TVT Records Goes Bankrupt, Forcing Entire Polyphonic Spree to Panhandle
The struggles of the music industry has claimed another victim as TVT Records, once voted Billboard’s Top Independent Record Label for five consecutive years between 2001 and 2006, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and fired the majority of their staff. TVT’s shuttering likely makes unrestricted free agents of artists like the Polyphonic Spree, Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz, Pitbull, Ambulance LTD and many more who were signed to the label. Also, it marks yet another former American Idol contestant getting dropped, as Season 5’s Paris Bennett will likely have to find a new home after releasing her debut album on the label. TVT once boasted artists like Jimmy Page, Gil Scott-Heron, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and KMFDM on its roster, and was also responsible for making it virtually impossible to find a new, non-imported copy of Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine prior to 2005. Keeping with its acronym (TVT stood for T.V. Tunes) the label also had a sublabel, TVT Soundtrax, which specialized in the soundtracks of films, television shows and Broadway productions.
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