Beginning with "BS" and Sticky Fingers, when did it end and why? Was Steel Wheels the last record with this trademark?

Good Question
Please give us some insight



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-08-02 01:01 by open-g.

When their contract with Atlantic (RS Records parent co.) ran out they signed a deal with Columbia beginning with Dirty Work. Columbia paid a fortune for a deal included not only The Stones, 2 Mick Jagger solo albums and all of the Atlantic back catalog. They signed their current deal with EMI/Virgin sometime prior to Voodoo Lounge.

Ross

Yes, Ross, but Virgin ans EMI are just distributors, what happened to the trademark "RS RECORDS"?

I would guess the name "Rolling Stones Records" still belongs to Atlantic. Once they signed with Columbia they no longer had a "subsidiary" label, they were just another artist signed to Columbia. At least they kept the toungue logo!

Ross

The deals with CBS and Virgin did not allow the band to sign other artists. They still retained copyright control of their recordings through Promotone and publishing rights through Promopub, but the idea of their own boutique label died after the Atlantic contract ran out in December 1984. Had their still been a Rolling Stones Records, Mick would likely have signed Living Colour to the label and Keith's Wingless Angels would have turned up their as well. It is also likely that the non-Promotone solo output that CBS handled (The Charlie Watts Orchestra) and Virgin have handled (Long Ago and Far Away, The Charlie Watts-Jim Keltner Project, Goddess in the Doorway, and Alfie) would have been through the boutique label had it existed just as Bill's first two solo LPs were during the Atlantic days. Interestingly, Bill's two seventies albums were transferred to his Ripple Records imprint after he quit the band. Promotone has maintained control over most of their other non-band releases with the exceptions of Peter Tosh's albums and The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. As to why the band didn't push for a boutique label deal with CBS in 1983, the idea was past its time. It was very much a sixties concept (Sinatra's Reprise label, The Beatles' Apple label) that had run its course by the end of the seventies. Boutique labels were part of the record business that had no place in what became the music industry. Madonna's Maverick Records is the exception that proves the rule. The last genuine boutique label would probably be Prince's Paisley Park Records.

"Rolling Stones" and Tongue and Lip Designs are Trademarks of Musidor, B.V.

Who ist Musidor?

Musidor is the company formed by The Stones and Prince Rupert Lowenstein to administer their name, likeness, and tongue and lips logo. Promotone is the company formed by The Stones and Prince Rupert that retains copyright control of all of their recordings and allows their catalog to travel with the band when they depart a label. Promopub is the publishing arm of Promotone that retains publishing rights to Jagger-Richards songs. In 1977, Columbia-Screen Gems-EMI bought the Promopub catalog and published all Jagger-Richards songs from 1978-1984. Promopub was revived as a separate entity in 1985. Since 1999, Promopub has been acquiring songs from the original catalog as well as songs from the Colgems-EMI catalog as they become available. At some future date, Promopub will control all non-ABKCO Jagger-Richards songs. In addition, Promopub publishes all pre-Goddess Jagger solo songs, all of Keith's solo songs, and Charlie's jazz compositions. Keith and Charlie's songs are funnelled through Promopub's subsidiary, Pubpromo. Promotone retains copyright control of Mick's first three solo albums, but don't be surprised if they end up with Jagged Recordings before long. Promotour controls copyrights for various band home video releases as well as some of Charlie's jazz recordings. All of these companies are based in the Netherlands for tax reasons.

re Howlin Wolf, Peter Tosh albums originally issued on RS now in other hands, the Brian Jones Joujouka album was also issued in the mid 90s by Point Music (Polygram dist - cd pproduced by Philip Glass) w. a copyrite Musidor 1971, & thanks all the Stones & various Stones prople. My understanding is the Jim Carroll debut - advertised as being on RS records just prior to release in '80, got transerred to Atco when Earl McGrath left RS - anybody know what that's about (Keith even appeared w/ Carroll in NYC). I also recall a band called Kracker, to be produced by Jimmy Miller, were supposed to be signed to RS circa '72 or '73, but never heard anything else about them. Thanks for some clarification RockyDijon

Rocky D, since Columbia Screen Gem EMI bought the 1978-1984 song rights, are you saying that Jagger/Richards do not own the rights to any of the Stones published from 78-84?

The Promopub catalog from 1972-1976 that Colgems-EMI bought and the Jagger-Richards or Jagger-Richards-Wood tracks originally published by Colgems-EMI from 1978-1984 are in the process of being transferred back to Promopub in some territories. Its happening bit by bit...my guess is its happening as the rights for these territories expire as I believe the deal was for Colgems-EMI to administer the publishing rights for a specific period of time. This isn't all that uncommon (i.e. the RCA/Arista Kinks masters from 1971-1985 tranferred back to the band in the late 1990's). At some point, Promopub will control all non-ABKCo tunes except for GITD and most of the Alfie soundtrack which Jagged Music controls. I am only speculating that Mick may wish to separate all of his solo songs from Promopub at some point and transfer them to Jagged Music.