Boyz II Men are the latest to jump on the bandagon of artists who have inked their own label distrubution deal. Just recently Shawn Stockman, Michael McCary, Wanya Morris, and Nathan Morris held a press confrence announcing the details of their new business venture with Entertainment giant, Sony Music Entertainment. The new company, Stonecreek Recordings is a rarity in itself since it is an exclusive multifaceted worldwide label venture with Sony. Considering other successful mega stars who now maintain a distribution deal with a major label: Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Salt-N-Pepa (just to name a small few), it was just a matter of time before Boyz II Men came into their own.
In just five short years, the Boyz have emerged from their tough Philadelphia neighborhoods and have become international multiplatnium super stars. As artists, they are distinguished as hallmarks in an indusrty so largely criticized for upholding violence, drugs, and sexual promiscuity. Their soulful, timeless music is a fresh genre-spanning sound that lke their name, bridges the gap between generations. The group has garnered an astonishing number of #1 singles while breaking records set decades ago by the likes of the Beatles, and Elvis Presley-and have won every music award existing. They've even worked alongside hitmakers Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds (Toni Braxton/TLC), Brian McKnight, Dallas Austin (Monica/Madonna), Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson/Patti LaBelle) and served as writers, producers and executive producers of their own mulit-platnium records. With this sort of experience in hand, it's quite obvious that these Boyz know exactly what it takes to make good music.
So we can expect nothing but the best from the new label, Stonecreek Recordings. The sounds emanating from its homebase, Stonecreek Studios in Philadelphia, will not fall short of the Boyz own musical aspirations. Stonecreek will serve as a springboard for new and remarkable talent. As a group member Nathan Morris explained, "This new label, with the backing of Sony Music's marketing and distribution teams, is the perfect vechile for us to bring our creative talents to the forefront while also providing a home for gifted artists." Nathan went on to say, "We're extremly excited about the opportuntity to work with Tommy Mottola and all of te labels at Sony Music. From the beginning of our talks, they have shared and supported our vision of Stonecreek Recordings."
Thomas Mottala, the President and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment shares the same enthusiasm for the venture. He started, "For me, this is one of the most exciting artist development projects that I've been privleged to be involved with." Each release will be marketed and promoted through Sony's Columbia Music, and Epic Records divisions-depending on the genre and direction of each individual artist. Boyz II Men will serve as producers for developing and established acts on Sony, while spearheading A&R, production and marketing for their Stonecreek projects.
When asked about their plans for their forthcoming roster, the group declined to comment since their artists are still in the early stages of development. However, they did inform that they would tentatively be debuting their lead act sometime in Fall 1996. The members of the Boyz are quick to dismiss the notion that they would be limiting Stonecreek to just one type of music. As Shawn explains, "We're not going to limit ourselves to just one category of music, we're going to be involved with any and everything."
And they will be everywhere recruiting talent. "We'll be going everywhere-worldwide. From the inner cities of New York to the inner cities of Bangladesh, were going to be there uprooting new talent," says Shawn.
Since their debut, Shawn, Wanya, Nathan, and Michael have proven themselves to be natural born acheivers and with this new development, are merely going through a natural artistic progression. So Boyz II Men fans need not to worry. Amidst all the commotion involved with this Stonecreek venture, the group will continue to record album after album for their label, Motown Records. With just two studio albums, a Christmas, and a remix album under their mega-platnium belt, they're on a role and they're surely not about to quit.