AZ is a French record label established in 2002 as an affiliate of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

with a big list of artists signed or with distribution rights for their releases in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Valéry Zeitoun

The founder and first president of AZ record label, Valéry Zeitoun, was born in

Pantin Pantin () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of ...

near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 13 February 1966. He ran the label from its creation in 2002 until October 2011. The label also encourages many new artists. Valéry Zeitoun (already a judge in the French television reality series ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

'' in its second season in 2002) famously ran a campaign in 2010 on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

entitled ''Je veux signer chez AZ'' (meaning I want to sign with AZ). Two candidates were selected to join the label, namely Victor Le Douarec and Mélissa Nkonda. The campaign was so popular, Zeitoun ran a second series of casting for talent in 2011 resulting in signing of a third new artist, namely Alias Hilsum. Valéry Zeitoun also appeared in film ''

Backstage Backstage may refer to: * Backstage (theatre), the areas of a theatre that are not part of the house or stage Film and television * ''Back Stage'' (1917 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy * ''Back Stage'' (1919 film), a silent film starri ...

'' directed by

Emmanuelle Bercot Emmanuelle Bercot is a French actress, film director, and screenwriter. Career Filmmaking Bercot wrote, directed, and played a lead role in the film '' Clément'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film ...

where he plays the role of manager of the singer Lauren Marks (played by

Emmanuelle Seigner Emmanuelle Seigner (; born 22 June 1966) is a French actress and singer. She is known for her roles in '' The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'' (2007), '' The Ninth Gate'' (1999) and '' Frantic'' (1988). She has been nominated for a César Award ...

). He continued to run the label until October 2011, but resigned from Universal Music France and AZ to consecrate himself to other projects.

Julien Creuzard

Zeitoun was replaced in November 2011 by Julien Creuzard This was confirmed by Pascal Nègre in a communique. Nègre also wants the label to be more involved in development of young artists, whereas more established AZ artists will change label and be more integrated in other labels like Mercury. Creuzard had joined Universal Music France in 2007, and was until his new assignment head of another affiliate, Universal Music Publishing. ''Musique Info'' says he had been instrumental in signing Yodelice, Féfé, Inna and Tom Frager. He also has experience running an independent production house.Charts in France: On connait le successeur de V. Zeitoun chez AZ
/ref>

Artists

A complete list of artists (as of July 2010): *

Admiral T Christy Campbell (born March 29, 1981), known by the stage name Admiral T, is a French singer, rapper, songwriter, DJ, and actor. He is one of the most popular and successful Guadeloupean singers. He is also a designer and the creator of the clo ...

* Alias Hilsum * Absynthe Minded *

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

* Benjamin Paulin *

Booba Élie Thitia Yaffa (; born 9 December 1976), better known under his stage name Booba, is a French rapper. After a brief stint as a break dancer in the early 1990s, Booba partnered with his friend Ali to form Lunatic. The duo released a crit ...

Catherine Lara Catherine Lara (; born Catherine Bodet; 29 May 1945) is a French violinist, composer, singer, and author. Over a career spanning more than five decades, she has established herself as an icon in French pop/rock music as well as the neo-classical ...

* Carmen Maria Vega *

Chimène ''Chimène, ou Le Cid'' is a French-language opera by Antonio Sacchini. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique, tragédie (lyrique)'' in three acts, with a libretto by Nicolas-François Guillard. It was first staged at Fontainebleau on 16 ...

Christophe Christophe may refer to: People * Christophe (name), list of people with this given name or surname * Christophe (singer) (1945–2020), French singer * Cristophe (hairstylist) (born 1958), Belgian hairstylist * Georges Colomb (1856–1945), Frenc ...

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...

* Coco Sumner * Creature *

Cyril Mokaiesh Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of the name ''Cyril' ...

* Dani *

Dan Black Daniel Edward Black (born 16 November 1975) is an English singer-songwriter and vocalist. He was a member of alternative rock band the Servant, before their split in 2007. He is also a vocalist for the Italian British group Planet Funk. Afte ...

Davide Esposito Davide Esposito is a singer and songwriter. Biography Davide Esposito was born in Napoli, Italy and grew up in the 1980s listening to the music of Lucio Dalla and Lucio Battisti. He is a musician, producer, singer, author, and composer. His usua ...

* Duffy *

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

Fally Ipupa Fally Ipupa N'simba (born 14 December 1977), known professionally as Fally Ipupa, is a Congolese musician and dancer. Often referred to as the "Prince of Rumba", he is known for his tenor vocals and his fusion of contemporary and traditional ...

Florent Pagny Florent Pagny (; born 6 November 1961) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He records his work in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and English. His greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer" and "Ma Liberté de p ...

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band formed in London in 2007 by lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harp ...

Gabriella Cilmi Gabriella Lucia Cilmi ( ; ; born 10 October 1991) is an Australian pop singer and songwriter. A contralto, Cilmi is known for her distinctive raspy singing voice. Her debut album, '' Lessons to Be Learned'', was released in March 2008, becomin ...

Gérard Darmon Gérard Darmon (, ; born 29 February 1948) is a French-Moroccan actor and singer. He has been nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for his roles in '' Betty Blue'' (1987) and '' Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra'' ( ...

* Gérard Palaprat *

Grand Corps Malade Fabien Marsaud (born 31 July 1977), known professionally as Grand Corps Malade (GCM), is a French poet and songwriter. He has released seven studio albums so far, all of them reaching top-five status on the French SNEP chart. GCM started writing ...

* IAM * Izia * James Morrison * John Mamann *

Julia Migenes Julia Migenes (born March 13, 1949) is an American soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Juan and Julia Migenes, parents of Puerto Rican and Irish descent, respectively. (He ...

Juliette Katz Juliette is a feminine personal name of French origin. It is a diminutive of Julie. People * Juliette Adam (1836–1936), née Lamber, French author and feminist * Juliette Atkinson (1873–1944), American tennis player * Juliette Walker Barnwel ...

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English musician and actress from North Harrow. Her singles "Foundations (song), Foundations" (2007) and "Do-Wah-Doo" (2010) charted at numbers 2 and 15 on the UK singles chart and her albums ''Made of Bri ...

* Keane *

Kool Shen Bruno Lopes (, ; born 9 February 1966), better known as Kool Shen, is a French rapper, actor and producer, with Portuguese and Breton origins. He is also a break dancer and a graffiti artist. He is a co-founder of Suprême NTM and one of the ...

* Koxie * Laszlo Jones * Le comte de Bouderbala * Les Chanteuses *

Michel Delpech Jean-Michel Delpech (French pronunciation: �ɑ̃ miʃɛl dɛlpɛʃ 26 January 19462 January 2016), known as Michel Delpech, was a French singer-songwriter and actor. Family Jean-Michel Bertrand Delpech was born the 26th January in 1946 in Cou ...

Mélissa Nkonda Mélissa Nkonda (born November 6, 1990, in Saint-Saulve, Nord, France), is a French singer. She is known for having participated in season 7 of the French reality show ''Nouvelle Star'' in 2009. In 2010, she won a contest called ''Je veux sign ...

* Mokaiesh * Okou *

Pascale Picard The Pascale Picard Band is a Canadian rock group from Quebec City, formed by Pascale Picard (vocal and guitar), Philippe Morissette (bass), Marc Chartrain (drums) and Mathieu Cantin (guitar). History The band first made a small appearance during ...

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

Pep's Pep's is a French artist (as well as a group) based in Grenoble, with musical styles encompassing genres such as rock, R&B, and reggae. The group was formed in 2001. The stage name of singer (and group) comes from a nickname inspired by the lea ...

* Professeur Love *

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

* Régine * Saint André * Salif * Sara Schiralli *

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters are an American pop rock band formed in 2000. The band's current line-up consists of Jake Shears (vocals), Babydaddy (various instruments), Del Marquis (guitar, bass) and Randy Real (drums). Former members include vocalist A ...

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...

Souad Massi Souad Massi (; born August 23, 1972) is an Algerian Berber singer, songwriter and guitarist. She began her career performing in the Kabyle political rock band Atakor, before leaving the country following a series of death threats. In 1999, Massi ...

* *

Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band formed in 2009, and originally consisted of members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker, and Nathan Sykes. The group signed a worldwide contract to Universal Music, Island Reco ...

* Tom Frager * Toma * U2 * Victor Le Douarec *

VV Brown Vanessa Brown (born 24 October 1983), known professionally as VV Brown, is a British indie pop singer-songwriter, model and record producer. Early life Vanessa Brown was born in Northampton, England. She is the eldest of six siblings; her moth ...

Yas Yas or YAS may refer to: * Yas (slang), an affirmative in English * ''Yas'' (yacht), a superyacht built in 2011 in Abu Dhabi * Yas (rapper), Iranian rapper * Y.A.S., a French electronic music duo formed in 2007 * Yas Island, an island in Abu ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...

References

External links

Valéry Zeitoun Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Az French record labels