Motown Records was a group of
record labels originally based in
Detroit,
Michigan,
USA. Founded by
Berry Gordy, Jr. on January 12, 1959 as
Tamla Records, the company was incorporated as
Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. The name, a
portmanteau of the words
motor and
town, is also a nickname for Detroit. Now headquartered in
New York City, Motown Records is a
subsidiary of
Universal Motown Republic Group, itself a subsidiary of
Universal Music Group, and now operates as
Universal Motown.
Motown played an important role in the
racial integration of
popular music, as it was the first record label owned by an
African American to primarily feature African-American artists who achieved
crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its soul-based subsidiaries were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as
The Motown Sound, a style of
soul music with a distinct
pop influence.
