Effective today (January 27), independent powerhouse Koch Records will now be known as E1 Music.
The initiative comes directly from parent company E1 Entertainment, in a concerted effort to merge their portfolio of over 100 global subsidiaries under one umbrella.
The company’s urban division will remain in New York City, while the main office is set to relocate to Long Island, NY by the end of February.
The name change comes as the company plans a loaded 2009 with anticipated 1st quarter releases from D-Block, Alchemist, Juelz Santana’s Skull Gang, Havoc of Mobb Deep, and Slim Thug.
“We are looking at the best year in our history,” an excited Alan Grunblatt, General Manger of E1 Music, told AllHipHop.com. “We are just changing our name to E1 and will continue to change the game.”
With a library of over 15,000 songs and 3,700 feature films, E1 Music President Bob Frank is confident the label will maintain its near-decade of dominance in the independent Hip-Hop scene.
“E1 Music will pick up where Koch Records left off as the #1 Independent 8 years running,” Frank explained to AllHipHop.com. “These are very challenging but exciting times for the recorded music business. We have positioned the company perfectly so that we can continue to win!”
The new arrangement does not affect the status of artist and ByrdGang leader Jim Jones, who will retain his A&R position for the label.