MTM Records was an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

specializing in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. It was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of the production company of the same name owned by actress

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

. Alan Bernard was the label's CEO, Howard Stark was the label's President, and Tommy West, originally of the musical duo Cashman and West, was Senior Vice President (both Stark and West worked together at

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

in the 1970s); staff songwriters included

Radney Foster Radney Muckleroy Foster (born July 20, 1959) is an American country music singer-songwriter, musician and music producer. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his recording debut as part of the Foster & Lloyd duo, recordi ...

and Bill Lloyd of

Foster & Lloyd Foster & Lloyd was an American country music duo consisting of singer-songwriters Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd. After pairing up in 1986, the duo recorded three albums for RCA Records, charting nine singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts. Th ...

, as well as

Larry Boone Larry Eugene Boone (born June 7, 1956) is an American country music artist and songwriter. Between 1985 and 1993, Boone recorded five major label studio albums, in addition to charting several singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles cha ...

and

Hugh Prestwood Hugh Loring Prestwood (April 2, 1942 – September 22, 2024) was an American Hall of Fame songwriter, whose work was primarily in country music. He was discovered by Judy Collins, who gave him his first hit "Hard Time for Lovers", which was recor ...

. In its four years of existence, fifty-one singles on the MTM label charted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country singles chart. The label also signed three

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

acts: The Metros from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who were discovered on ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

''; In Pursuit, a New Wave rock group, and The Voltage Brothers, a family R&B act from Rochester, NY. None of those groups' output charted. After MTM Enterprises was sold to Britain's Television South PLC in July 1988, the label was purchased by and absorbed into

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Artists Current artists *Kane Brown * Corey Kent * Nate Smith * Morgan Wade Former art ...

. Becky Hobbs,

Paul Overstreet Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He began his singing career in 1982 with a self-titled album on RCA Records Nashville. From 1986 to 1987, he was a vocalist in the trio S-K-O (Schuy ...

, and Judy Rodman were then transferred to RCA's roster.

Holly Dunn Holly Suzette Dunn (August 22, 1957 – November 14, 2016) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Dunn recorded for MTM Records between 1985 and 1988, Warner Bros. Records between 1988 and 1993, and River North Records between 199 ...

signed with Warner Bros. Nashville, and her MTM masters went with her (Warner Bros. re-released the original MTM hit version of Dunn's hit, " Daddy's Hands," as the B-side of her 1991 single " Maybe I Mean Yes", and also Warner issued the Milestones: Greatest Hits compilation in 1991 featuring a mix of MTM and Warner Bros. hits, and in 2024, Warner released her MTM and Warner Bros. catalog to

music streaming services A music streaming service is a type of online streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to s ...

and

online music stores A digital music store is a business that sells digital audio files of music recordings over the Internet. Customers gain ownership of a license to use the files, in contrast to a music streaming service, where they listen to recordings without ...

). The Girls Next Door signed with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, but their MTM hits were still owned by RCA, although the group had later acquired the rights to their MTM recordings in 2024 and they sell MP3 downloads on their website.

Artist roster

*The Almost Brothers *The Debonaires *

* Girls Next Door * Marty Haggard *Hege V * Becky Hobbs *In Pursuit *The Metros *

* Judy Rodman *

Ronnie Rogers Randall "Ronnie" Rogers (born in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rogers charted eight singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, including the top 40 hits "Gonna Take M ...

* S-K-O * The Shoppe *The Voltage Brothers

References

External links

Trisha Yearwood, receptionist with MTM Records
{{Authority control American country music record labels American independent record labels Record labels established in 1984 Record labels disestablished in 1988 MTM Enterprises