This record label has been up and running since early 2005 and is based out of New York.
Artists of Universal Motown
Despite the term Motown being used right in the name of the label, it has little to do with the genre of music popularized in the late 50’s and early 60’s known as Motown. The artists that they sign such as Nelly, Kid Cudi, Nicki Minaj, and Forever the Sickest Kids represent the style of the label as a whole.
The reason that the genre doesn’t match the name is because Universal Motown was no the original name. Originally it was two separate record labels, Universal, and Motown, which decided to merge and form Universal Motown, Though Motown records had been operating since 1959, since Motown music for the most part was no longer being made, they were signing artists closely affiliated with the genre such as R&B artists as well as hip hop and funk musicians.
The universal merger saw Universal importing most of their major artists as the major exports of the label. Kid Cudi and Nicki Minaj and Forever the Sickest Kids are now the new face of Motown Records as it once was. Currently the former CEO of Elektra Records is the head of Universal Motown, and is making sure that the original point of the Motown label is not forgotten. As recently as 2008, the record label has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original incarnation of the record label by releasing the original #1’s box set, a collection of albums released in the late 50’s and early 60’s that appeared as #1 on the billboards music chart of their respective eras.