A&M Records

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A&M Records
Parent company Universal Music Group
Founded 1962
Founder Herb Alpert
Jerry Moss
Distributing label Interscope-Geffen-A&M (US)
Polydor Records (UK)
Genre Various
Country of origin US
Location Santa Monica, California
Official website A&M/Octone Records

A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group which operates through the Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.

Contents

[edit] Company history

[edit] Beginnings

A&M Records was formed in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Their first choice for a name was “Carnival Records,” under which they released two singles before discovering another label had taken the Carnival name first. The company was subsequently renamed A&M, after Alpert's and Moss's initials. From 1966 to 1999, the company's headquarters were on the grounds of the historic Charlie Chaplin Studio at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. (The A&M Studios and executive offices are now the home of Jim Henson Productions, which operates Henson Recording Studios[1] and the financial center is home to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.)

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, A&M was among the leading purveyors of ‘light’ pop music, with such acts as: Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Baja Marimba Band, Burt Bacharach, Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66, We Five, Carpenters, Chris Montez, Captain and Tennille, Quincy Jones, and Paul Williams; folk legends Joan Baez and Phil Ochs were with the label during the 1970s. However, the label also found success in R&B and funk thanks to piano great Billy Preston who joined the label in 1971. Carpenters, however, remain the label's most successful act of the 1970s with upwards of 100 million albums sold worldwide.

In the late 1960s, A&M added British artists through direct signing and licensing agreements. These artists include Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, Fairport Convention, The Strawbs, and Spooky Tooth. In the 1970s, under its manufacturing and distribution agreement with Ode Records, A&M released albums by Carole King and the comedy duo Cheech and Chong. Other notable acts of the time included: Nazareth, Y&T, The Tubes, Styx, Supertramp, Squeeze and Peter Frampton.

A&M releases were initially issued in the United Kingdom by EMI's Stateside Records label, and then under its own name by Pye Records until 1967. A&M Records, Ltd. [1] was established in 1970, with distribution handled by other labels with a presence in Europe. A&M Records of Canada, Ltd. [2] was also formed in 1970, and A&M Records of Europe in 1977.

In the late 1970s, A&M recognized the potential in the burgeoning English punk movement and on March 10, 1977 signed the Sex Pistols after the band had been dropped by EMI. However, A&M themselves sacked the band within a week.[3]

Within a decade of its inception, A&M became the world's largest independent record company. In 1979, A&M entered a distribution agreement with RCA Records (which later became BMG) in the US, and with CBS Records in many other countries.

A&M's success sustained during the 1980s with noted acts that included: Falco ("Rock Me Amadeus" was the first rap Bilboard # 1) , Janet Jackson, Atlantic Starr, The Police, Suzanne Vega, Oingo Boingo, Annabel Lamb, Bryan Adams, Joe Jackson and Scottish rock band Gun, who went on to win an MTV award for their cover of the Cameo song 'Word up' in 1994. [4]

Over the years, A&M added specialty imprints: Almo International[5] for middle of the road; Omen Records (1964–1966)[6] for soul; Horizon Records[7] for jazz (1974–1978); AyM Discos[8] Latin American division; Vendetta Records[9] Tuff Break Records [10] was another joint venture.

[edit] The PolyGram years

A&M was bought by PolyGram in 1989 for a reported $500 million. Alpert and Moss continued to manage the label until 1993, when they felt PolyGram was increasing its pressure on A&M to fit the PolyGram corporate structure. The sale to PolyGram stipulated that Alpert and Moss had an integrity clause allowing them to control the label's image through 2009. In 1998, Alpert and Moss sued PolyGram for breach of the integrity clause.

In 1991, A&M launched Perspective Records[11] through a joint venture with producing team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jam and Lewis stepped down as CEO's of the imprint in 1997, but remained on as consultants. In 1999, the label was absorbed into A&M. In the mid-1990s, A&M began distributing its PolyGram sister label, Polydor Records; an association that continues to this day.

A&M was a leader in innovative music marketing and licensing, and was the first label to license its music for use in videogames with Soundgarden, and Therapy?, appearing in Electronic Arts, "Road Rash 3DO" videogame in 1994[12]

During the 1990s, the company continued to release critically and commercially acclaimed albums by: Soundgarden, Extreme, Amy Grant, John Hiatt, Sting, Blues Traveler, Barry White, and Aaron Neville—as well as from new artists Sheryl Crow, Therapy?, CeCe Peniston, and the Gin Blossoms. The company extended its soundtrack legacy with, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Three Musketeers, Sabrina, The Living Sea, Demolition Man, Lethal Weapon 3, as well as indie classic Empire Records.

[edit] A&M under Universal Music Group

In 1998, PolyGram was bought by Seagrams and merged into its Universal Music Group. The consolidation of these two music giants triggered a shake up of labels. A&M was subsequently merged into Universal Music Group's then newly formed Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.

The A&M lot on La Brea Avenue was shut down in January 1999 (it is now operating as Henson Recording Studios). During the farewell celebration, the company's staff placed a black band over the A&M sign above the main entrance, indicating the death of the company. Most of the company's workforce (some of whom had been with the company for a decade, or more) were let go, while many of its artists were dropped. Alpert and Moss sued Universal Music Group in 2000; claiming that they had violated a contractual agreement that stated A&M Records would be allowed to retain its corporate culture. The suit was later settled.

The first multi-platinum A&M Records release under Universal Music Group and Interscope was Sting's 1999 album Brand New Day. In addition to Sting, in the time since A&M's restructuring, the company has continued to attain success with releases by its few retained mainstay acts, such as Chris Cornell, Sheryl Crow and Bryan Adams—as well as by newer acts like the Black Eyed Peas, Keyshia Cole, Pussycat Dolls and Duffy.

[edit] A&M/Octone

In February 2007, Universal Music Group partnered with Octone Records, which has previously operated under SonyBMG. The label, headed by James Diener, would be renamed "A&M/Octone Records" and operate under A&M Records, with worldwide distribution handled by UMG.

[edit] Artists

Main article: List of current A&M Records artists
Main article: List of former A&M Records artists

[edit] Affiliated labels

[edit] Former labels

Label histories for most of these companies are available at On A&M Records.

[edit] Current labels

[edit] References

  1. ^ A&M Records Ltd.. On A&M Records.com. (2007).
  2. ^ A&M Records Canada. On A&M Records.com. (2003).
  3. ^ Southall, Brian (2007). 90 Days At EMI. Bobcat Books Ltd., London, pp. 138-9. ISBN 1-84609-779-9. 
  4. ^ A&M Records History 1980-1989. On A&M Records.com. (2003).
  5. ^ Almo International. On A&M Records.com. (2003).
  6. ^ Omen Records. On A&M Records.com. (2007).
  7. ^ Horizon Records History. On A&M Records.com. (2003).
  8. ^ AyM Discos History. On A&M Records.com. (2003).
  9. ^ Vendetta Records. On A&M Records.com. (2007). (1988–1990) as a dance imprint.
  10. ^ Tuff Break. On A&M Records.com. (2007).for hip hop music (1994-1995)
  11. ^ Perspective Records. On A&M Records.com. (2006).
  12. ^ A&M Records History 1990-2000. On A&M Records.com. (2003).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links