Motown, Detroit, Michigan

Motown is a record label that was originally founded by Berry Gordy Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on April 14, 1960. Motown Records was also the name of Gordy's second record label; the first, Tamla Records, began on January 12, 1959.

Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music, as it was the first record label owned by an African Americaneven if it was not the first to feature primarily African-American artists. Motown achieved a crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its soul-based subsidiaries were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as The Motown Sound, a style of soul music with a distinct pop influence.

Motown has owned or distributed releases from more than 45 subsidiaries in varying genres, although it is most famous for its releases in the music genre of rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop, and pop. Gordy relocated Motown Records to Los Angeles in 1972 and there it remained an independent company until June 28, 1988, when Gordy sold the company to MCA and Boston Ventures (which took over full ownership of Motown in 1991), then to PolyGram in 1994, before being sold again to MCA Records' successor Universal Music, when it acquired The PolyGram Group.