As ongoing corporate consolidation transforms the music industry, the biggest beneficiary of the restructuring has been the independent sector. Over the last several years the independents have consistently surpassed many of the multinationals in market share. A leader among this group of independent labels is TVT Records, the largest frontline, freestanding record company in the United States. Holder of the Top 3 independent albums of the last year, TVT Records is the nations ..1 independent label as recognized by Billboard Magazine and SoundScan.
Steve Gottlieb, President and founder of TVT Records, launched the label out of his New York apartment in 1985 with the release of Televisions Greatest Hits, an eight volume series chronicling the history of the TV theme song. The collection sold millions of copies worldwide, and from this TVT has grown into a diversified music company with a reputation for discovering and developing innovative music. In its twenty-year history TVT has been on the industrys cutting edge introducing to the world such impact artists as Nine Inch Nails, Underworld and Ja Rule.
TVT Records provides the credibility and focus of an indie and the marketing and distribution power of a major while priding itself on grass roots artist development. TVTs eclectic roster runs the gamut of todays popular music. Popular artists on TVTs roster include Ambulance LTD, Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz, Pitbull, Default and Ying Yang Twins. Key new artists include rock bands The Cinematics, Bobaflex, controversial London punks Towers of London, rapper O-Solo and pop sensation Marcos Hernandez.
TVT is also the home of TVT Soundtrax, one of the countrys leading soundtrack labels. The most recent release is the soundtrack to the ..1 box office hit Transporter 2.
TVT continues to expand and develop through partnerships with key brand name entities. Past projects have included branded products for MTV, CBS, The Sci-Fi Channel, NBC, TV Guide, Crunch Fitness and Budweiser.
TVT Records is also a leader in music delivery on the Internet. TVT was the first to make its entire catalog available for digital download in November 1999 from TVTrecords.com. The company was also the first label to make its entire repertoire of music videos available for streaming. Over the last three years, the labels strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Yahoo!, Real Networks, Napster and others have put it on the cutting edge of the evolving music market online. Recent digital licensing deals include partnerships with MusicMatch, PressPlay and Zingy. In the emerging Ringtones market, TVT songs often top the charts.
TVT Music, the labels publishing division retains some of the most prolific and successful songwriters of the day including Scott Storch. Storch, one of the top pop and urban songwriters of the last decade has penned hits for Dr. Dre, Christina Aquilera, Boyz II Men, Busta Rhymes, Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake and Lil Kim. He currently has multiple songs in the Billboard Top 40, and his copyrights held down the ..1 spot on the chart for the entire first quarter of 2005.
TVT recently celebrated multiple album sales certifications that not only showed the labels diversity of success, but also represented the past, present and future of the label. Defaults The Fallout and Kings of Crunk from hip-hop star Lil Jon & The EastSide Boyz were both certified Platinum and double-Platinum respectively, Me & My Brother from the Ying Yang Twins was certified Platinum, and the seminal Pretty Hate Machine from Nine Inch Nails hit the triple-Platinum mark.
In a year that again saw major labels losing market share and struggling to restructure their businesses, TVT closed 2004 with its biggest year ever. In addition some of the biggest singles of the year, including hits from Usher, Beyoncé, Ja Rule and Ciara were copyrights held by TVT Music. TVT was recognized for the fourth year in a row as the nations ..1 independent label by Billboard Magazine and SoundScan.
It is not a surprise that TVT Records has taken a leading role in the newly formed American Association of Independent Music (AAIM), a coalition formed to represent the interests of independent labels. This crucial organization will act as a counter-balance to preferential treatment toward major labels in the areas of digital music distribution, copyright law, radio regulation, piracy, CD manufacturing and even health insurance.
TVT finished 2004 holding the Top 3 selling independent releases of the year, and 8 of the Top 20. History had been made on November 24th 2004 with the release of Crunk Juice from Lil Jon & The EastSide Boyz, which had the biggest first week sales ever for an independent album. That an album so massive was financed, produced, marketed and distributed 100% independently makes a point bigger than the sales mark it set, said Steve Gottlieb. It shows the sea change in the music industry which has given a level of power to independent labels never before seen.
With that power at the ready, TVT Records looks to a future of unlimited potential.
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