Tribe Records was a Norwegian record label founded in 1998. The company became one of the biggest contributors to the Norwegian record chart VG-Lista Topp 20 the following years[1]. Tribe fast became a commercial label focusing on dance, trance (music) and pop.
Tribe Records was among the first record-companies in Norway to fully start with the 360-deals when building their artist. The label had management-, booking-, and the standard label-functions.
Contents |
Originally, four partners founded the company: Christopher Collings, Andreas Papandreu Høyer, Anders Dybvik and Martin O. Muren. In 2001 John Sørensen joined the group.
In 2002 Tribe Records became the biggest domestic hit-label in Norway with a total of 28,9% of the Norwegian hit-share on VG-Lista.[2] Many artists as Dina, Spritneybears, 2PM, L8R and Spin-Up was attached to the label.
In the 3 last years, Tribe Records had a cooperation [3] with the Danish company Capella Music, owned by the founder of Mega Records Edel-Mega Records Kjeld Wennick. At the end of 2003, the label was closed down.
A&R and creative leader.
To some extent A&R, presented as head of promotion.
Head of projects, sales and booking.
Tribe Records stated in numerous interviews that their slogan was "we make ur shit hit".
Its aggressive marketing methods soon came under debate, when they threatened to do marketing activities in kindergartens to promote its new group "Splash".[4] After a couple of weeks of pressure applied by various newspapers led by the newspaper Avis1, the leader of "Norwegian Teacher's Association" Norsk Lærerlag Laila-Brith Josefsen, and Ombudsman for Children Trond Waage, the label cancelled its activities.[5] The last punchline in the dispute came when the record company bought the entire frontpage of Avis1, marketing Splash as "This years album" signed with "Tribe Kindergarten".
The strategy on having total control of each band and artist signed to the label, was not very popular among the music journalists. When Håkon Moslet wrote his reviews on one of the acts; "Spin-Up" [6], he only wrote an essay on the record-label and its marketing methods instead.
When "Spritneybears", one of Norway's most selling artists for 3 years finally released its album in 2003, it suddenly was rumoured that the artists themselves never had done any singing on the album. Most vocals is supposed to have been performed by Kjetil Tefke, who never officially was attached to the band.
In 2003 when the Norwegian winner of Eurovision Song Contest, Jostein Hasselgård was about to release his single, Tribe released the same week a cover version. Beating Hasselgård with 4 places on the saleschart.[7]
Norways third biggest newspaper, Dagbladet at last nominated Tribe as "The Last Cowboys" of the music scene.[1] However, the persons involved went separate ways only months later.
Known as Norway's first dance artist singing in Norwegian.
Norway's first real boyband. The album was mainly produced by Clawfinger, and the young boys referring to their music as "Metal Pop" [16]
To ensure the breakthrough of this artist, Tribe started to brand its first single as "This Years Official Russ-single"(Årets Offisielle Russelåt).
A duo consisting of Anett Nylander and Janni Santillan ( http://www.nme.com/video/id/CsRzcbqkkpo/search/since+the+day+you+left/offset/40 )
A duo consisting of Håvard Sylte [29] and Christine Hauge.
Joint venture with the Norwegian public services, NRK's [29] channel Mpetre [33].
Joint venture with the Norwegian hip hop gazette, Kingsize[34].