Stephen MarleyChief executive officer of Ghetto Youths International, Stephen Marley, on Friday signed an exclusive worldwide distribution deal with Motown Records.
The venture is an agreement whereby Ghetto Youths International exclusively brings artistes to Motown for multi-album deals. Motown will distribute the artistes in all markets except the Caribbean and Jamaica, where Tuff Gong (the Marley family's label) will continue to represent the family's musical interests.
Motown and Ghetto Youths International will work hand-in-hand in developing the artistes' marketing and promotions strategy.
The first artistes to be released through the deal will be Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley whose album, Half-way Tree, is slated for August 21, 2001. The second release will be from Stephen Marley, slated for first quarter 2002.
Stephen Marley told Showbiz late last year, that he was out shopping for a distribution deal which would not only handle Damian's album, but also projects by other artistes who are part of the Ghetto Youths United camp.
Ghetto Youths International was established in 1993 by Grammy winning brothers, Stephen and Ziggy Marley, as a way of helping talented young artists to get a start in the music business.
Speaking on the teachings of his father, Stephen said: "He would say 'music is serious like a prayer and you don't put just anything in a prayer, you say important things.'"
Since the company's inception, Ghetto Youths International has produced critically acclaimed albums for Bob's mother Cedella Booker, as well as his younger brothers Julian and Damian Marley.
No stranger to the music industry, Damian's first album, Mr. Marley (1996, Ghetto Youths) was produced by Stephen Marley and spawned such hits as Me Name Junior Gong and One Cup of Coffee. It also secured him, with brother Julian, a spot on the Lollapalooza tour.
Damian's Motown debut, Half-way Tree, will also see the Marley brothers working together. Stephen serves as executive producer and he co-wrote and produced all the songs on the project. Damian is also active not only as the performer, but as songwriter.
According to chief executive officer of Motown Records, Kedar Massenburg, "My goal for Motown is to take the label one step further by developing music for a society that has become multi-cultural. With such talent as Brian McKnight, Erykah Badu, India Arie and now the Marleys, Motown is becoming the sound of today's global youth."
Motown Records is a division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company with wholly-owned record operations or licensees in 63 countries around the world. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's largest global music publishing operations.
Universal Music Group consists of record labels A&M Records, Decca Record Company, Deutsche Grammophon, Geffen Records, Interscope Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Jimmy and Doug's Farmclub.com, MCA Nashville, MCA Records, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Philips, Polydor, Universal Records and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world.
The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry which is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the USA) and UM3 (outside the USA).
Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.
Andrew Clunis
