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Jermaine Dupri Launches TAG-Backed Label

In one of the strangest record label partnerships of the past few years, Island Def Jam Music Group and TAG body spray have announced a joint hip-hop venture headed up by Jermaine Dupri.

"My goal is to find artists that have longevity written all over their face," Dupri told Billboard.com, adding that TAG will launch two artists per year during the course of the three-year deal.

According to Dupri, TAG's parent company, Proctor & Gamble, pitched the idea to Def Jam as a way to reach its teen demographic more effectively, as well as emphasize the urban programs TAG will soon introduce to aspiring MCs. On the music side, TAG will provide its artists with a hefty marketing budget.

"Most artists get probably $1 million for a marketing budget," Dupri explained. "The TAG artists will receive 10 times the typical marketing support. It will give these artists a chance to be and feel just as big as a Kanye West because the marketing budget is 10 to 20 times as much as the average. While it's not actually $10-20 million, the numbers are up in that area and further north."

Dupri plans on announcing the first TAG artist in May to coincide with TAG Body Spray's relaunch this summer.

"I like it because we can't stop the artist process because of the record business' [red tape]," he said. "We're all going to see what happens. Live Nation might offer a lot of money but they don't offer what TAG does because they don't set a platform."

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
04.11.08