EMAP Radio opens record label wing

EMAP Radio has set up a record label division which will release its first single later this month.

The radio network has signed a four-piece outfit called Shaft whose first single, Mucho Mambo, is released on August 31. The track is already being used on the series of ads for Emap’s London-based dance music station Kiss.

The company has not yet thought of a name for the new division and it is being referred to internally as the EMAP/Kiss label. The act is licensed to Universal Music, which will distribute and market the single.

Insiders say the reason for the move, apart from generating revenue, is to involve the company in more areas of the music business as digital and Internet technologies change the face of the recording industry.

Emap Radio business director for music Adam Turner is behind the deal. He says: “This deal is not designed to fight other record companies. We are trying to find synergies in this business.”

The company plans to sign more acts later in the year.

However, it wants to play down its involvement. One source close to EMAP says: “We want to keep the publicity down for fear that other stations will not play the single when they know we are behind it.”

Capital Radio is the only other network with its own label. It has Wildstar Records, a joint venture with recording company Telestar, which has signed acts such as Conner Reeves and Lutricia McNeal.