• Motown Records, or Tamla Motown as it was first known, was formed in Detroit, Michigan by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959, on a loan of $800 from family. Motown Records was the first record label owned by an African-American and featured African-American artists paving the way into mainstream crossover success. Notable Motown artists include Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, Boyz II Men and Erykah Badu.

  Motown celebrated its 50th anniversary on January 12, 2009. During it's history, the label has grown to a multimillion dollar company with dozens of top-rated artists.

• Fast Facts

  1. Founder: Berry Gordy
  2. First known as Tamla Motown
  3. Incorporated on January 12, 1959
  4. Changed its name to Motown Records Incorporated in 1960
  5. Smokey Robinson was the Vice President of the label from 1961 until 1988
  6. Headquarters left Detroit in 1972
  7. Annual Revenue: 90 Million (2004)
  8. Headquarters: New York City, New York
  9. Distributing Label: The Universal Motown/Universal Republic Group
  10. Founder: Berry Gordy Jr.
  11. President: Sylvia Rhone
  12. CEO: Mel Lewinter
  13. Parent Company: Universal Music Group
  14. Staff: 1300
  15. 2009 label celebrated it's 50th Anniversary

• Artists, Past and Present

  Since its inception, Motown has grown to represent over 25 subsidiary record companies and is itself now part of Universal Music Group. Some of the more prominent acts that it has represented are The Commodores, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Boyz II Men, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder just to name a few. Stevie Wonder is the only artist from the original label that is still with the company. Current Motown artists include India.Arie, Erykah Badu and Lindsay Lohan.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Smokey Robinson | Marvin Gaye | The Temptations | Diana Ross | Stevie Wonder | The Jackson 5 | Lionel Richie | Michael Jackson | How to Moonwalk | Rick James | Erykah Badu | Brian McKnight | Boyz II Men | India.Arie | Damian Marley | Swizz Beatz | Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life | Norman Whitfield | The Foundations | How to Start a Record Label

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