Musician/entrepreneur Akon and former Motown president/CEO Kedar Massenburg have joined forces to become co-founders of Akonik Label Group, their new business venture, which is comprised of four record labels that will be distributed globally by BMG.
Akonik Label Group will be housed in four different locations with offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. The four labels will sign and promote talent within the U.S., Europe, and various other regions around the world to include the Caribbean and Latin America.
According to Billboard, the Akonik label will focus on artists in the U.S. and Europe, while the Akonda label will focus on Afro Beats artists. The Ke Lo Ke label will cater to Latin American, inclusive of Mexico and Puerto Rico, while the fourth label Jamakon will focus on developing Caribbean artists. ALG plans on releasing its first wave of new singles and videos in the next 30 days.
In a press release announcing the launch of ALG, the venture is described as “the first time an artist has established a multi-national, multi-cultural label group.” Massenburg told People, “Music is able to reach a global market with a touch of a button. It’s ‘global idol’ now versus American Idol. And the public has become the A&R for labels. We’re giving people a chance in other parts of the world that might not be heard. It’s an exciting time as the music industry reinvents itself.”
Akon said, “This is an idea I wanted to do in 2010. But at that time, the music business hadn’t matured and diversified the way it has in terms of being open to new genre fusions and not as compartmentalized. We just want to bring a fresh ear and build an artist-driven company where people can be as creative as they wish without someone telling them what they have to do.”
Massenburg, who doubles as Akon’s manager, is known as the driving force behind the neo-soul movement that gave us artists such as #ErykahBadu, India.Arie and D’Angelo. Massenburg served as president/CEO of Motown from the late ‘90s until 2004.
Five-time Grammy Award nominee, Akon has solidified his position in the music industry beginning in 2004 with hits like “Locked Up,” “Lonely,” “Smack That” featuring #Eminem, “I Wanna Love You” featuring #SnoopDogg and “Don’t Matter”, in addition to his continuous philanthropy efforts in Africa.
Akon and Massenburg have also announced festival performances and tour plans in the near future.
Congratulations to Akon and Kedar Massenburg!
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