This probably has been discussed before; however, does anyone know what, if any strategy, Mr. Gordy used to sign an artist[[s) to a particular label imprint? For instance, to my ears, Gladys Knight & The Pips being assigned to the "Soul" label because of their raw gospel-influenced style of singing, was no surpruse.
Though The Supremes [[The Primettes) were originally signed to Tamla, but, then moved to the flagship, Motown label...The Supremes and The Four Tops could be conceived as more R&B/Soul crossover, especially with how well The Four Tops did abroad. [["Where Did Our Love Go" broke simultaneously at Top 40, R&B and A/C....it didn't need to establish itself at R&B first).
Being signed to the "Gordy" imprint somehow seemed appropriate for The Temptations though they had almost as many R&B/Pop #1s as The Four Tops, The Temptations seemed a tad more "soulful". Understanding that music is highly subjective and individual to our ears, besides the brilliant strategy to assign acts to different imprints for radio promotion purposes, was there even more to that thought process? [[Example: The Commodores arguably began as an R&B band, by the time of Lionel's solo career, he and the group appealed widely to a crossover audience. Would "All Night Long" become the multi-format smash it did if it was solely dependent on R&B? Lionel's budding solo career not withstanding).