Less than a week after it announced a partnership with – and investment into – Drake’s OVO Sound, artist and label services company Santa Anna Label Group has announced another deal, this time with hip-hop label Trill Entertainment.
Under the terms of the deal, Santa Anna, a joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Todd Moscowitz, will give Trill Entertainment access to its marketing, distribution and promotion resources, among other services.
The goal is to help Trill’s catalog and new artists to “maximize their creative potential and build their businesses,” Santa Anna said in a statement on Monday (January 29).
Trill Entertainment was created in 2001 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Melvin “Mel” Vernell, Jr. and Marcus “Turk” Roach. The label rose to prominence in the early 2000s with acts including Boosie Badazz (formerly known as Lil Boosie), Webbie, Foxx, Lil Phat, Lil Trill and others.
The company’s hit singles include the likes of Wipe Me Down (certified 2x-Platinum), Set It Off (2x-Platinum) and Mind of a Maniac by Boosie Badazz, Independent by Webbie (2x-Platinum), as well as albums including Bad Azz (Platinum), Survival of the Fittest (compilation, Gold), and Webbie’s Savage Life (2x-Platinum) and Savage Life 2 (Gold).
The label has signed new artist Tre Savage and recently released his debut mixtape and single Never Broke Again, featuring NBA Youngboy.
“I look forward to reconnecting with such a dynamic pair to support their catalog business as well as grow and develop their current and future roster of artists.”
Todd Moscowitz, Santa Anna
“Just as Mel and Turk were at the forefront of music back in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and dominated hip-hop culture from 2005 and on, they continue to bring their expertise and excellence to Trill Entertainment,” Moscowitz said in a statement.
“I look forward to reconnecting with such a dynamic pair to support their catalog business as well as grow and develop their current and future roster of artists.”
Vernell added: “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Todd, Lee and Santa Anna to build on the success of Trill Entertainment’s catalog and find new and exciting ways to develop our artists.”
Roach said: “We’ve seen firsthand what this team is capable of and know the great opportunities that lie ahead for our business and creators.”
Moscowitz, the founder and CEO of Alamo Records, formed Santa Anna as a joint venture with SME in early 2023, about a year and a half after SME bought a majority stake in Alamo Records.
The New York-headquartered company signed a distribution agreement with label and management company LISTEN TO THE KIDS a few weeks later.
Later in the year, Santa Anna and LISTEN TO THE KIDS formed a joint venture with Lucas Thomashow, former senior VP of the US arm of Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex, to form record label SANA.
In February of 2023, Santa Anna and Alamo Records launched a new label, Great Day Records, in conjunction with Baroline Diaz, former Vice President of A&R at Interscope Records.
“We’ve seen firsthand what this team is capable of and know the great opportunities that lie ahead for our business and creators.”
Marcus Roach, Trill Entertainment
And last week (January 23), Santa Anna announced an “investment and partnership” with Toronto-headquartered OVO Sound, Drake’s independent record label, under which Santa Anna will provide OVO with additional A&R support, production, finance and accounting, marketing and promotion, as well as artist and label services “to grow OVO Sound’s business and attract, retain and promote top Canadian and international artists”.
OVO Sound was founded Aubrey “Drake” Graham, Noah “40” Shehib, and Oliver El-Khatib in 2012.Music Business Worldwide