrase "An Original Sound Recording Made by Zomba Recording Corporation (or Zomba Recording LLC/Zomba Records Limited/Zomba Productions Limited)." While not strictly a record label, Zomba Recording Corporation appears on most of the various sublabels that Zomba owns. Additionally, the minimal manufacturing as well as some distribution that Zomba does on its own is run through this company.
Battery Studios is the name of Zomba Recording Corporation's chain of multi-room facilities often used in the music production of Zomba artists. The main facility, located in New York City, is constantly associated with high-profile clients including
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
,
'N Sync and
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
. The studio featured three recording and mixing studios with
SSL 9000,
SSL 4064 G+ and
Euphonix CS3000 consoles and
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
MIXplus systems. Battery Studios was originally established in London prior to opening of the New York branch, and at one point consisted of six locations in London, four New York locations, two Nashville locations, and one location in Chicago.
[
] Zomba closed its London branches towards the end of 2001, with others following soon after.
In addition to Battery Studios, Zomba Recording Corporation began a relationship with the established Swedish studio
Cheiron Studios
Cheiron Studios () was a recording studio located in the Kungsholmen district of Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1992 by Denniz PoP and Tom Talomaa, it was famous for being the place where popular music acts of the late 1990s/early 2000s such a ...
and its production personnel. The studio had operated since the mid-1980s (as SweMix); from 1996 until its closure in 2000, Cheiron shared a joint production and publishing venture with the Zomba Group. Apart from the actual studio, the venture included a production team that helped forge the sounds of Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and NSYNC.
In addition to recording studios, Zomba Recording Corporation operated Dreamhire Professional audio Rentals. Dreamhire opened in 1984 with operations in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
(1989) and
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
(1988). The London branch closed in 2001, followed by Nashville in 2003. Dreamhire also included Hilton Sound, a hire operation purchased by Zomba in 1996. Since November 2003 following the BMG purchase, Dreamhire is no longer a part of Zomba and runs independently as Dreamhire LLC in New York City, owned by Chris Dunn, ex-bass guitarist of UK band
City Boy (which recorded 5 albums all produced by Mutt Lange).
Zomba Label Group
During its existence, the Zomba Label Group featured all of the Zomba-related labels that BMG purchased in 2002. The current
Battery Records is unrelated to the
previous defunct imprint of the same name. The structure of the Zomba Label Group immediately before its rebranding and dissolution in 2009 included:
*
Battery Records
*
Jive Records
**
Jive Electro
Jive Electro was a sublabel of the Zomba Group's Jive Records noted for releasing albums by Groove Armada, Hardknox, and Tangerine Dream as well as few remixes for the Madchester band The Stone Roses.
The label was largely active between 1984 an ...
**
Mojo Records
Mojo Records was a California-based record label founded in 1995 by producer Jay Rifkin. It became a joint venture with Universal Records in 1996 and then sold to the Zomba Group in 2001, who placed it under their subsidiary Jive Records.
*
LaFace Records
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 achiev ...
*
Silvertone Records
*
So So Def Recordings
So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and owned by producer Jermaine Dupri, specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B and bass music. So So Def has managed artists such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, T ...
*
Volcano Entertainment
Volcano Entertainment (sometimes referred to as Volcano Records) was an American all-round music record label founded in 1996 which released albums by Tool, 311, Size 14, Survivor and "Weird Al" Yankovic. (The latter two were former Scotti Bros. ...
*
Verity Gospel Music Group (previously Zomba Gospel)
**F. Hammond Music
**Fo Yo Soul Entertainment
**
GospoCentric
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 ...
**New Life Records
**Quiet Water Entertainment
**
Verity Records
Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Artists
* 21:03
* Crystal Aikin
* Deitrick Haddon
* DeW ...
Provident Music Group
The Provident Music Group was created by Zomba in 1997 as an amalgamation of their Christian music activities. Zomba had purchased Brentwood Music Group in February 1994 and founder Jim Van Cook was charged with leading the new music group. The group consisted of three sections: Provident Label Group, Provident-Integrity Distribution and the Brentwood/Benson Publishing Group.
As part of the music group, Zomba amalgamated their Christian labels under the Provident Label Group. The new group initially consisted of Brentwood Records, Benson Records and Reunion Records, though Brentwood was shut down in 2001. Since then, other labels have been added. Under Zomba, the Provident Label Group had this configuration:
*
Benson Records
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, R ...
**Diadem Records
*
Essential Records
**
Sub•Lime Records
Sub•Lime Records was a short lived Christian record label. They were a sublabel of Essential Records, and by extension Brentwood Music (Based in Brentwood, Tennessee) and the Zomba Music Group. Their records were distributed by Provident Mus ...
**Watershed Records
*
Flicker Records
Flicker Records is a Christian music record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was founded by members of Christian rock group Audio Adrenaline. The label mainly focuses on rock/pop rock artists, though it also created a subsidiary, Big Hou ...
*
Reunion Records
**Rode Dog Records
*
Verity Records
Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Artists
* 21:03
* Crystal Aikin
* Deitrick Haddon
* DeW ...
After BMG bought Zomba in 2002 and integrated the company in June 2003, the Provident Music Group was moved under the aegis of
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
with the exception of the Publishing division, which was moved under BMG Publishing (Provident would later create its own publishing division, Essential Music Publishing, with no connection to Zomba). BMG Publishing was subsequently sold to Universal, along with Brentwood/Benson. In 2008, when Sony bought Bertelsmann's stake in their joint
Sony BMG venture, the rest of Provident became part of Sony Music Nashville.
Windsong (Pinnacle, Rough Trade, Music For Nations)
In 1996, Zomba acquired the holdings of Windsong International. The deal gave the following controlling interests to Zomba:
*
Collins Classics - Opened in 1989, closed in 1998.
*Connoisseur Collection - Released high quality, mid price compilation.
*
Music For Nations
Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment.
Launched i ...
- Metal/hard-rock label that closed in 2004.
*
Pinnacle Entertainment
Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was an American gambling and hospitality company. It was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2018. At the time of acquisition, it operated sixteen casino properties, located in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Miss ...
- Entertainment group largely known for being the largest UK distributor of
independent record labels
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represente ...
.
*
Rough Trade (80% of Rough Trade Records
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
/
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
/
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and 100% of Rough Trade
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
) - German distributor and label group.
*Windsong Exports - Exporter of music and film/TV.
*Windsong in Concert - Windsong's collection of "BBC in Concert" recordings.
Rough Trade GSA was renamed Zomba Records GmbH, while the Benelux operation (which only had distribution at the time) was absorbed into Zomba Distribution. The Rough Trade name only remained as an imprint of Zomba Records GmbH. Before being absorbed into BMG's operations, Zomba Records GmbH consisted of the following regional labels, most of which focused on
electronic dance music:
*Advanced
*Air
*Form & Function
*Our Choice
*Reihe Ego
*Rough Trade
*World Service
Zomba Records GmbH was integrated into BMG's German operation along with the other regional offices. The Rough Trade name was later reacquired by
Geoff Travis
Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978.
Biography
Travis was ...
and
Jeanette Lee
Jeanette Lee (born Lee Jin-Hee, Hangul: 이진희, July 9, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York) is a Korean-American professional pool player. She was nicknamed the Black Widow by her friends because, in spite of her sweet demeanor, she would "eat peop ...
who eventually continued it independently. When BMG restructured Zomba in 2003, Windsong/Pinnacle was moved under
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
's
Arvato AG
Arvato is a global services company headquartered in Gütersloh, Germany. Its services include customer support, information technology, logistics, and finance. The history of Arvato goes back to the printing and industry services division of Be ...
. Through a
management buyout, Windsong/Pinnacle gained its independence in early 2008, but was forced into
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
late in the year due to the
economic crisis
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
.
Zomba International Records Group
Zomba International Records Group managed the various regional branches opened as early as 1997 and as late as 2003. The group served to solidify the operations in these regions, some of which already had small offices with activities from scouting, promoting (such as Sweden), or as much as distribution for smaller labels or operating a few regional record labels (such as Germany). Following the BMG purchase, all of the remaining regional labels (with the exception of the main US and UK offices) and the Zomba International Records Group activities were merged with their respective local BMG offices in mid-2003.
*
Distribution information in this chart is from approximately 1999 until the BMG integration.
*
Zomba Records in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux had been in operation as Rough Trade since Zomba had acquired the company in 1996. 8 July 1999 marks the date the Rough Trade name was dropped in favor of Zomba.
*
The Scandinavian operations started with offices in Norway and Denmark. When Kenneth Ruiz-Davila was appointed the head of Zomba Scandinavia in September 2001, the Swedish offices were also moved under the larger company.
The Denmark and Norway operations later closed on 1 July 2002, leaving the Swedish office remaining.
Other inactive/former labels
Aside from those listed above, other labels that have been associated with Zomba over the years are listed below.
*
Associated Production Music (APM) - Production music library and music services company. Was initially a joint venture between Zomba/Jive and EMI. Still operating as a joint venture between Sony and Universal (successor to EMI and Zomba/Jive production music companies).
*Conifer Records Ltd. - Classical label formed in 1977, purchased by Zomba in 1992 and sold to BMG in 1996.
*Internal Affairs
*Trademark Records - Formed under Zomba Records Australia.
*X-Over Recordings - Formed under Zomba Records Australia.
*Zed Beat
*Zomba Production Music - UK-based supplier of Library and Production Music intended for professional use and not released to the general public. They released music through these various sublabels. Not to be confused with Zomba Productions Ltd. which is an earlier name of Zomba Recording Corporation. Currently operating as part of Universal Production Music.
**Chappell Recording Music Library
**Bruton Music - Label of the Bruton Music Group purchased by Zomba in 1985.
**Firstcom Music Inc.
**Galerie
**Connect 2 Music
*Zomba Special Projects - Imprint established in 1997 for specific projects like releases sold through McDonald's restaurants.
*Zomba Video - Imprint used for music-related video releases.
*Under Jive
**
Battery Records - Unrelated to the current Battery Records, this was a dance label active in the nineties.
**Dance Jive - Dance label active in the early 2000s.
**
EBUL
Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record produ ...
- Record label owned by
Pete Waterman Entertainment Ltd. and Jive. The label was largely used to release material by
Steps.
**Jive Afrika - Created in 1984 for release of South African material (most prominently,
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...
).
**Jive House - Formed in the mid-nineties for house music.
**Pepper Records - Formed in the late nineties.
**Violator Records - Purchased by Jive in 2003. New York hip-hop label run by Chris Lighty and Mona Scott.
**Worx Records - Formed in the mid nineties for electronic music.
Publishing division
Zomba Music Publishing Ltd. (sometimes colloquially referred to as Zomba Music or Zomba Music Publishing Group) is the publishing division of the Zomba Group of Companies. Initially known as Zomba Enterprises Inc., the division officially changed names in 1994 and became the Zomba Umbrella Company for Publishing. Since then, Zomba Enterprises is the name used for Zomba's
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
affiliate, while Zomba Music Inc. is the name of the
BMI affiliate. The holding company that controls most Zomba publishing interests is called Zomba Music Holdings BV. David Mantel has been the president of Zomba Music Publishing since 2005, when he took over for Richard Blackstone. Tim Smith is the GM of the UK affiliate Zomba Music Publishing Ltd.
There are various other publishing entities under Zomba, some of which are vast libraries acquired over the years, and some of which are small groups, sometimes representing a single artist. Below is a list of Zomba's publishing subsidiaries:
*Bluey Tunes Productions Ltd. (England)
*Brentwood Music Inc.
*Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing Inc.
*Bruton Music Ltd.
*Firstcom Music Inc. (US)
*Firstcommusic Inc. (US)
*Grantsville Publishing Ltd. (England)
*Grever International S.A. (Texas)
*Marlowlynn Ltd. (England)
*M56 Publishing Ltd. (England)
*Street Music Ltd. (England)
*Take Out Music Publishing Ltd. (England)
*Zomba Enterprises Inc.
*Zomba Golden Sands Enterprises, Inc.
*Zomba Melodies Inc. (New York)
*Zomba Music Inc. (New York)
*Zomba Music Publishers Ltd. (England)
*Zomba Silver Sands Enterprises Inc. (Texas)
*Zomba Songs Inc. (New York)
Zomba has limited activity in the classical music publishing sector; however, they are quite active in the pop music publishing and music production. At the time of the BMG purchase, Zomba had pop music publishing operations located in the UK and Benelux, while every other territory was sub-published with BMG. Production music operations were located in the UK and France with smaller operations in Sweden and the Netherlands. In Germany and Austria, Zomba and BMG owned publishing rights through jointly-owned companies. Finally, in Spain and Italy, Zomba compositions were licensed exclusively to BMG.
In mid-2003, BMG integrated Zomba's publishing to form BMG-Zomba Music Publishers. In 2007,
Vivendi
Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
purchased the BMG-Zomba publishing company and placed it within
Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram.
Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...
, becoming the world's largest music publishing business. For antitrust reasons, Universal divested the European rights to the Zomba catalogue to a new company named
Imagem
Imagem Music Group was a Dutch music publisher. The company was founded in 2008 by the Dutch firm Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, one of the world's largest pension funds, in conjunction with the independent publisher and media company CP Masters BV ...
. In 2017, Imagem was acquired by
Concord Music Group.
Management companies
Zomba's first enterprise was a management company in London called Zomba Management and Publishers, with
Mutt Lange
A mutt is a mongrel (a dog of unknown ancestry).
Mutt may also refer to:
People
* Mutt, a derogatory term for mixed-race people
Nickname
* Larry Black (sprinter) (1951-2006), American sprinter
* Mutt Carey (1886–1948), New Orleans jazz trump ...
as one of their first clients. His success allowed the company to expand, and eventually the companies split into two entities, creating Zomba Management. Zomba management represents music producers and artists.
Zomba Screen Music was formed in 1997 as a management company for film composers.
In May 2001, Zomba created Ingenuity Entertainment, a full-service management company for artists, producers, composers and music supervisors in the film and television industries.
The Los Angeles-based company serviced both new and veteran artists, offering music production and business affairs services. Ingenuity Entertainment combined a management firm called Ingenuity with Zomba Screen Music.
Film/television services
Most of Zomba's activities in the film and television industry were music related. Zomba Screen Music was their full-service management company for film and television composers. In addition to management, Zomba! Music Services was formed in 1989 as a division offering prerecorded music and publishing services for soundtracks, television and commercials.
This also had the effect of promoting Zomba music through the television and film industry. In 1995, Zomba purchased the well-established Segue Music Inc., a film and television music editing company providing music supervision, temp tracks, prerecords, playbacks and soundtrack production. Zomba also had a joint operation with Portman Entertainment called Portman Music, a soundtrack related company Coombe Music International Ltd., and a small film production company called Zomba Films. In 2005, Zomba began SEE Music, a joint venture with the recently combined BMG/Zomba Publishing and FirstCom Music specifically for motion picture advertising.
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
References
Resources
*
* ''(primarily Chapter 3)''
*
*
* ''(this issue features a "Special Report" with multiple articles about Zomba)''
External links
Official website(archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zomba Group Of Companies
British record labels
Mass media companies established in 1975
Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom
Record labels established in 1981
Record labels disestablished in 2008
Sony Music
Mass media companies disestablished in 2008
1975 establishments in England
2008 disestablishments in England
British companies established in 1975
British companies disestablished in 2008