Why A&M licensed,marketed under a different label overse

[aymnostalgico]

I ask this because I've seen Lani Hall's "Lani" marketed by Ariola in Argentina. It has the same songs as the A&M album here in the U.S. Why did A&M licensed and marketed under a different label oversees? what is the purpose of this. I have seen this done by other labels before and recently.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

It all depends on licensing and distribution laws within the country of release. For instance, in England, A&M Records Limited (the English version of A&M Records Incorporated) was responsible for the release of albums within that particular European market -- although not all of Europe. France may have been released in agreement with a different distributor and perhaps a different label.

Confusing as it may be, this explains why AyM Discos came into being. As Diana Baron (of A&M Artist Relations) explained to me when Lani's first Latin album was released, AyM Discos was created to give A&M Incorporated complete control over Latin albums released under the A&M label (or in this case AyM Discos). Further south, in Argentina and Brasil, the albums were released in agreement with different distributors -- which led to problems in quality and quantity for A&M Incorporated. The first pressings of Lani's first Latin album had poor-quality, heavy vinyl and cheap, paper-covered record sleeves -- a result of that particular distributor. Eventually, A&M Incorporated fell on an acceptable distributor who produced a better product -- vinyl and cover-wise.

I have both versions of Lani's first Latin Lp -- the one with the heavy vinyl and paper-covered cardboard sleeve -- and the newer one with better vinyl and a sleeve similar to Herb's Fandango Lp. This situation with poor distribution and quality -- not to mention poor advertising -- led to the unfortunate demise of AyM Discos, and many headaches for A&M Incorporated.

Jon

 

[aymnostalgico]

Wow, that seems like a very complicated process...this thing of oversees laws on licensing recordings. I just still don't understand why recordings can not sell just as they sell here, with same logo and everything. Sometimes I have noticed that a release here in the U.S has a certain coverfront and oversees is totally different. Marketing strategies? Thanks for the info Jon!

 

[Brasil_Nut]

You're more than welcome!

And you're right: it can be confusing. Let's just say it's big business (or in this case world-wide business) and leave it at that. A great example would be Sergio's Japanese releases. The Love Music and Vintage '74 albums, which were released on Bell Records in the United States and Canada, were released on CBS/Sony in Japan. Same albums, but again, different distributors.

I gained an understanding of AyM Discos in getting to know Diana Baron and being around the Lot when all of this was going on. This is the only reason I know. Otherwise, poor distribution -- not to mention poor promotion all the way across the board -- led to the end of AyM Discos. A shame considering the talent it represented. We'll not see those days again.

Jon