Imprint Records, originally known as Veritas Music Entertainment, was an American
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...
established in July 1995 that specialized in
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
. The label was disestablished in 1997.
History
Roy Wunsch, a former CEO of
Sony Music Nashville
Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Nashville, and RCA Nashville, as well as ...
, founded the label in 1994 with Bud Schaetzle.
Imprint was the first independent country record label to be listed as a publicly traded company on
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
.
Its first release was
Gretchen Peters
Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She was born in New York, where she wrote her first song with her sister at the age of 5. In 1970, her parents broke up, and Peters moved with her mother to Boulder, ...
' 1996 disc ''
The Secret of Life''.
Peters,
The GrooveGrass Boyz
The GrooveGrass Boyz were an American musical group that played a mix of bluegrass, funk, and freestyle music. The group was founded as a side project by record producer and session musician Scott Rouse in 1987, after he began experimenting with ...
,
Bob Woodruff
Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
and
Jeff Wood charted singles for the label between 1996 and 1997, with the latter two also releasing albums. The GrooveGrass Boyz had the most commercially successful release for the label, selling more than 80,000 copies of a country version of "
Macarena
"Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album '' A mí me gusta'', a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bays ...
".
of
NRBQ
NRBQ is an American rock music, rock band founded by Terry Adams (musician), Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbande ...
and Canadian country singer
Charlie Major
Charles Bernard Major (born December 31, 1954) is a Canadian country music artist. He has recorded seven studio albums and released more than twenty singles. In 2019 he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Musical career
Bo ...
also recorded one album each for the label.
In July 1997, label president Bud Schaetzle announced that the label's operations were put "on hold". He began a new company, Imprint Entertainment, which specialized in film and television production. At the time of the label's closure, The GrooveGrass Boyz, Wood, Woodruff, and Ryan Reynolds were the only acts on the roster. Reynolds was in the process of recording his debut album ''Rose City'', which was never released.
At the point of its closure, Imprint had made less than $200,000 in revenue, despite investing more than $1 million in the albums it had shipped.
Artists
*
Al Anderson
*
The GrooveGrass Boyz
The GrooveGrass Boyz were an American musical group that played a mix of bluegrass, funk, and freestyle music. The group was founded as a side project by record producer and session musician Scott Rouse in 1987, after he began experimenting with ...
*
Charlie Major
Charles Bernard Major (born December 31, 1954) is a Canadian country music artist. He has recorded seven studio albums and released more than twenty singles. In 2019 he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Musical career
Bo ...
*
Gretchen Peters
Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She was born in New York, where she wrote her first song with her sister at the age of 5. In 1970, her parents broke up, and Peters moved with her mother to Boulder, ...
* Ryan Reynolds
*
Jeff Wood
*
Bob Woodruff
Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
References
{{Authority control
American country music record labels
Record labels established in 1995
Record labels disestablished in 1997
American independent record labels