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Rowdy Records
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rowdy Records | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder(s) | Dallas Austin Antonio Reid |
| Distributing label | Universal Records (In the US) |
| Genre(s) | Various |
| Country of origin | US |
| Official Website | http://rowdyrecords.com/ |
Rowdy Records is an American record label formed in 1992 by producers Dallas Austin and L.A. Reid, and was initially distributed through Arista Records. At the time, Austin had gained notoriety for writing and producing hits for acts like Another Bad Creation, Boyz II Men, For Real and TLC. Reid, meanwhile, was also running the fledging LaFace Records. In 1993, Reid stepped down to continue focusing his energies on LaFace, leaving Dallas to run the Atlanta-based company on his own.
Rowdy shot to success in 1995 with the release of the triple platinum debut album from fourteen year old R&B singer Monica entitled Miss Thang. Other acts on the label included: Illegal, Fishbone, Caron Wheeler. The label also released the soundtrack to the motion-picture Fled.
In spite of the labels strong buzz in the industry (mainly because of Austin's name being attached to it); by 1997 Rowdy began to flounder, as Monica's debut album had been it's biggest release to date — and arguably the company's only success. Creative differences with Arista subsequently caused Rowdy to vacate its fold, while Monica — it's biggest star — remained at Arista.
Without a major distributor, Rowdy briefly went the "indie" route before stalling completely. Austin's career, meanwhile, continued to thrive as he remained a highly sought after producer, which led to him stepping down as CEO. In 1998, Rowdy closed its doors.
In 2005, when a fledgling Decatur, Georgia based hip-hop group called Da BackWudz caught Austin's attention, he decided to reactivate Rowdy (after seven years of dormancy) in order to sign them. Today Rowdy is distributed through Universal Motown Records Group. Also currently on the Rowdy Records roster is teen star Sammie, and American Idol Season 4 finalist Vonzell Solomon.