Kemosabe Records

Kemosabe Records is an American record label founded by record producer Dr. Luke in 2011. It was launched as an imprint of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Los Angeles, California, the label has signed acts including Doja Cat, Kesha, Becky G, Juicy J, R. City, Lil Bibby, G.R.L., LunchMoney Lewis, and Yelle.

Kemosabe Records
Parent company	Sony Music Entertainment
Founded	November 2011; 13 years ago (2011-11)
Founder	Dr. Luke
Distributor(s)	Various[a] (in the US) Sony Music Entertainment (outside the US)
Genre	Various
Country of origin	United States
Location	Los Angeles, California
Official website	kemosaberecords.com

History

In November 2011, Sony Music Entertainment announced a partnership with American record producer and songwriter Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald to launch his record label Kemosabe Records.^[1] The label jointly signs their artists with various labels under Sony,^[2] most predominantly RCA Records for their U.S. based artists. Gottwald was given the rights to hire his own staff, sign artists and develop talent, but he was only able to produce records for Sony artists until 2016.^[3][4] In April 2017, Sony distanced itself from the producer after singer Kesha accused him of rape.^[5] On the RCA and Sony Music's Website, Kemosabe has also been removed from the "Labels" list, and the "Facts and Figures" page on Sony's website.

Notable artists

Current

• Becky G (joint U.S. record deal with RCA Records)^[6]
• Doja Cat (joint U.S. record deal with RCA Records)

Former

• Juicy J (joint U.S. record deal with Columbia Records)^[7][8]
• Yelle (joint French record deal with Sony Music & Because Music)^[9][10]
• LunchMoney Lewis (joint U.S. record deal with Columbia Records)^[11]
• G.R.L. (joint U.S. record deal with RCA Records)^[12]
• Bonnie McKee (joint U.S. record deal with Epic Records)^[13]
• Lil Bibby (joint U.S. record deal with RCA Records)
• Elliphant (joint Swedish record deal with Sony Music & TEN Music Group)
• R. City (joint U.S. record deal with RCA Records)
• Paper Route (joint U.S. record deal with Sony Music)^[14]
• Kesha (joint U.S. record deal with RCA Records)^[15]

Discography

• Kesha – Warrior (December 4, 2012)
• Kesha – Deconstructed (February 5, 2013)
• Becky G – Play It Again (July 16, 2013)
• Various Artists – Music from and Inspired by The Smurfs 2 (July 23, 2013)
• Juicy J – Stay Trippy (August 27, 2013)
• Elliphant – Look Like You Love It (April 1, 2014)
• G.R.L. – G.R.L. (July 29, 2014)
• Christian Burghardt – Safe Place To Land (September 9, 2014)
• Yelle – Complètement fou (September 29, 2014)
• Doja Cat – Purrr! (August 5, 2014)
• Elliphant – One More (October 13, 2014)
• LunchMoney Lewis – Bills (April 21, 2015)
• Yelle – Complètement fou (Remix) (July 24, 2015)
• R. City – What Dreams Are Made Of (October 9, 2015)
• Elliphant – Living Life Golden (March 25, 2016)
• Paper Route – Real Emotion (September 23, 2016)
• Lil Bibby – FC3: The Epilogue (March 8, 2017)
• Kesha – Rainbow (August 11, 2017)
• Juicy J – Rubba Band Business (December 8, 2017)
• Doja Cat – Amala (March 30, 2018)
• Becky G - Mala Santa (October 17, 2019)
• Doja Cat – Hot Pink (November 7, 2019)
• Kesha – High Road (January 31, 2020)
• Doja Cat – Planet Her (June 25, 2021)
• Becky G – Esquemas (May 13, 2022)
• Kesha – Gag Order (May 19, 2023)
• Doja Cat – Scarlet (September 22, 2023)
• Becky G – Esquinas (September 28, 2023)

Notes

1. Kemosabe Records is a joint venture between Kemosabe and Sony Music Entertainment, giving the label the power to sign an artist to a joint venture deal with the label and any other label under Sony.

References

1. Christman, Ed (November 9, 2011). "Dr. Luke and Sony: Manager Says Luke Plans to 'Build the Label' Organically". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
2. Halperin, Shirley (November 8, 2011). "Dr. Luke Signs Label Deal With Sony, Doug Morris Calls Hitmaker His 'New Jimmy' Iovine". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
3. Corner, Lewis (November 9, 2011). "Katy Perry to stop working with Dr Luke". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
4. Sisario, Ben (November 7, 2011). "At Sony Music, a Plan to Dominate the Industry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
5. "Dr. Luke Is No Longer the CEO of Sony's Kemosabe Records Amid Kesha War". hollywoodreporter.com. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
6. Romero, Angie (November 8, 2013). "Meet Becky G, Dr Luke's Latest Protegee". Rolling Stone.
7. "Juicy J Enlists Megan Thee Stallion, A$AP Rocky and More for 'The Hustle Continues'". 26 November 2020.
8. "Juicy J Signs With Dr. Luke's Label Via Columbia Records". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017.
9. Payne, Chris (July 9, 2014). "Yelle Announces New Dr. Luke-Produced LP 'Completement Fou,' Shares New Song & Tour Dates". Billboard.
10. "OMG!!! by Yelle on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
11. "Make That Cake (feat. Doja Cat) – Single by LunchMoney Lewis". Apple Music. 6 September 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
12. "G.R.L. To Release Debut Self-Titled EP July 29th on Kemosabe Records/RCA Records". Rcarecords.com.
13. "Singles Lady: Bonnie McKee is Looking Out for Number One". Billboard. 13 August 2013.
14. "It is with much excitement that we announce". paperrouteonline.com. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
15. Vincent, Alice (7 July 2017). "Kesha's comeback: a timeline of her bitter legal feud with Sony and producer Dr Luke". The Telegraph.