Freeworld Entertainment was a record label formed in 1997 by

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events in ...

and Kevin Czinger.

History

Inception (1996-1998)

The history of Freeworld begins with Kevin Czinger's purchase of Zoo Entertainment from BMG in 1996 with the support of financial backers Allen & Co. Though Zoo was initially run in conjunction with Czinger's own label

Volcano Entertainment Volcano Entertainment (sometimes referred to as Volcano Records) was an American all-round music record label founded in 1996 which released albums by Tool, 311, Size 14, Survivor and "Weird Al" Yankovic. (The latter two were former Scotti Bros ...

, it was eventually absorbed into it. In the fall of 1997, Czinger merged the label with Dallas Austin's

Rowdy Records Rowdy Records is a record label distributed through Motown. It was founded by record producer Dallas Austin in 1992, and the precursor to his entertainment company, Freeworld Entertainment. History Formed in 1992 by producers Dallas Austin and ...

to create Freeworld Entertainment. As a combination of the two producers' respective labels, Freeworld consisted of artists from both previous labels' catalogs. The label benefited from Austin's industry connections and Czinger's keen insight into the business. Unfortunately, the label was wrought with bad luck from its inception. In September 1997, a month after Austin and Czinger worked together, former Volcano flagship artist

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

attempted to dissolve ties to the label by claiming that Freeworld had failed to exercise its option to renew the band's contract. To make matters worse, Austin removed himself from the label after Freeworld made considerable investments in his artists. Czinger attempted to recall his previous success by changing the name of the label back to Zoo Entertainment, however, the damage was already too severe. In the spring of 1998 after putting more than $20 million info Freeworld, Allen & Co. sold the label to Clive Calder's

Zomba Label Group RCA/Jive Label Group was a short-lived American record label group, owned by Sony Music Entertainment and representing the merger of the RCA Music Group and Jive Label Group. The umbrella group was formed in 2007 under the name BMG Label Group, ...

. Zomba eventually brought back the Volcano Entertainment moniker. It wasn't until December 1998 that the lawsuit with Tool was resolved, however, by then the Freeworld name had been dissipated.

Reactivation (1999-2002)

In early 1999,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

entered into a relationship with Austin to restart the Freeworld Entertainment label. Some of the first artists on the newly formed label were Detroit vocal quartet Vega and

preteen Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...

R&B vocalist

Sammie Sammie Lee Bush, Jr. (born March 1, 1987), known by the mononym Sammie, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1999 hit single, " I Like It", from his debut album, '' From the Bottom to the Top'' (2000). He returned with ...

. The new version of Freeworld lasted sometime into the early 2000s, however, it eventually dissolved as well. Austin would go on to reform his own

in 2005 under the

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

Freeworld Artists

Inception

Many artist from Volcano Entertainment and Rowdy Records were on the Freeworld imprint, however, not all came over. The list below consists of artists that had actual physical releases (promotional or otherwise) with Freeworld. *

* Joi * The Interpreters * Lysette Titi * Derrick Dimitry * Don Chili

Reactivation

These artists had released on the second incarnation of Freeworld. They were not necessarily affiliated with the previous incarnation of Freeworld, or with Volcano or Rowdy Records. * Richard Lugo *

JT Money Jeffrey Jermaine Thompkins (born September 14, 1972), known by his stage name JT Money, is an American rapper and the leader of Miami-based hip hop group Poison Clan. Thompkins began his career in the late 1980s as a protégé of Luther "Luke ...

Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United Sta ...

References

{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1997 Record labels disestablished in 2002 1997 establishments in New York City 2002 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Alternative rock record labels Hip hop record labels Capitol Records Companies based in New York City