J Records

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J Records
Parent company	Sony Music Entertainment
Founded	2000
Founder	Clive Davis
Distributing label	RCA/Jive Label Group (In the US) RCA Records (Outside the US)
Genre	Various
Country of origin	US
Official Website	Official website of J Records

J Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment, and is distributed through the RCA/Jive Label Group.

[edit] Company history

J Records was founded in 2000 by industry veteran Clive Davis with $150 million in financing from BMG, after his ousting from Arista Records the same year, and initially operated as an independently managed company distributed through BMG. Olivia was the first artist to sign to J Records, but was later dropped due to poor album sales. In 2001, the label found success with its multi-platinum record inaugural release, Songs in A Minor, the debut album of Alicia Keys, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The same year, the label had another success with the platinum-selling debut album by O-Town. Later, established artists like D'Angelo, Jamie Foxx and Monica would join the J fold, the latter two going on to find multi-platinum success with the label.

In 2002, BMG bought a majority stake in the label. The same year, J Records began functioning under the RCA Music Group, where Davis had been appointed president and CEO, and signed American Idol winners Fantasia and Ruben Studdard. In August 2005, J Records' operations were merged with Arista Records, although both labels continued to release their own product.

[edit] Artists

[edit] Former artists

• Busta Rhymes (Flipmode/J Records)
• Cassidy
• Deborah Cox
• Jimmy Cozier
• Taylor Hicks
• Wyclef Jean
• Lamya
• Olivia
• Mashonda
• Next
• O-Town
• One Chance
• Pearl Jam
• Smitty^[2]
• Soil
• Angie Stone
• Ruben Studdard^[3]
• Udora
• Luther Vandross
• Eddie Vedder
• The White Tie Affair
• Yung Wun

[edit] See also

• List of record labels
• List of Sony Music Entertainment labels

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/genre/e3ie7d1eee3b5e787afd56288f166508dc8
2. ^ » Smitty: Over And Over Again
3. ^ SOHH Exclusive: J Records Drops Ruben Studdard | Daily Hip-Hop News | SOHH.com /

[edit] External links

• J Records website
• J Records on Altsounds.com
• Interview with J Records A&R Peter Edge