Jive Records

In 1971, South African businessmen Clive Calder and Ralph Simon began a publishing and management company. It was named Zomba Records and relocated to London, England, four years later; their first client was a young Robert "Mutt" Lange. Zomba originally wanted to avoid record labels to instead focus on their songwriters and producers while allowing other established labels to release the material.{{cite book|title=Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age|url=https://archive.org/details/appetiteforselfd00knop_0|url-access=registration|last=Knopper|first=Steve|year=2009|publisher=Free Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4165-5215-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/appetiteforselfd00knop_0/page/80 80–104]}} Later that decade, the company opened offices in the US, where Calder began a business relationship with Clive Davis, whose Arista Records began releasing material by Zomba artists.

In 1981, Zomba formed Jive Records, whose operations began with the release of British dance and pop music from groups such as Q-Feel, A Flock of Seagulls, and Tight Fit.{{cite magazine|last=Malan|first=Rian|date=25 July 2002|title=The $3 Billion Man: Clive Calder|magazine=Rolling Stone|volume=901|pages=26, 28}} Its name was inspired by township Jive, a type of music that originated in South Africa.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/zomba-records-ltd-history/|title=History of Zomba Records Ltd. |website=Fundinguniverse.com|access-date=22 June 2021}} Clive Davis had hoped that Zomba's connection with Mutt Lange would help alleviate the difficulties Arista was having with launching rock acts to success.

File:Dj jazzy jeff-mika.jpg pictured in 2002. The hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince sold over 5.5 million records with the label, and became the first hip hop act to win a Grammy Award for "Parents Just Don't Understand" in 1989.|left]]

By 1982, Calder was introduced to Barry Weiss, a young college graduate who took Calder out to hip-hop clubs in New York City for his job interview with Zomba.{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Melinda |date=2008-04-25 |title=BMG's Weiss brings in business savvy |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-weiss25apr25-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125210020/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-weiss25apr25-story.html |archive-date=25 January 2021 |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} Weiss and Calder began grooming musicians for what would eventually become the hip hop group Whodini. After two days, the group created and recorded its hit single "Magic's Wand." While the group would eventually leave Jive, the early success allowed the label to focus on hip-hop artists throughout the 1980s.{{Cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Patrick |date=1988-06-19 |title=A Rappin' Big Year for Little Jive Records |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-19-ca-7788-story.html |access-date=September 28, 2021 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

In 1987, Jive cut distribution ties with Arista, effectively separating them from Davis, who eschewed hip hop music at his label.{{Cite book |last=Seabrook |first=John |title=The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=2015 |isbn=9780393241938 |chapter=6 {{!}} Martin Sandberg’s Terrible Secret |access-date=2021-10-02 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kOdwBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT55}} As the 1980s drew to a close, the label entered a distribution deal with Arista's sister label RCA Records, and it continued to sign hip hop acts including DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Boogie Down Productions, Too $hort, Schoolly D, and Kid Rock.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Kid Rock |url=https://www.biography.com/musician/kid-rock |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=Biography |date= December 5, 2019|language=en-us}}

File:Aaliyah Dana Haughton-05.jpg pictured in 2000. Her debut studio album Age Ain't Nothing But a Number sold over 6 million copies and became a multi-platinum record for the label.]]

In 1990, Calder bought Simon’s stake in Zomba and became the sole owner of Jive Records.{{Cite magazine |last1=White |first1=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 |title=The Untold Saga of the Zomba Group |last2=Newman |first2=Melinda |date=5 May 2001 |magazine=Billboard |volume=113 |pages=1, 98–100 |access-date=2021-10-02 |issue=18}}{{Cite web|date=19 March 2001|title=Jive Talking|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0319/138.html|access-date=|website=Forbes|language=en}} Jive's distribution deal with RCA expired in 1991. At this time, Bertelsmann Music Group acquired a minority share of the label and began to distribute its records directly.{{Cite news |last=Holson |first=Laura M. |date=2002-06-12 |title=BMG to Buy Rest of Zomba, The Home Of Pop Stars |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/12/business/bmg-to-buy-rest-of-zomba-the-home-of-pop-stars.html |access-date=2021-10-02 |issn=0362-4331}} Weiss became chief executive of Jive Records that year. Jive opened branches in Chicago and had also become a premier label in the genres of hip hop and R&B with the success of acts like D-Nice, E-40, UGK, A Tribe Called Quest, Hi-Five, KRS-One/Boogie Down Productions, R. Kelly{{Cite magazine |last=McAdams |first=Janine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20 |title=Jive Records Jibing in R&B Arena |date=14 November 1992 |magazine=Billboard |volume=104 |pages=20, 23 |access-date=2021-10-02 |issue=46}} and Aaliyah.

In 1996, BMG deepened its relationship with the label by purchasing a 20-percent stake of Jive. By the late 1990s, Jive began signing pop acts Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears. All three acts achieved massive success as the 2000s dawned, becoming the three best-selling acts in the label's history.{{Cite magazine |last=Paoletta |first=Michael |date=30 October 1999 |title=Jive Rides Teen-pop Wave: Trend-savvy Label Looks Beyond Legal Tangles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eAgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Jive+Rides+Teen-pop+Wave%22&pg=PA7 |magazine=Billboard |pages=1, 72}}Retrieved September 28, 2021.

In 2002, Calder sold Zomba to BMG for US$2.74 billion,{{Cite news |last=Leeds |first=Jeff |date=2007-07-23 |title=Oops! ...They Did It Again |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/media/23music.html |access-date=2021-09-28 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Arango |first=Tim |date=2002-11-27 |title=BMG GETS FLEECED – SHELLS OUT $2.74B FOR ZOMBA, WITHOUT CALDER |url=https://nypost.com/2002/11/27/bmg-gets-fleeced-shells-out-2-74b-for-zomba-without-calder/ |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=New York Post |language=en-US}} which at the time was the largest-ever acquisition of an independent label with major-label distribution.{{Cite web|last=Green|first=Tim|date=2020-03-03|title='This business is about what's coming next. It always has been.'|url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ralph-simon-this-business-is-about-whats-coming-next-it-always-has-been/|access-date=|website=Music Business Worldwide|language=en-US}} Calder then announced his resignation from Zomba, but continued to stay on at Jive in a temporary advisory role as Zomba was integrated into BMG.{{Cite magazine |last1=Benz |first1=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Og0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=BMG's New Task: Maintaining Zomba's Culture, Creativity |last2=Horwitz |first2=Carolyn |date=7 December 2002 |magazine=Billboard |volume=114 |pages=3, 4 |access-date=2021-10-02 |issue=49}} Weiss succeeded Calder as the new head of Zomba.{{Cite magazine|last=Christman|first=Ed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5BIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA68|title=Sony BMG|date=7 August 2004|magazine=Billboard|volume=116|issue=32|pages=68}} In 2004, BMG merged with Sony Music Entertainment to form Sony BMG.{{Cite web |last=Willis |first=Barry |date=2004-08-09 |title=Done Deal: Sony BMG |url=https://www.stereophile.com/news/080904sonybmg/index.html |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=Stereophile |language=en}} During this time, Jive's management and distribution were restructured under the newly formed Zomba Label Group.{{Cite magazine |last=Dansby |first=Andrew |date=14 January 2004 |title=L.A. Reid Exits Arista |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/l-a-reid-exits-arista-242799/ |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906104637/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/l-a-reid-exits-arista-242799/ |archive-date=6 September 2019}} Retrieved September 28, 2021. Artists who had previously been on LaFace and Arista Records were subsequently absorbed under the Zomba group and placed under the purview of Jive Records’ staff. Thus, artists such as Pink, Usher, and Outkast became de facto Jive artists. Though both physical record sales and teen pop had steadily declined since the early 2000s, the output from Jive’s newer artists — particularly Usher’s Confessions album and Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below — would prove to be profitable successes for Jive. In addition to releasing Spears’ 2007 album Blackout,{{Cite news|last=Ollison|first=Rashod D.|date=27 October 2007|title=Britney's back, breathy as ever|work=Baltimore Sun}} Jive was now also the home of a solo Justin Timberlake, whose FutureSex/LoveSounds also saw high sales.{{Cite web |date=20 September 2006 |title=Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds Enters the Billboard Top 200 as the #1 Album in the Country |url=https://www.sony.com/en_us/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-music-entertainment/2006/justin-timberlakes-futuresexlovesounds-enters-the-billboard-top-200-as-the-1-album-in-the-country.html |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=Sony Music Entertainment |language=en-US}} Other Jive artists at that time included Ciara{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=15 February 2011 |title=Ciara Pleas To Be Released From Jive |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2494996/ciara-pleas-to-be-dropped-from-jive/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514183700/http://www.mtv.com/news/2494996/ciara-pleas-to-be-dropped-from-jive/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 14, 2016 |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=MTV News |language=en}} and Chris Brown.{{Cite web |last=Hildebrand |first=Lee |date=2006-10-01 |title=Brown runs with it |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Brown-runs-with-it-2550485.php |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=SF Gate |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |last=Wang |first=Amy X. |date=2020-03-06 |title=At Work With Barry Weiss, CEO of RECORDS |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/barry-weiss-music-records-at-work-958876/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=}} Retrieved September 28, 2021.

By early 2008, the BMG Label Group was said to include RCA Records, J Records, LaFace, Arista, Volcano Entertainment, Verity, GospoCentric and Fo Yo Soul — all overseen by Weiss.{{Cite magazine |last=Christman |first=Ed |date=26 April 2008 |title=Barry's Big Day |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2008/BB-2008-04-26.pdf |magazine=Billboard |page=10}} Retrieved September 28, 2021. Later that year, Sony and BMG dissolved its merger, with the former buying out shares of the latter.{{Cite web |last=Hefflinger |first=Mark |date=5 August 2008 |title=Bertelsmann Sells Stake in Sony BMG for $1.2 Billion |url=http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2008/08/05/bertelsmann-sells-stake-sony-bmg-$1.2-billion |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122124830/http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2008/08/05/bertelsmann-sells-stake-sony-bmg-$1.2-billion |archive-date=22 November 2008 |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=Digital Media Wire}} As a result of Sony's buyout, Jive (along with its BMG sisters RCA and Arista) became a wholly owned unit of a refreshed Sony Music Entertainment. Starting in 2008 Jive was all capital (e.g. JIVE Records), this change started when BMG Label Group was renamed RCA/JIVE Label Group.

After two decades as president of Jive, Barry Weiss left for Universal Music Group{{Cite magazine|last=Perpetua|first=Matthew|date=7 October 2011|title=RCA Folds Arista, Jive and J Records|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rca-folds-arista-jive-and-j-records-236750/|access-date=22 June 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone}} in March 2011.{{Cite web |date=2 March 2011 |title=Barry Weiss Exits RCA/Jive |url=https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=291609&title+Barry-Weiss-Exits-RCA-Jive |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=HITS Daily Double |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Universal Music Hires Sony Executive Barry Weiss|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-07/universal-music-hires-sony-executive-barry-weiss.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 December 2010|access-date=22 June 2021|website=Bloomberg Businessweek|date=7 December 2010|author-first1=Andy|author-last1=Fixmer|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211051824/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-07/universal-music-hires-sony-executive-barry-weiss.html}} On October 7, 2011, it was announced that Jive, along with Arista and J Records, would be retired to refresh and re-brand RCA Records by not confusing or diluting it with other labels.{{Cite web |last=Halperin |first=Shirley |date=2011-10-07 |title=RCA Execs Confirm Jive and Arista Labels Shut Down |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/rca-execs-confirm-jive-arista-245392/ |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} All retained artists on those labels were then moved to RCA Records.{{cite web |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=8 August 2011 |title=Peter Edge Named CEO of Sony's RCA Music Group |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/peter-edge-named-ceo-sonys-220328/ |access-date=2021-10-02 |work=Hollywood Reporter}}{{cite magazine |last=Halperin |first=Shirley |date=12 July 2011 |title=L.A. Reid's First Week at Epic Has Some Staffers Feeling 'Energized' |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/l-a-reid-s-first-week-at-epic-has-some-staffers-1005272002.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715194815/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/l-a-reid-s-first-week-at-epic-has-some-staffers-1005272002.story |archive-date=15 July 2011 |access-date=2021-09-28 |magazine=Billboard}}

The label is currently in hibernation, with the distribution of its back catalog handled by Sony Music's Legacy Recordings. Previously, the Jive brand was being exclusively used under the Sony Music France division under the name Jive Epic in France until 2019, when it was absorbed into RCA Records France.{{cite web|url=http://www.sonymusic.fr/labels/|title=Labels - Sony Music - France|work=Sony Music France|access-date=January 28, 2015|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524030404/http://www.sonymusic.fr/labels/|url-status=dead}}

On September 27, 2021, singer R. Kelly was found guilty by a federal jury of acts including bribery and sexual exploitation of a child.{{Cite news |last1=Clifford |first1=Tyler |last2=Cohen |first2=Luc |date=2021-09-28 |title=R. Kelly convicted of luring women, underage girls for sex |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/jurors-resume-deliberations-r-kelly-trial-2021-09-27/ |access-date=2021-09-28}} Allegations of Kelly’s sexual misconduct had long followed the singer since his early career with Jive in the early 1990s,{{Cite news |last=Closson |first=Troy |date=2021-08-30 |title=In R. Kelly Trial, the Verdict May Hinge on a Circle of Enablers |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/nyregion/r-kelly-trial-racketeering-enablers.html |access-date=2021-09-28 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Edgers |first=Geoff |date=4 May 2018 |title=How the music industry overlooked R. Kelly's alleged abuse of young women |language=en |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2018/05/04/feature/how-the-music-industry-overlooked-r-kellys-alleged-abuse-of-young-women/ |access-date=2021-09-28}} as well as throughout the 2000s when a video tape surfaced allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sexual acts with a minor and when Kelly was arrested for possession of child pornography.{{Cite web |last1=DeRogatis |first1=Jim |last2=Pallasch |first2=Abdon M. |date=8 February 2002 |title=City police investigate R&B singer R. Kelly in sex tape |url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-kelly08.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020212051418/http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-kelly08.html |archive-date=12 February 2002 |access-date=2021-09-28 |website=Chicago Sun-Times}}{{Cite magazine |last=Susman |first=Gary |date=23 January 2003 |title=R. Kelly is arrested on porn charges...again |url=https://ew.com/article/2003/01/23/r-kelly-arrested-porn-chargesagain/ |access-date=2021-09-28 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en}}

Despite the scandals, Kelly remained signed to Jive’s roster and continued to release albums with the label up to its merger with RCA in 2011. In 2018, the Washington Post ran a lengthy article alleging industry executives at Jive had been aware of Kelly's sexually abusive behavior towards young women for years, but did nothing about them due to his success as a performer and songwriter. The article reported Clive Calder had been warned about Kelly’s behavior as early as 1994; it quoted him: "Clearly, we missed something."

Former Jive president Barry Weiss told the newspaper that during his 20 years with the label, he never concerned himself with Kelly's private life, and was unaware of two lawsuits filed against Kelly and the label by women alleging sexual misconduct, suits in which the label had successfully argued it was not liable. Larry Khan, another Jive executive who worked closely with the singer even after viewing the sex tape, similarly implied Kelly’s misconduct was not the label's responsibility and pointed to Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis as musicians whose labels also continued to release and promote their records despite public awareness that they were involved with underage girls.

{{main|Jive Records discography}}

{{main|List of Jive Records artists}}

• Zomba Group of Companies
• RCA/Jive Label Group
• List of record labels

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book | last=Knopper | first=Steve | title=Appetite for self-destruction : the spectacular crash of the record industry in the digital age | publisher=Free Press | publication-place=New York | date=2009 | isbn=978-1-4165-5215-4 | oclc=209699402}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160110195046/http://www.zombalabelsgroup.com/ Zomba Label Group] (archived)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071018052124/http://musicbox.sonybmg.com/ Sony BMG Music Entertainment] (archived)
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWNWjiTGsRM Video interview with Jeff Fenster (Senior Vice President of A&R at Jive Records)]
• {{Discogs label}}
• {{MusicBrainz label}}

{{Sony Corp}}

{{Zomba Group of Companies}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Record labels established in 1981

Category:Record labels disestablished in 2011

Category:American record labels

Category:Pop record labels

Category:Hip-hop record labels

Category:Rock record labels

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Category:Electronic music record labels

Category:Sony Music

Category:Zomba Group of Companies subsidiaries

Category:IFPI members