Abril Music was a Brazilian record company that in its short lifespan controlled artists that'd been awarded by the ABPD (Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos, or Brazilian Association of Record Producers) with multiple gold, platinum & even diamond discs.
The label is more notorious for being one of the first cases in Brazil where a major record company succumbed to piracy. Created as a musical arm of the Abril Group (possibly known as Editora Abril), it was known for its magazines & for being a former parent of MTV Brasil. When it closed in 2003, Abril had a roster of thirty-eight artists (including Black Alien, Falamansa, CPM 22, Gal Costa, Rita Lee, Titãs, Capital Inicial & Bruno & Marrone) & more than eight hundred titles divided between compact discs & DVDs. According to the ABPD, it held the seventh position (or 4.7%) in the national market.
According to Giancarlo Civita, the vice-president superintendent of the Young Business Unit, the label came to an end partially due to the high competitiveness of the other majors, but more over yet due to piracy. Its catalog & contracts were eventually sold on the market to BMG Brasil to be reissued under the newly-established Brazilian Ariola imprint. In addition, its publishing company, AbrilMusicPub, folded into BMG Music Publishing. The label, however, was retained by Grupo Abril for possible future use.
Abril Music was responsible for re-releasing music DVDs originally issued by competing Brazilian label Top Tape from 2000 until it ended this particular activity in 2002. Ultimately, close to Top Tape's entire music catalog had been re-released by Abril Music before closing its doors on Feb. 5, 2003.
Abril Music's master recordings & contracts belong to Sony Music Brasil. Meanwhile, AbrilMusicPub's publishing catalog has belonged to Universal Music Publishing Group ever since Universal acquired BMG's publishing arm.
Abril Music was also the parent label for Hits of the Century, a series pertaining to split Brazilian classic jazz acts.
loading...