Four Music

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Four Music Productions
Logo of the label
Logo of the label
Parent company Sony Music Entertainment
Active years since 1996
founder The fantastic Four
Seat Berlin
Website www.fourmusic.com

Four Music is a Berlin record label that was founded in 1996 by Die Fantastischen Vier and was initially based in Stuttgart. Four Music Productions GmbH has been a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment since 2005 , with Philip Ginthör and Edgar Berger as managing directors . Various hip-hop , reggae , pop and contemporary R&B artists, such as Marteria and MIA, are under contract . , Mark Forster and Joris .

history

Four Music headquarters

At Popkomm 1996 Die Fantastischen Vier announced they would found their own label. Its discoverer Fitz Braum, who was also a partner in the company, became the first managing director. Four Music should deliberately differentiate itself from its established competitors and work “by artists for artists” and also form a platform for solo and side projects of Fantastischen Vier. The label was distributed in the first few years by Sony BMG , where the band was under contract. Four Music was initially based in Stuttgart , but moved to Berlin in 2002 . Internationally, a location was set up in London , among other places , where the sub-label FINE. is resident.

The first release was an album by the French-speaking Swiss band Sens Unik , it was released two weeks after the label was founded. Four Music only became known to a wider public at the end of the 1990s through works by the artists Afrob , Freundeskreis , Gentleman and Blumentopf . In this context, Max Herre is particularly important, who gave the label its first gold award in 1997 with the single ANNA (album: Quadratur des Kreises ) from Freundeskreis. The artists Thomas D and Franka Potente achieved second gold status with Wish , the theme song of the film Run Lola Run .

In 2001, Clueso , who has since left, was signed to Four Music, whose debut album Text and Sound was provided with both German and English titles. He then appeared in the opening act for Fantastischen Vier and with Herbert Grönemeyer . In the same year Thomas D presented his second solo album, after the turn of the millennium the number of releases on Four Music rose sharply overall. In 2003 the musician Gentleman , who was also under contract with Four Music, received an ECHO for "Best National HipHop / R&B Artist". In the same year the company began offering its services to artists and labels. Among other things, an extensive cooperation with Yo Mama from Hamburg was agreed.

At the same time, the label began selling works through Universal Music . At the beginning of 2005 the cooperation with Sony BMG was completely terminated, against the background of the existing contract of the Fantastischen Vier, representatives of the band and the label stated ongoing controversies with Sony BMG as the reason for the decision. A few months later, both sides surprisingly settled the dispute, Sony BMG acquired 50 percent of the shares in Four Music. The exact purchase price was not known, but it was not intended to be paid to the previous shareholders , but to be invested in young German artists. At that point, Four Music was earning eight figures and selling more than 800,000 records. Nevertheless, the company got into an economic crisis and was completely taken over by the parent company, from 2007 the Fantastischen Vier were no longer shareholders. In addition, Warner Music and Universal Music were interested in a takeover of Four Artists, but in this case there was no sale due to low bids.

In September 2004, Four Music was in the top positions of the German charts for several weeks without interruption: First, Gentleman entered first place with Confidence , which was then replaced by Max Herre and then by the Fantastischen Vier themselves with the album Viel . Four Music or Four Artists organized the biggest indoor tour of the Fantastischen Vier to date, which included, among other things, a performance in Hamburg 's Volkspark Stadium. The band's first best-of album was released in 2005 and numerous new artists were won. In the next year, Joy Denalane attracted attention with the album Born & Raised and Clueso with Weit weg , with the latter reaching sixth place in the German charts over 13 weeks. Four Music also founded a sub-label called BPX in 1992 , which signed the internationally renowned country musician Lee Hazlewood . Bela B. brought out the solo album Bingo at BPX in 1992 , which went straight to second place in the charts.

After more than ten years, managing director and co-founder Fitz Braum left the company in 2007, and was succeeded by Philip Ginthör from Columbia Records . The commercial success of the label continued in the following years: In 2008, Clueso again released a studio album with Four Music, So very much , which later earned him his first gold award. In 2010 Four Music released the album Happiness and the single Wonderful Life by the British duo Hurts , both of which went gold and platinum. In the same year Casper signed a contract with the label. In 2010 the album comes Fortunately for the future of Marteria , which was in 2013 also awarded gold. A controversy arose after the rapper Massiv split from Four Music, as he had christened his own label Fight 4 Music . Sony BMG filed a lawsuit based on the similarity of the two names. With Marteria in collaboration with Yasha and the singer Miss Platnum and their title Lila Wolken , which entered the German single charts straight away in 2012, the label achieved success again.

In 2014, Marteria once again won gold with the album Zum Glück in die Zukunft II and the single Kids . The album was released on January 31, 2014.

Awards

album

date title Interpreter
December 8, 1999 Esperanto circle of friends gold
November 21, 2000 MTV Unplugged The fantastic Four gold
October 8, 2003 MTV Unplugged The fantastic Four platinum
January 7, 2004 Journey To Jah gentleman gold
September 30, 2004 Confidence gentleman gold
September 30, 2004 Much The fantastic Four gold
October 15, 2004 Much The fantastic Four platinum
October 7, 2005 Confidence gentleman platinum
May 14, 2009 Heavily in it Clueso gold
June 16, 2009 Far away Clueso gold
June 21, 2010 Heavily in it Clueso platinum
October 22, 2010 Happiness Hurts gold
February 7, 2011 Happiness Hurts platinum
January 26, 2012 XOXO Casper platinum
February 13, 2012 Kokowääh (Music From The Original Motion Picture) Various artists gold
February 18, 2012 Happiness Hurts platinum
September 30, 2012 Fortunately in the future Marteria gold
October 8, 2013 Backland Casper platinum
January 31, 2014 Fortunately for the future 2 Marteria platinum

single

date title Interpreter
October 20, 1997 ANNA circle of friends gold
October 1, 1998 Wish Franka Potente & Thomas D gold
September 9, 2010 Wonderful life Hurts gold
November 20, 2010 Wonderful life Hurts platinum
April 13, 2011 Stay Hurts gold
November 7, 2012 One Day / Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Remix) Asaf Avidan platinum
January 11, 2013 Purple clouds Marteria, Yasha & Miss Platnum platinum
19th February 2013 Wonderful life Hurts gold
December 6, 2013 Kids (2 fingers on the head) Marteria gold

(Source: Federal Association of the Music Industry )

Events

On the occasion of World AIDS Day on December 1, 1998, Four Music initiated the benefit concert Beats 4 Life in cooperation with the music broadcaster VIVA , during which, for example, the artists Fettes Brot , Smudo , 5 Star DeLuxe and Such a Surge performed. The event continued in the following years. In 2000, Four Music or Four Artists, together with MTV Germany, hosted the HipHop Open for the first time on the Pragsattel in Stuttgart , which attracted around 14,000 spectators and grew into the largest festival of this genre in Germany. In the meantime, the venue has moved to Mannheim . In addition, the label carried out a series of events under the title Four Evening in Berlin, Cologne and Munich as well as Vienna and other cities, where OK Kid and Chakuza performed, for example .

Artist (selection)

According to their own information, the following artists are under contract with Four Music:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d “Fanta 4” label goes to Sony . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine . July 31, 2005 ( faz.net ).
  2. ↑ a b c Thomas Winkler: There is another way . In: The daily newspaper . September 29, 2004 ( taz.de ).
  3. ↑ Four Music leaves Stuttgart. In: hiphop.de. June 11, 2002, accessed December 13, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Thomas Schulz: Four wins . In: Der Spiegel . No. 51 , 2004 ( online ).
  5. ↑ The first # 1 albums for Four Music. (No longer available online.) Four Music, archived from the original on December 19, 2013 ; Retrieved November 27, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fourmusic.com
  6. ↑ a b c Alexander Mühlauer: Kreuzberger listening gift. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine. May 24, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Solo albums and gold records. (No longer available online.) Four Music, archived from the original on December 19, 2013 ; Retrieved December 4, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fourmusic.com
  8. ↑ Text and sound. last.fm, accessed December 2, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Between hair and hip-hop: then a hairdresser, today a pop singer. In: Spiegel Online . July 17, 2008, accessed on November 30, 2013 (photo gallery).
  10. ↑ Four Music goes full throttle. (No longer available online.) Four Music, archived from the original on December 19, 2013 ; Retrieved December 12, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fourmusic.com
  11. ↑ Mellow Mark wins an echo! (No longer available online.) In: rap.de. February 17, 2003, archived from the original on December 21, 2013 ; Retrieved November 16, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rap.de
  12. ↑ Four Music offers services for external bands. (No longer available online.) In: Musikmarkt . June 6, 2003, archived from the original on December 20, 2013 ; Retrieved December 6, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musikmarkt.de
  13. ↑ Fourmusic cooperates with Yo Mama. In: hiphop.de. June 11, 2003, accessed December 9, 2013 .
  14. ↑ Sony BMG takes over half of Four Music. (No longer available online.) In: MusikWoche . July 30, 2005, archived from the original on December 20, 2013 ; Retrieved November 19, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mediabiz.de
  15. ↑ Sony BMG joins Four Music after a dispute. In: Netzeitung. August 9, 2005, archived from the original on December 19, 2013 ; Retrieved December 11, 2013 .
  16. ↑ SonyBMG buys German pop expertise . In: Der Spiegel . No. 31 , 2005 ( online ).
  17. ↑ Johanna Adorján: Die Fantastischen Vier: "HipHop is an old, narrow-minded movement". In: Spiegel Online . April 1, 2007, accessed December 14, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Four wins. The story of a great record company . In: Backspin . No. 122 , 2013, p. 22-33 .
  19. ↑ New faces, familiar faces. (No longer available online.) Four Music, archived from the original on December 19, 2013 ; accessed on December 1, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fourmusic.com
  20. ↑ Alexander Kempf: From Jammerossi to young songwriter. (No longer available online.) In: Stern. June 7, 2006, archived from the original on December 20, 2013 ; Retrieved December 4, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stern.de
  21. ↑ Clueso. (No longer available online.) In: Musicline. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013 ; accessed on December 2, 2013 (chart sources). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musicline.de
  22. ↑ BPX 1992 and Four sign Hazlewood. In: MusikWoche. October 10, 2006, accessed November 29, 2013 .
  23. ↑ Bela B. In: Musicline. Accessed December 2, 2013 (chart sources).
  24. ↑ Jürgen Ruopp: New direction for Four Music - Fitz Braum goes. (No longer available online.) In: Musikmarkt. August 7, 2007, archived from the original on December 20, 2013 ; Retrieved December 13, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musikmarkt.de
  25. ↑ Renzo Wellinger: Four Music presents Clueso with first gold award. (No longer available online.) In: Musikmarkt. June 16, 2009, archived from the original on December 20, 2013 ; accessed on December 1, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musikmarkt.de
  26. ↑ Kristof Jansen: Marteria receives gold for 'Fortunately for the future'. In: hiphop.de. July 15, 2013, accessed December 13, 2013 .
  27. ↑ Sony BMG is suing Fight 4 Music. In: hiphopholic.de. October 9, 2009, accessed December 13, 2013 .
  28. ↑ Anna Gmeiner: 'Purple Clouds' storms the charts: 1st place In: rap.de. September 25, 2012, accessed December 19, 2013 .
  29. ↑ Gold / platinum database. Federal Association of the Music Industry, accessed on December 16, 2013 .
  30. ↑ Jazz Rock Pop . In: KulturSpiegel . No. 12 , November 30, 1998 ( online ).
  31. ↑ Beats 4 Life with big names. In: laut.de. Retrieved December 6, 2013 .
  32. ^ History. (No longer available online.) Mixery HipHop Open, archived from the original on October 16, 2013 ; Retrieved December 11, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mixeryhiphopopen.de
  33. ↑ HipHop Open. State capital Stuttgart, accessed on December 2, 2013 .
  34. ↑ Oliver Marquart: The HipHop Open is back. In: rap.de. January 3, 2012, accessed December 7, 2013 .
  35. ↑ Columbia Four Music is sending the Four Evening on tour. In: MusikWoche. March 12, 2013, accessed December 12, 2013 .
  36. ↑ Four evenings with OK Kid, Chakuza u. a. (No longer available online.) In: Fritz. Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, December 27, 2012, archived from the original on December 19, 2013 ; Retrieved December 14, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fritz.de
  37. ↑ artist. Four Music, accessed September 22, 2017 .
  38. ↑ 3Plusss. Retrieved April 22, 2020 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '49.9 "  N , 13 ° 23' 11.4"  E