19 Digital

9 Recordings Inc. is a New York–base record label owned by 19 Entertainment. Founded in London by British entrepreneur Simon Fuller in 1999 as the music division of 19 Entertainment, the label is one of the top record imprints as compiled by Billboard in 2012.[19 Recordings has the exclusive rights to sign contestants of the television series Idols. Since 2005, it shifted its main operations to the United States following CKX, Inc.'s (Industrial Media) acquisition of 19 Entertainment. From 1999 to 2000, EMI distributed its recordings. From 2001 to 2004, releases by most of the artists signed to 19 Recordings were distributed by Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG). Following BMG's merger with Sony Music Entertainment to form Sony BMG, RCA Music Group distributed releases by 19 Recordings from 2005 to 2010. 19 Recordings partnered with Universal Music Group from 2011 to 2020, for distribution through Interscope Geffen A&M Records (2011–2014), Big Machine Records (2015–2016) and Disney Music Group (2017–2020). In 2014, 19 Recordings sued Sony Music Entertainment for $10 million, alleging years of incorrect royalty payments and calculations, exploitation of master recording agreements, underreporting synchronization deals in television series and films, and improperly deducting money spent for music videos and advertisements. As of 2021, 19 Recordings is partnered with BMG Rights Management.