Tabu

Tabu was founded by industry legend Clarence Avant in the late 1970s and became a legendary early 1980s R&B label with its marquee acts the S.O.S. Band, Alexander O'Neal and Cherelle. It was also the training ground in which Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis honed their production skills—writing and producing virtually all of the label’s hits—until they began working with Janet Jackson in 1986.

It was initially distributed by RCA then within three years switched distribution to CBS Records, where it remained well after the label became Sony Music Entertainment, until 1991 it changed distribution again, this time to A&M Records. In 1993, PolyGram hired Avant to run Motown Records. During his tenure as Motown's president, Motown distributed Tabu’s releases. Avant left suddenly during the late 1990s, and Motown replaced him with André Harrell.

The label went out of business in 1999, but since 2002, Tabu has been an imprint of Capitol-EMI’s The Right Stuff via Virgin Records America, focusing primarily on reissuing its 1980s catalog.

In 2011, a new distribution deal with Universal Music Group began, with new entries by the label’s core artists released as part of Universal’s Icon series.

Label Code: LC4894