Salsoul Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | BMG Rights Management |
Founded | 1974 |
Founder |
Joseph Cayre Kenneth Cayre Stanley Cayre |
Genre | Various |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | New York City |
Official website | www |
This article is about the record label. For SalSoul the Puerto Rican Salsa radio station see Cadena Salsoul.
Salsoul Records is a New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco 12-inch releases, and a string of albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The label started in business in 1974, went defunct in 1985 and was relaunched in 1992. Artists such as The Salsoul Orchestra (led by Vincent Montana Jr), Instant Funk, Loleatta Holloway, Double Exposure, First Choice, Joe Bataan, Skyy, Carol Williams, Jocelyn Brown, Inner Life and Charo were at one time part of their roster.
Bethlehem Music Company's catalogs, which included Salsoul Records, Bethlehem Records (a jazz label) and others, were licensed by Verse music group from 2010 for five years, before Verse's catalogs were bought out by BMG Rights Management in 2015.
The Cayre family had been involved in many entrepreneurial ventures before they manufactured and distributed 8-track tapes, which included Bethlehem Records, in the early 1970s. They had purchased some catalogs of Mexican music to distribute, and infringed on the copyrights of CBS Records and RCA Records by selling them in the United States. They acquired a license for North American distribution for some of CBS's Latino catalog. This led to recording sessions that were distributed by CBS. When CBS was unable to increase profits, the rights reverted to the Cayres.