A&M Records

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"A&M" redirects here. For other uses, see A&M (disambiguation).
A&M Records
File:A&M Records logo.png
Parent companyUniversal Music Group
Founded1962
FounderHerb Alpert
Jerry Moss
Distributor(s)Interscope-Geffen-A&M (US)
Polydor Records (UK)
GenreVarious
Country of originUS
LocationSanta Monica, California
Official websiteOfficial website of A&M Records

A&M Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.

Company history

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 was headquartered on the grounds of the historic Charlie Chaplin Studio at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. (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, Carpenters, Captain and Tennille, Fairport Convention, and Paul Williams. A&M, meanwhile, explored a multitude of different genres of music including folk music legend Joan Baez, We Five (whom Alpert discovered himself at a folk club in San Francisco), The Brothers Johnson, and Rita Coolidge, the latter of whom enjoyed a 12-year tenure with the label. Under its manufacturing and distribution agreement with Ode Records A&M released albums by Carole King and the comedy duo Cheech and Chong.

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. was established in 1970, with distribution handled by other labels with a presence in Europe. A&M Records of Canada, Ltd. was also formed in 1970, and A&M Records of Europe in 1977. Within a decade of its inception, A&M became the largest independent record company in America. In 1979, it joined the RCA Records distribution network (which later became BMG), but remained under Alpert and Moss' ownership.

A&M’s success sustained during the 1980s with noted acts that included: Joe Cocker, Janet Jackson, Atlantic Starr, Procol Harum, Spooky Tooth, Nazareth, The Tubes, Styx, The Police, Suzanne Vega, Supertramp, Annabel Lamb, Bryan Adams, Joe Jackson and Peter Frampton.[1]

Over the years, A&M added specialty imprints: Almo International[2] for middle of the road; Omen Records (1964–1966)[3] for soul; Horizon Records[4] for jazz (1974–1978); AyM Discos[5] Latin American division; Vendetta Records (1988–1990) as a dance imprint. Tuff Break Records for hip hop music (1994-1995) was another joint venture.

The PolyGram years

A&M was sold to PolyGram in 1989 for a reported $500 million. Alpert and Moss continued to manage A&M 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 developed Perspective Records[6] through a joint venture with producing team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jam and Lewis stepped down as label heads in 1997, but remained consultants until Perspective was absorbed into A&M the next year. In the middle 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[7]

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.

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 newly formed Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.

The A&M lot on La Brea Avenue was shut down in January 1999. During the farewell celebration, the company’s staff placed a black band over the A&M sign 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, and Pussycat Dolls.

In 2007, UMG lured Octone Records away from Sony BMG and created a combined label, “A&M/Octone,” to be operated under A&M Records, and headed by James Diener and the executive team at Octone.

Artists

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

Affiliated labels

Former labels

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

Current labels

References

  1. ^ "A&M Records History 1962-1969". On A&M Records.com. 2003.
  2. ^ "Almo International". On A&M Records.com. 2003.
  3. ^ "Omen Records". On A&M Records.com. 2007.
  4. ^ "Horizon Records History". On A&M Records.com. 2003.
  5. ^ "AyM Discos History". On A&M Records.com. 2003.
  6. ^ "Perspective Records". On A&M Records.com. 2006.
  7. ^ "A&M Records History 1990-2000". On A&M Records.com. 2003.

See also

External links

  • On A&M Records Search every artist and recording on A&M and its affiliated labels; label histories and artist special features.
  • A&M Corner - Since 1995: the internet's original A&M Records free collector/listener resource
  • MySpace A&M Records - Find A&M Records on MySpace
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