| Tommy Boy Entertainment | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Tom Silverman |
| Status | Active |
| Distributing label | Alternative Distribution Alliance |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | US |
| Location | New York, New York |
Tommy Boy Entertainment (formally known as Tommy Boy Records) is an independent record label started in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is widely recognized for significant contribution to the development of hip hop music, dance music, and electronica.
Contents |
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 woman Monica 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 label Reprise Records if it desired. This option was used seldomly. Silverman bought 50% back from Warner Bros. in 1995 after the infamous early 1990s controversy between Tipper Gore, C. Delores Tucker, and Time Warner that caused many of WEA’s hip-hop acts to be heavily censored finally cooled down. In 1995, the first incarnation of Penalty Recordings, a joint venture with Neil Levine, was created, but it was absorbed by Tommy Boy in 1999. The imprint Tommy Boy Gospel was launched in 1998 under the direction of Max Seigel and Marvie Wright. The same year, Tommy Boy Black Label (specializing in underground hip 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-director Michael "Mic" Neumann and his company Dubtitled Entertainment, launched an independent television, film, and DVD division known as Tommy Boy Films which produced such Pop Culture touchstones as the international series, Kung Faux.
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 after its original run on the American cable channel Fuse TV. It has now been seen in over 150 countries.
Artists
- Note: 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
- Blake Lewis
- Big Noyd
- Biz Markie
- Bob Sinclar
- Broadcast
- Cantankerous
- Capone-N-Noreaga
- Choice M.C.'s
- The Cliks
- Coldcut
- Coolio
- Daniel Cirera
- De La Soul
- Defari
- Digital Underground
- Disco D
- Dolce
- Everlast
- 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
- King Sun (Livin' Large/Tommy Boy)
- Kristine W
- Kung Faux
- Li'l Bastards (Livin' Large/Tommy Boy)
- LFO
- Lord Finesse (Penalty/Tommy Boy)
- J.C. Lodge
- Masters at Work
- Matt Alber
- Natural Elements
- Naughty by Nature
- Paris
- Pimpadelic
- Planet Patrol
- Plushgun
- Pretty Tone Capone (Ill Labels/Tommy Boy)
- Prince Paul
- Prince Rakeem
- Queen Latifah
- RuPaul
- Rustic Overtones
- Shabazz the Disciple (Penalty/Tommy Boy)
- Roxanne Shanté (Livin' Large/Tommy Boy)
- Skarr-Akbar
- Sneaker Pimps
- Stetsasonic
- Thunderpuss (Silver Label/Tommy Boy)
- Timmy Gatling
- TKA
- Ultra Naté (Silver Label/Tommy Boy)
- YZ (Livin' Large/Tommy Boy)
Albums
- Jock series compilations
- MTV Party To Go album series
- Kung Faux soundtracks
See also
External links
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