TAG Recordings was an imprint

Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

 of Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 started in 1996

1996 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...

. TAG had been intended to host Atlantic's stable of alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 artists and capitalize on the wild popularity of alternative and grunge

Grunge

Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

 rock at that time. The label handled artists such as Fountains of Wayne

Fountains of Wayne

Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:...

, The Inbreds

The Inbreds

The Inbreds were a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1992. Originally from Kingston, Ontario, Canada the band relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1996. Three of the four albums released during the band's existence reached number one on the Canadian national university charts, and the band...

, and Jawbox

Jawbox

Jawbox was an alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., U.S.. Its original members were J. Robbins , Kim Coletta and Adam Wade...

. Due in part to poor sales of the latter band's self-titled album

Jawbox (album)

Jawbox was the fourth and final album by Jawbox. The album was released by TAG, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. In the months following the album's release, the band was dropped from TAG and thus from Atlantic...

, as well as a corporate shakeup at Atlantic, the label was shut down and Fountains of Wayne was transferred to Atlantic, on which they released Utopia Parkway

Utopia Parkway

Utopia Parkway is a 1999 album by Fountains of Wayne, released through Atlantic Records. It was the follow-up to the band's 1996 self-titled debut; like its predecessor, it showcases upbeat, power pop music....

.

The TAG Records name is now owned by Jermaine Dupri

Jermaine Dupri

Jermaine Dupri Mauldin , known as Jermaine Dupri or JD, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.- Early life and career :...

 and is sponsored by Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

's TAG Body Spray

TAG Body Spray

TAG Body Spray was manufactured by TAG Fragrance Company, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble. It was first released in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, TAG Fragrance Company was part of Global Gillette, until Gillette was bought out by Procter & Gamble and dissolved. It was discontinued in October...

. Q Da Kid was the first artist to be signed to the label. Marketing Expert John Tantillo

John Tantillo

John Tantillo is an American branding and marketing consultant. He is credited with coining the term The O'Reilly Factor, which later became the title of Bill O'Reilly’s television show.A graduate of St...

commented on this sponsorship of personal brands and the possible implications.