| Mercury Records and Scratchie Records form joint venture |
| August 21, 1996, 11:00 pm |
Source: Business Wire Mercury Records and Scratchie Records form joint venture Bridges, Dawn. Business Wire. New York: Aug 22, 1996. pg. 1, 6 pgs (ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Aug. 22, 1996--Mercury Records has formed a joint venture with Chicago-based independent label Scratchie Records to market, promote, manufacture and distribute records. The announcement was made today by Danny Goldberg, president and chief executive officer, Mercury Records, and Jeremy Freeman, president, Scratchie Records. Scratchie was formed last year by owners James Iha and D'arcy of the Smashing Pumpkins, Kerry Brown of Catherine, Adam Schlesinger of Ivy, Jamie Stewart, producer of November Record's "Dancehall Massive" series and Jeremy Freeman. The goal of Scratchie is to release great music regardless of genre and encompassing sounds as diverse as cutting edge alternative rock and Jamaican Dancehall. All six owners will be working in all facets of the label's day to day business with support from Mercury in the areas of marketing, promotion, retail and publicity. Mercury VP of A&R Steve Greenberg will be largely responsible for handling day to day A&R issues with Scratchie. He was first introduced to Scratchie through PolyGram Music Publishing's Holly Greene. Upcoming releases include albums by Fulflej, The Chainsaw Kittens, The Frogs, Phoenix Thundestone, Mike Ladd and Jamaican born Pancho Kryztal, who came hard earlier this year with the underground hit single "Black Girl." Danny Goldberg commented: "I look forward to working with a group of people as diverse as the Scratchie owners. They bring a unique perspective to A&R that makes the label attractive to other artists, and a important addition to the Mercury family." D'arcy said, "People are more flexible and experimental than most record companies give them credit for. Go to any party and you'll hear a Black Sabbath song segue into something like A Tribe Called Quest. The days of musical division are over. Most people just want to hear good music and that's what Scratchie is all about. We'll be fast and inventive and always looking for new sounds and exciting bands." Mercury Records Group is based in New York. Its current roster includes such artists as Bon Jovi, Joan Osborne, Brian McKnight, Lionel Richie, John Mellencamp, Rusted Root, Vanessa Williams and Shania Twain (on Mercury Nashville). In addition, Mercury markets and promotes Def Jam Records and Capricorn Records. Credit: Dawn Bridges |