- Tommy Boy Entertainment
infobox record label
founded = 1981
founder =Tom Silverman
distributor =Independent label
genre = Various
location =New York, New York
country = US
url =Tommy Boy Entertainment (formally known as Tommy Boy Records) is a
record label started in 1981 byTom Silverman . The label is widely recognized for significant contribution to the development ofhip hop music ,dance music , andelectronica .History
After borrowing $5,000 from his parents, the label was an outgrowth of Tom Silverman's "Disco News" bi-weekly publication (later titled "Dance Music Report"), which spanned 14 years, beginning in September
1978 .In
1985 ,Warner Bros. Records bought 50% of the label, eventually buying the whole thing in 1990. Silverman and right-hand womanMonica Lynch became Vice Presidents of Warner as well. What was uprecedented about this venture is that Warner allowed Tommy Boy to use independent distribution as it saw fit, with the option to put artists through the major-label channel through Warner Bros. Records or its sister labelReprise Records if it desired. This option was used seldomly. Silverman bought 50% back from Warner Bros. in1995 after the infamous early 1990s controversy betweenTipper Gore ,C. Delores Tucker , andTime Warner that caused many of WEA’s hip-hop acts to be heavily censored finally cooled down. In1995 a joint venture calledPenalty Recordings was created withNeil Levine , but it was absorbed by Tommy Boy in1999 . The imprintTommy Boy Gospel was launched in 1998 under the direction of Max Seigel and Marvie Wright. The same year, Tommy Boy Black Label (specializing in undergroundhip hop music ) and Tommy Boy Silver Label (specializing in dance music) were founded as well. Tommy Boy, as part of Warner, also gave independent distribution to sister imprints that already had label deals with WEA, including American Recordings’ Ill Labels, Mute Records’ NovaMute, and Cold Chillin’s’ Livin’ Large. The label had distribution deals with labels such as Timber Records, Outcaste Records, and 75 Ark as well.In
2001 ,Tom Silverman , in collaboration with producer-directorMic Neumann and his companyDubtitled Entertainment, launched an independent television, film, and DVD division known asTommy Boy Films .In January 2002, Tommy Boy became independent again after it ended its joint venture with Warner Bros., which wanted higher unit sales than the label was producing. Silverman purchased the remaining 50% he did not own, the master tapes released until that time became property of Warner Music, the then-current Tommy Boy artists were shopped to the various WEA labels, the trademark remained with Silverman, and the company was redubbed Tommy Boy Entertainment LLC. The label then licensed its trademark to Warner for use on its reissues through Rhino/Atlantic Records.
In 2005, Tommy Boy Silver Label was spun off from its parent and was renamed Silver Label, specializing in LGBT-oriented content.
In 2007, Tommy Boy Films’ first project, a half-hour television series titled "
Kung Faux " was released on DVD after first being licensed in over 40 countries around the world to television networks such as STAR Asia, FOX Latin America, & CANAL Plus Europe.Artists
:"This list includes both current and former Tommy Boy recording artists in both its Warner and post-Warner incarnations."
* 2XL
*808 State
*Afrika Bambaataa
*Above The Law
* Apache
* Amber
*Big Noyd
*Biz Markie
*Bob Sinclar
* Broadcast
* Cantankerous
*Capone-N-Noreaga
*The Cliks
*Coldcut
*Coolio
* Daniel Cirera
*De La Soul
*Defari
*Digital Underground
*Disco D
*Dolce
* Everlast/House of Pain
*Fannypack
* Fresh Gordon
* Force MDs
*Gucci Mane
*Handsome Boy Modeling School
*House of Pain
* The House Jacks
* Information Society
*Jonzun Crew
*Joydrop
*Junior Vasquez
* K7
*Khia
*Kristine W
*Kung Faux
* LFO
*Lord Finesse
*J.C. Lodge
*Masters at Work
* Natural Elements
*Naughty by Nature
* Paris
* Pimpadelic
*Planet Patrol
*Plushgun
*Prince Paul
* Prince Rakeem
*Queen Latifah
*Roxanne Shanté
*Rustic Overtones
*Shabazz the Disciple
*Sneaker Pimps
*Stetsasonic
*Thunderpuss
*Timmy Gatling
*TKA Albums
*
Jock series compilations
**Jock Jams album series
**Jock Rock album series
**Slam Jams album series
*Kung Faux soundtracksSee also
*
List of record labels
*Kung Faux External links
* [http://www.tommyboyfilms.com Official Tommy Boy Films Web site]
* [http://www.tommyboy.com Official Tommy Boy Entertainment Web site]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.