Dr. King Attorney Retracts Infringement Suit Against Motown Records
(Credit: Motown Museum)
DETROIT — Involvement of Motown Record Corporation in a multi-defendant infringement suit lodged last week by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was an error, and the company’s name has now been dropped from the suit, according to Motown spokesmen.
According to officials of Motown, King and the record company’s president, Berry Gordy Jr., are close friends and that when King’s attorney, Clarence Jones, filed the suit, he was not aware of this and of previous agreements made between the two men, and added the name of Motown to those of the other defendants, Mr. Maestro, Inc., and 20th Century-Fox Records.
The action stems from the alleged unauthorized use on records of King’s recitation, “I Have a Dream,” used at various integration rallies, on which he says he obtained a copyright.
The Motown use of the recitation appeared on an LP of a mass meeting and rally earlier this year in Detroit. Motown says it will soon issue another LP, titled “The Great March On Washington”. END
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Information, credit and news source: Billboard, October 19, 1963
A MCRFB Note: For a more in-depth publication relating as close to this October 1963 Billboard story, read this TIME article dated February 20, 2020, HERE
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The Motown Records ad featured below (published in Billboard 10/12/1963) was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
New Detroit R&B Soul Station PD Will Launch “Young Sound” and Apply Consistency To Programming
DETROIT — WJLB, Booth Broadcasting’s 1,000-watt R&B operation here, has just launched a new programming policy centering around tighter production, faster pacing, and a new set of custom jingles created and packaged by Quincy Jones.
Wash Allen
Wash Allen, who just recently took over WJLB program director duties after being transferred from Booth’s WABQ in Cleveland, said the Detroit station would be “running with a full-blast, exciting young sound.” Playlist will be 40 records, to which he will add as necessity demands. “You can never tell how many good tunes will come out in a good week, but I think the average will be about five new records a week,” he said.
WJLB Martha Jean ‘The Queen’, 1967
The aim will be to establish consistency in programming, Allen said. He felt his philosophy in programming was the same as Bill Drake, consultant to RKO General stations, and Paul Drew, program director of CKLW in Detroit. “Certain top tunes must be played consistently and deejays must be consistent in their shows. One dee-jay can’t make a station; it has to be a total operation and this is a new concept in R&B radio. In the old days, one guy could make a station; he could make a record. It can’t be like that today.”
Things are changing so fast in radio, especially in R&B radio, that Allen felt many older dee-jays were finding it difficult to grasp what was happening. “To some extent,” Allen said, “it was necessary to teach radio to these people. It wasn’t anybody’s fault that this situation developed. It’s just that times are changing and a radio station has to move with the times.”
WJLB ‘Frantic Ernie’ Durham, 1967
Allen began his radio career with WVOL in Nashville while attending Tennessee State University. He had been with WABQ about two and a half years before moving to WJLB. He considers himself a “derivative of Ed Wright,” who’d been program director of WABQ prior to joining Liberty Records as head of its Minit label.
Allen wrote lyrics and produced the Jones jingles. Future plans call for psychedelic jingles. Station has brought in new equipment and is building up its news department. In MarthaJean Steinberg and Ernie Durham, Allen felt he had two of the top air personalities of any station in the nation. “Now, with the new equipment, we find we have everything to work with. END
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Information, credit, and news source (as was published): Billboard; September 23, 1967
PROGRAM DIRECTORS handle a multitude of problems. They deal with promos, jingle packages, formats, news, music and everything else that goes on the air. At many smaller stations their jobs also include supervision of commercial production for local advertisers. The manifold responsibilities of a program director test his skills and try his patience. Of all his jobs, none is so important and none so difficult-as obtaining optimum effectiveness from his staff of disk jockeys.
It has been said that the most successful PD is the one who does the least directing. It could be said more accurately that the most fortunate PD’s are those who need to do the least directing. In an ideal situation, the PD can say “Here’s our policy–here’s our music–you’re all pros–you know how to do good shows–so go!”
There are hardly more than a dozen stations in the U. S. where the staff quality permits the PD to get away with such a do-it-yourself policy. The great majority of disk jockeys, with all their many skills and talents, do better jobs with some coaching, directing, urging, scolding, prodding and whatever other devices the PD may devise. The initials “PD.” which are synonymous with “Program Director,” could just as well stand for “People Director.”
Consider some of the combinations of talent and temperament which the PD must weld into an effective air force:
1. The witty DJ, who is clever and amusing, but who knows little and cares less about his music.
2. The DJ who depends on a set bag of tricks, but who seldom comes up with a fresh, original idea.
3. The record “expert,” whose poor voice and bumbling reading of copy are somewhat compensated for by his contagious enthusiasm about his music.
4. The erratic genius, who poses a constant threat of embroiling the station in libel suits and license difficulties.
5. The conformist who plays it safe by running his shows according to the book, never doing anything wrong but never rising much above the minimum requirements.
6. The restless wanderer, always with an eye on the bigger job, whose long-distance approaches to other stations eventually reach the ears of his own boss.
7. The young prospect who shows signs of talent, and whose apparent potential persuades the PD to spend endless hours trying to develop him into a pro.
Then, of course, there are the rebels and gripers who would be fired tomorrow if they weren’t such very good DJ’s, and the loyal stalwarts who probably would be fired if they weren’t so terribly cheerful, co-operative and devoted to the station.
OUT OF THESE varying degrees of skills and problems, the PD must determine when and where to apply his authority, how and whom to help, and which are hopeless and must be dropped. The way in which he makes these decisions usually determines his own job tenure, for they vitally affect his station’s ratings. He doesn’t dare let his personal friendships for certain DJ’s blind him to their faults, nor can he afford to permit personal dislikes to obscure good performance. He must be detached and objective enough to judge by results, yet warmly human enough to inspire loyalty and enthusiasm from his staff.
Hiring the new man is always a tough decision. There have been countless occasions where the PD has hired on the basis of past ratings and a good aircheck and found later, to his dismay, that his new man simply would not fit the staff or help the station. One of the most successful PD’s I know follows a strict rule: he never hires anyone without a personal interview, and if he has to travel a thousand miles to meet the applicant, he does so.
A program director’s success is usually judged by his station’s ratings, and rightly so. That’s what he is paid for. It is a mistake to credit his success to an inspired music policy or brilliant promotions. His genius, if he has any, lies in his skill and understanding as a people director. END
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Information, credit, and news source (as published): Billboard; September 19, 1964
WCHB Jumps Evening Slot To Number One Status In Detroit
NEW YORK — R&B radio stations are having a banner year and many have turned into powerhouses in the general market. For example, WCHB in Detroit is No. 3 during the daytime in the general market and after 6 p.m. goes to No. 1. The ratings success story of WOL in Washington in the past year has been the talk of the radio industry.
WCHB Bill Williams
All over the nation, modern R&B stations in general are doing great and program directors point to two factors as having an influence on this – the growing popularity of R&B music among whites as well as Negroes, plus the up-dating of the programming and production at these stations.
Bill Curtis, program director of WCHB, Detroit, said, “This station has been building up over the past few years. It’s owned by two Negro doctors who’ve been extremely involved in community affairs, so people look to us as, leaders in the community.
“Too, our sound is as good or better as any station in town. We have strong deejays: Bill Williams is one of the best in the country, a top 40 type personality. And we have Martha Jean Steinberg. All of our personalities are just as smooth, as competent as any jockey on any station.”
Like other program directors, Curtis felt the overall status of the R&B deejay had made tremendous progress in the past year. And one reason why they have achieved status in the community, he said. “is that in the old days the stereotyped R&B deejay said anything that came into his mind. It often offended people or was distasteful. Today, with modern production and tight programming, the deejays only have time for news, temperature, announcing the time, and playing records. There is very little time left in which to say something wrong.”
KYOK in Houston is another station that’s achieving success. Program director Al Garner said that R&B radio “period” is looking better in Houston. Sitting in for vacationing deejays during the past few weeks, Garner said he noticed that his station was picking up a growing number of Latin American listeners, as well as white kids. The station runs third and fourth now in the general market, he said, and competes on the general market level for advertising.
Lucky Cordell, program director of WVON in Chicago, said the status of Chicago R&B deejays, at least, was improving. “E. Rodney Jones and Pervis Spann own a nightclub. Herb Kent has just opened a ballroom for record hops. It’s now a prestige factor to be an R&B deejay. Deejays are respected in the community.”
WCHB SOUL RADIO 1966
He tied in the success of R&B stations in the past few months with the civil rights movement — “We’ve become more and and more a source of information. We’ve doing a much better job of reporting the news that involves Negroes than the other stations in now. Whereas R&B stations used to be mostly for the kids, this is no longer true.”
The station, he said, helped “a good deal” in settling the people down during a recent flare-up.” George Wilson, program director of WHAT in Philadelphia, said there’s no question about the status of the R&B deejay improving. The National Association of Radio Announcers, he said, had helped enormously. “There’s a growing substance to the organization and it’s making an influence. “Nowadays, the successful R&B DJ assume a role of leadership that we didn’t before. We must assume the responsibility of uplifting the kids.”
WDIA in Memphis sets in an enviable position; it has been No. 1 in the market for about 17 years, said program director Bob McDowell, largely through community involvement. The station supports 145 baseball teams with equipment, provides two buses to take crippled children to school daily, supports school for crippled children, plus other good-will projects.
McDowell, a recording artist for Fame Productions, said he felt the status of R&B deejays had definitely improved. “I can tell by the quality of the men who’ve come here in the past three years; they’re good, high quality personalities which is one reason why we’re on top.” The popularity of R&B music is growing, he said, “even here,” considered to be one of the leading R&B centers of the nation. END
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Credit source information (as published): Billboard, August 13, 1966
Lennon ‘Christianity’ Comments Uproars Controversy
NEW YORK — [August 13, 1966] The radio ban against playing Beatles’ records, which was begun last week by Tommy Charles and Doug Layton, WAQY, Birmingham, Ala., has spread across the country, with dozens of stations refusing to program the British group.
Cause of the controversy is a statement published in a British magazine and attributed to John Lennon. The statement follows: “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that: I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary.”
At a press conference held here late Friday (August 5), Brian Epstein, Beatles’ manager, said the statement was taken out of context. Epstein explained that Lennon meant “in the last 50 years the Church of England and, therefore Christ, had suffered a decline in interest.”
While the statement, confirmed by a Beatles’ spokesman, went virtually unnoticed in England, the reaction in this country was immediate.
Greatest impact has been in the so-called “Bible Belt,” which is mainly in the Southeast. But the ban has extended to other sections of the country. New York’s WABC has reportedly put Beatles’ records on the verboten list, but, at press time, the switchboard operator at the station said that not one of the station’s staff members could be reached.
B. J. Williams, disk jockey at KSWO, Lawton, Okla., called for a “Beatles’ bonfire” and broke the Beatles’ latest record while on the air.
In Milwaukee, WOKY music director King Kbornik said he would not ban the record until he had seen Lennon’s remarks in print. The extent of the ban is not known, but a majority of the nation’s radio stations will continue to program Beatles records.
The group is scheduled to play a concert in New York’s Shea Stadium Aug. 23. A spokesman for Capitol Records, which issues Beatles’ records under its logo in the U. S., said Lennon’s remarks were “quoted cut of context and misconstrued.” END
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Credit source information (as published): Billboard, August 13, 1966
DENVER — [August 12, 1967]KHOW, major Easy Listening format radio station here, is banning songs composed by the Beatles.
Hal Davis, general manager, passed down a memo last week instructing personnel “to play no compositions relating to this group. This radio station cannot condone such an attitude” — and referred to trip-taking by one in the group — “and will not give any further air play to songs with which they had any part. Please scratch all tracks on albums and dispose of all single records with music by the Beatles or any member of their group.” END
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Credit source information (as published): Billboard, August 12, 1967
A MCRFB Note: In lieu of the Lennon statement and controversy, did any top 40 stations in Detroit participated in banning Beatles’ record play? We marked two references (with red arrows) in the featured Detroit Free Press column, on the right.
The above newspaper article was digitally re-imaged by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
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NEW YORK — Any doubts that the Supremes will be around a long time as a top adult act were erased at the Copacabana Thursday night (July 29) as the three Detroit girls put on a performance the likes of which the famed bistro has seldom experienced.
The Motown beat was polished, refined and arranged to a fare-thee-well, particularly in “Come See About Me,” the group’s first chart topper.
But more important, Diana, the lead singer, emerged as a solo talent to be reckoned with, and the group’s treatment of pop material like “Queen Of The House” demonstrated that the girls have a sharp comic sense and a repertorial range worthy of a veteran group.
Opening number was a sprightly “From This Moment On,” followed by a song more generally associated with the group – “Baby Love.” Another of the Supremes’ stand-bys – “Stop in the Name of Love” – was delivered in typical Motown style.
“The Girl From Ipanema” was delivered in a cool, subdued style and provided a suitable change of pace after the two beat numbers. “Make Someone Happy” was the showcase for Diana’s solo talent. Her distinctive phrasing and amazing vocal range stamps her as one of the best in the business.
The girls can handle the old music hall song-and-dance bit. On “Rock-a-bye Your Rock-a-bye Baby” they came equipped with straw hats and canes and performed in typical vaudeville style.
Released April 12, 1965
A bit of nostalgia was introduced with selections from their “We Remember Sam Cooke” album (pre-selected audio tracks tagged to the image below), delivered with taste and class.
Closing was “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You,” with Diana delivering the lyric, Mary and Florence cutting in with appropriate asides.
The program wound up with a standing ovation.
While the Supremes will probably keep their teen-age following for some time, there appears little question that the act will last a lot longer as staple adult fare, not too dependent on the chart position of their latest single.
They have all the equipment, poise, polish and a comic sense – and that equipment was working flawlessly Thursday night. END
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Credit source information (as published): Billboard, August 7, 1965
WQTE Launches New Management, Format and New DJs On-Air Policies
WQTE ‘Fabulous 56‘ Survey, 1960
NEW YORK — The payola panic seemed to have abated but many stations across the country are still changing formats and/or deejays in search of higher audience ratings. Latest outlets to adopt new formats are KPOP and KABC, Los Angeles, and WQET, Detroit.
The Storer outlet, KPOP, is changing its call letters to KGBS – for obvious reasons – and switching from a Top-40-type format to an “adult music” policy, emphasizing show-music and semi-classical, beginning July I.
The ABC outlet, KABC, has put three spinners on notice and is adopting a non-deejay programming plan. Deejays put on four weeks’ notice at KABC were Jim Ameche, Don MacKinnon and John Trotter.
The station will launch a new non-deejay format July 4–details of which are still hush-hush. One trade rumor has it that the outlet might go on a news-only programming kick, a la a new San Francisco station operation.
Detroit Station WQET is dropping deejay-controlled disk programming in favor of a strictly supervised “Fabulous 56” format.
The format-switch at WQET is particularly interesting in view of Detroit’s hectic revolving-door situation in the deejay field over the last couple of years.
The station is headed by a team of veteran radio men – prexy Dick Jones and former top jock Ross Mulholland as general manager -and it went on the air last fall with a big-name deejay policy, featuring such top Detroit names as Ed McKenzie and Eddie Chase.
The Detroit Free Press March 27, 1960
Confronted by lagging time-share sales and ratings, Jones and Mulholland decided to adopt the new “Fabulous 56′ policy last week on advice from local distributors. Programming has been taken out of the hands of the deejays and placed in the hands of management.
A list of 56 current hits is made up from station surveys of local dealers, one stops and juke operators, and a list of “rising tunes” compiled from national trade papers.
Approximately 60 per cent of the station’s programming is based on the 56 disks. The remaining 40 per cent is culled from “old memory songs – two to three years old,” new releases, and four “hit of the week” platters selected by the station’s four deejays.
In the wake of the station’s announcement that “the day of big name jockeys is past,” Eddie Chase left WQTE last week. McKenzie left the station three months ago in a disagreement over music programming policies. At the same time, the station has hired a new program director, Harv Morgan, and deejay Tom Clay. Remaining with the station are spinners Ralph Binge and Danny Murphy.
WQTE Tom Clay circa 1960
Clay was fired from WJBK, Detroit, last November after he admitted receiving about $6,000 over a year and a half from small record companies. The jock, along with other WQET deejays, has signed an affidavit that he will not accept payola, said Morgan, who opined that under the station’s new system the jocks will not have any opportunity to accept payola.
Morgan himself will also handle a deejay segment, in addition to his programming duties.
The new format was launched with considerable promotion and fanfare, including a special mailing to time buyers. The copies of Mantovani LP’s and similar non Top-40 packages were sent to the buyers, along with a comment to the effect that this is the kind of music listeners will like, but it doesn’t sell to audiences. END.
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Information, credit and source (as published): Billboard, June 20, 1960
Pathe-Marconi Red Carpets Motown in France, Promoting Gordy’s Acts and New Tamla-Motown Label
PARIS — Pathe–Marconi pulled out all stops this week to launch theTamla-Motown sound in France.
The European premiere of the T-M show was asell-out concert at the Paris Olympia Theater which featured most of the Berry Gordy Jr. team–the Supremes, the Miracles, Martha and the Vendettas, Stevie Wonder and the Earl Van Dyke Sextet.
To this concert Pathe-Marconi summoned their representativesinHolland,Sweden, West Germany, Italy, Switzerland,Belgium,Norwayand Denmark.Organizationcosts forthispilgrimage andthe lavish midnight cocktail party thatfollowedtheconcert amounted to some $4,000.
It was Pathe-Marconi’sbiggest promotion since the acquisition of the Capitol label 10 years ago.Advance publicity for the launching of the Tamla-Motown label included special point-of-salerecorddisplays and 50 huge posters—total area12,000 square yards–at strategic points throughout Paris. There were also display advertisements in France’s paper, France Soir.
SaidPathe-Marconipressman, M. Boullen: “The launching of the Tamla-Motown labelhere comes atatime when French record buyers are becoming more inclined to accept lyrics in English. There is now a very noticeable tendency for them to prefer the original record, in English, to the French language cover version.”
Enthusiastic Crowd
The Tamla team got an enthusiasticreception fromthe French audienceandBerry Gordy Jr. told Billboard afterwards he was well satisfied with the reaction.
Inashortspeechatthe cocktail party, Gordy said that his company always tried to put quality first and recalled that last year Tamla-Motown put out 65 singles, of which 44 got into the American charts.
First releases of the label in France include disks by the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Earl Van Dyke. Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, the Miracles, the Velvelettes, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Contours and Brenda Holloway.
Berry Gordy also announced that Tamla-Motown had signed French singer Richard Anthony. END
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Credit source information (as published): Billboard, May 1, 1965
Motown’s House Band Finally Gets Their Recognition and Just Due
LOS ANGELES — After more than 40 years of obscurity, the Funk Brothers are finally earning their due.
Though this group of 13 jazz/blues artists crafted much of the sound for Motown Records’ Detroit-era hits, its contribution to the music industry only recently received widespread recognition with the Standing in the Shadows of Motown documentary (Artisan).
The title’s April 22 DVD release ($22.98, $19.98 for VHS) promises to attract an even wider American audience with such notable added-value content as extra jam-session footage and extended documentary featurettes, as well as through its joint promotional support from Artisan Home Entertainment and Universal Music Enterprises (UME). UME promoted the accompanying soundtrack, which was released on Hip-O/Motown.
PACKED WITH CELEBRITIES, HITS The Standing in the Shadows of Motown project first took wing in the 1980s. Writer/producer Allan Slutsky had been researching the bass playing of James Jamerson for a book about R&B hotbeds of the 1960s. Interest in the musician’s style led Slutsky to track down his widow, who informed him about Jamerson’s work with the Funk Brothers through out that decade and into the early 1970s. Slutsky ultimately wrote a book about the Funk Brothers and produced the documentary, which was released in theaters last November.
Through interviews and re-enacted scenes, the film documents the Funk Brothers’ rise and fall at Berry Gordy Jr.’sMotown Records. It also features performance segments with the surviving members of the house band and such contemporary vocalists as Joan Osborne, Chaka Khan, and Ben Harper. Pianist Johnny Griffith and drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen participated in the film, but they passed away before its theatrical release. (Griffith’s passing came just days before the film’s debut.)
The film’s soundtrack-which includes new recordings of “Heat Wave,” “Do You Love Me,””I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and other Motown hits–garnered the Funk Brothers’ first Grammy Awards this year, in the categories of best traditional R&B vocal performance (for “What’s Going On,”with lead vocals by Khan) and best compilation sound track album for a motion picture, television or other visual media. The project, released Sept. 24, 2002, has sold 13,000 units, according to Nielsen Sound Scan.
Motown music’s ability to captivate modern audiences is not surprising to Funk Brother Jack Ashford, a tambourine player, who says, “Each Funk Brother had a unique signature to what he did, and these combinations made Motown’s music which in turn, collectively, created theMotown sound.”
Motown’s Funk Brothers Joe Hunter, Eddie Willis and Joe Messina inside Hitsville’s Studio A, “The Snakepit.” (Click on image for largest detailed view)
Pianist Joe Hunter adds that the film “is the biggest recognition that [the Funk Brothers] have ever gotten. And because of Allan, I saw a whole lot of people I hadn’t seen in 35 years. By the time we had played our third tune together, we were at it again.”
Viewers will gain further insight into the ongoing history of the Funk Brothers through the DVD’s special features. Among these selections are a commentary with Slutsky and director Paul Justman, biographies of individual Funk Brothers, and a featurette recorded at a dinner with the group. The interactive recording-studio extra also enables viewers to arrange and record variations of the Funk Brothers tunes.
“I think the DVD will be most rewarding, because it is going down in history,” says Funk Brother Joe Messina, a guitarist who had stopped playing music for 30 years before participating in the project.
MOTOWN MARKETING Artisan and UME’s joint promotional plans are designed to interest consumers in the video and the soundtrack. UME senior director of sales and marketing Ken Patrick says, “The goal is to try to create overall Motown excitement.”
The companies will run joint consumer print ads and are working on a variety of retail promotions. For example, Tower stores will feature end caps with the CD and DVD, while a sampler of Motown songs will be free with the purchase of the DVD at Circuit City outlets.
The Albany, N.Y.-based Trans–World chain is also running print and radio ads touting the titles. Trans World video buyer Mark Higgins says, “I think the DVD is going to do great. This is a natural for us, because our business is still primarily music.”
Artisan and UME will also provide support for the Funk Brothers’ April tour with Osborne. Artisan president of sales and marketing Jeff Fink notes, “We’re trying to include our retail accounts in the tour as much as possible. We will offer concert ticket giveaways at various stops.” Tour stops are still being determined. END
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Credit source information (as published): Billboard, March 22, 2003
The Funk Brothers jammin’ on stage at Detroit’s legendary Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in 2002. [L-R] Joe Messina (guitar), Jack Ashford (tambourine), Johnny Griffith and Joe Hunter (keyboardists), Bob Babbitt (bass), and Richard “Pistol” Allen (drums). (Photo credit: Karen Sas)
LOS ANGELES — The MCA and Motown labels have settled their nearly 2-year-old legal battle. As a result, investment firm Boston Ventures, which already owns most of Motown, will purchase MCA’s approximate 18% interest in Motown and the pending lawsuit between MCA and Poly-Gram likely will be resolved.
The settlement was announced March 23 in a one-paragraph press release issued jointly by MCA and Motown stating that “all claims alleged in the various lawsuits will be dismissed.”
As part of the settlement, Motown, MCA, and Boston Ventures have agreed not to comment on the settlement. According to sources, the settlement is significant because it cuts Motown loose from ties to MCA. Boston Ventures’ plans to purchase MCA’s share of Motown will mean the label once again will be owned by non-warring parties. Boston Ventures already owns 70% of Motown. A partnership of Motown management and artists own the other 12%.
Losing Motown is a major blow to MCA’s Uni Distribution Corp., which counts global expansion as a key goal, and Motown’s deep and valuable catalog would likely further that cause.
According to published reports, Boston Ventures may have paid as much as $60 million for MCA’s 18% stake in Motown. But sources close to the deal claim that figure is “wildly inflated,” pointing out that Motown founder Berry Gordy sold the label, which was once one of the largest black-owned companies in the U.S., for $61 million in June 1988.
However, the subsequent sales of Geffen Records, for approximately $650 million, and of Virgin for $900 million, drove up the market value of labels. The reported $60 million for the 18% stake in Motown suggests that the label is now worth close to $300 million, which is in line with current market prices.
The Motown-MCA battle dates back to May 1991, when Motown sued MCA over the handling of Motown’s promotion and distribution. The suit alleged MCA “has consistently undermined the effort to rebuild Motown” (Billboard, May 25, 1991).
In response, MCA claimed Boston Ventures was attempting to use the suit as a tool to renegotiate the Motown- MCA distribution deal. Within weeks, MCA issued a cross-complaint against Boston Ventures and Motown (Billboard, June 8, 1991).
In late 1991, after Motown announced it would sever its ties with MCA Music Entertainment, the label announced it had signed new domestic and foreign distribution pacts with PolyGram Group Distribution (Billboard, Oct. 5 and Nov. 16, 1991).
MCA’s Uni Distribution responded by discounting Motown product, and a month later filed a suit against Poly-Gram for pacting with Motown while the label was still bound to Uni (Billboard, Nov. 23, 1991).
Insiders speculate Poly-Gram eventually will purchase an interest in the label from Boston Ventures. A Poly-Gram spokesperson termed such talk “just speculation.”
MCA had distributed Motown product since July 1983, when the companies signed a 10-year agreement with two five-year options. END
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Credit source information (as published): Billboard, April 3, 1993
A MCRFB Note: For a previous Billboard Motown-related article published on this site previously — in addition to this story — GO HERE
Dr. King Attorney Retracts Infringement Suit Against Motown Records
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