CHRISTIAN RECORD LABELS
(Light Records Updated December 5, 2010)
Light Records
operates under the umbrella of eOne Music Nashville. eOne Music is a part
of Entertainment One, an international entertainment media company.
Current Artists Include:
Coko Clemons, J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise,
Shirley Caesar, Bishop Paul Morton, Paul Porter, Ricky Dillard, Dorinda Clark Cole,
Jessica Reedy.
Current Music Genre:
Black Gospel
History:
The purchase of
Sacred Records
by
Word Records
in 1963 brought
Ralph Carmichael
to the Word family of artists. Not only had Carmichael orchestrated many albums for the Sacred and
Christian Faith
labels, but he also had arranged and/or conducted for such popular recording artists as
Nat King Cole,
pianist
Roger Williams, Peggy Lee, Stan Kenton, Sue Raney, Jack Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Tex Ritter
and others.
Popular music is defined as the music of the people. So why not use popular music vehicles to more effectively carry the
Gospel message to younger generations who liked contemporary music? But the Word label was conservative.
So in 1966, he made a proposal to Word’s
Jarrell McCracken
to partner with him in a joint venture to create a new contemporary Christian label and
music publishing company. McCracken accepted the idea, and
Light Records
and
Lexicon Music
were born. Carmichael, who lives in Southern California, would provide the music;
Word in Waco, Texas, the publishing and distribution.
Early artists on Light included daughter
Kim (Carol) Carmichael,
the Carmichael Young People,
Ralph Carmichael’s
102 Strings, Jimmy Durante
(originally orchestrated by Ralph Carmichael and released by Warner Bros. Records in 1967),
Sue Raney,
and Thurl Ravenscroft
(the voice of Tony the Tiger in cereal commercials).
Carmichael took Light into
Black Gospel music early with the signing of
Andrae Crouch & the Disciples
in 1968. Other gospel artists on Light included the
Winans, Walter Hawkins and
Bob Bailey
Contemporary Light artists included the
Allies, Bryan Duncan, Ressurection Band, Sweet Comfort Band.
In 1974, Word, Inc. was sold to
ABC.
In June of 1980, Carmichael bought Word's half of Lexicon/Light from
ABC/Capitol Cities,
and Light had an address in Newbury Park, California.
In 1982, Billboard reported that Light Records was sold by Ralph Carmichael to
John Ward,
an Orange County, California developer, with Carmichael remaining as President.
That provided additional capital for the label, and freed Carmichael from business matters to concentrate on the music.
In 1993,
Platinum Entertainment
acquired Light Records which was now in bankruptcy.
In 2001,
Platinum Entertainment
filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.
In January 2002, Light Records was reborn as a Black Gospel label when Platinum emerged from bankruptcy as
Compendia Music Group.
In December 2004,
Sheridan Square Entertainment
acquired Compendia Music Group.
In April 2009,
IndieBlu Music Holdings
was formed with the acquisition of the assets of Sheridan Square Entertainment
and its affiliates in a UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) foreclosure auction.
In May 2010,
Entertainment One,
an international entertainment media company with operations in
Canada, the UK, the Benelux, and the United States, plus distribution agreements in France, Germany, Scandinavia,
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, purchased IndieBlu Music, including the Light label.
In November 2010,
eOne Music Nashville
was formed by
Entertainment One Music,
a division of Entertainment One, as an umbrella for 5 distinct operating groups:
Light Records,
the company’s Black Gospel music label,
eOne Christian Music,
which specializes in contemporary Christian music, and
eOne Music Nashville
focusing on Americana, country, and regional-based music. In addition to the music labels,
eOne Music Licensing
is responsible for all synch and third party master use licensing for all of eOne’s music assets and
eOne Music Publishing
licenses and administrates all of eOne’s musical compositions.
In future months, eOne Nashville will also become the focal point
for the acquisition and development of faith-based film and television programming.
Management
James Robinson
is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Light Records.
James has spent the last 24 years working in Gospel
and Christian music and has been the VP of A&R for Light Records for the last 5 years.
Michael Olsen,
the former CEO of IndieBlu, is President of eOne Music Nashville. Michael Olsen is based in
Nashville and reports to Michael Koch, CEO of Entertainment One Music. Olsen has more than 25 years
experience in the indie record business. He has been President/ CEO of
Sheridan Square Entertainment whose labels included Light Records and Compendia Music Group.
Previously he was Executive VP for Business Affairs of Platinum Entertainment and VP/General Counsel of Intersound in Atlanta.
Mike is also an entertainment lawyer and prior to working in the indie record industry
served as VP/General Manager of the Denver Symphony Orchestra.
Some information is from Ralph Carmichael’s
autobiography, He’s Everything To Me,
copyright 1986 by Ralph Carmichael, published by Word
Books, and available from
www.ralphcarmichael.com.
Additional information is from various Internet
sources.
