Question on Motown labels Kim Weston recorded on.

Kim's last Tamla label release was I'm Still Loving You [T54110]. The next release was on the Gordy label [G7041].

Just wondering, does anyone know of the explanation why she went from the Tamla label to the Gordy label?

Thanks.

Probably to reduce the volume of product on the Tamla label. Radio stations would play only so many records on a label. It was a balancing act to not overload radio stations with too many Motown, Tamla, Gordy, etc. records.

I don't know if there's any explanation for why Motown artists were switched from one of the label's imprints to another. I remember there was a thread on this forum that had a list of acts whose records were released on different Motown labels.

PS: I'd still like to know why Stevie Wonder's The Woman In Red soundtrack LP came out on Motown instead of Tamla [[this album came out a couple of years before the Tamla/Gordy/Motown labels were consolidated).

^^^ Soundtracks tended to come out on Motown.
Maybe because of the potential marketing opportunities for these, there was a policy decision that the Motown label was their natural home.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 144man

^^^ Soundtracks tended to come out on Motown.

---

That's a good point. I guess they made exceptions for Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man & Smokey Robinson's Big Time soundtracks which both came out on the Tamla imprint.

https://img.discogs.com/9e30CDMKoorM...21709.jpeg.jpg

https://img.discogs.com/JCW6amQrxHZ0...-2725.jpeg.jpg

As far as I am aware the move to placing all soundtrack albums on the Motown imprint did not start until the combined 6000 series of album releases started.

The biggest mystery to me was Kiki Dee. Her lp and first single were on the Tamla label. Then her only charted Motown single Love Makes The World Go 'Round was on the Rare Earth label.

We can guess & speculate on this but I think this is something that Adam White could discuss on his West Grand Blog. He could get with someone who worked at Motown at the time and provide info on who got assigned to what Motown label imprint [[and why they were moved over to another one).

A number of acts got shuttled from one imprint to another. Kim and Kiki as mentioned. Supremes, Chris Clark, Velvelettes, and Spinners also come to mind. I imagine there were others I can’t remember just now. It was a common practice. I do wonder, however, how the decisions were made — what criteria were used in determining which acts would be transferred to which labels.