Select-O-Hits

Select-O-Hits is an American independent record distributor and associated record-label business headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1960 by brothers Tom Phillips and Sam Phillips, it grew out of the Phillips family's experience with Sun Records and from a Memphis retail and wholesale operation serving small record shops. The company was established by Tom Phillips, who had worked as Jerry Lee Lewis's road manager, with assistance from his brother Sam, the founder of Sun Records, and Tom's wife Lucille. The original business combined a record store with a one-stop distribution operation. A one-stop supplied independent retailers with recorded music and related merchandising equipment, including phonograph needles and display racks. This model gave Select-O-Hits an early role in connecting predominantly Black-owned record stores with music suppliers at a time when independent retail networks were important to the circulation of soul, gospel, blues, and other regional music. During the mid-1970s, Select-O-Hits shifted its emphasis away from retail and toward music distribution. Its retail store closed in the mid-1980s, and the company's one-stop operation ended several years later. The business subsequently developed and distributed a family of affiliated or associated labels, including Avenue, Icehouse, SOH, Brutal Records, Basix Music, Blues Works, and Prophet. Its catalog and client base have covered multiple genres, although rap, blues, soul, and gospel have remained especially significant. In 1997, Malaco Records acquired a 50 percent interest in Select-O-Hits. The relationship expanded the company's connections within Southern independent music and helped support a broad label-distribution structure. In 2005, Select-O-Hits and Malaco jointly acquired Atlanta International Records, adding another label and catalog relationship to the business. Select-O-Hits later expanded into Latin and regional Mexican music. In 2007 it began distributing Latin labels through the Select-O Latino brand. That business has represented or distributed releases associated with artists including Luis Enrique, Luz Rios, Diego Verdaguer, Los Invasores de Nuevo León, and Orestes Vilató, several of whom have received Latin Grammy nominations. The company operates as a service provider for independent music businesses rather than as a consumer-facing artist brand alone. Its distribution work has included physical retail, independent vendors, and digital music services. Reported sales personnel have been based in Memphis, New York, Sacramento, Miami, and Dallas, supporting distribution to more than 300 independent vendors and to major U.S. physical retailers as well as digital platforms such as iTunes and eMusic. Artists and labels associated with its distribution network have included Johnnie Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Hypnotize Minds, Colt Ford, Diana Reyes, The Texas Tenors, Malaco Records, Sun Records, Stax Records, Mailboat Records, Blackheart Records, Prophet Entertainment, Art Greenhaw Records, and Foghat Records. Select-O-Hits remains an independent music-distribution business with roots in Memphis's historically important recording and retail ecosystem.

Select-O-Hits was founded in Memphis in 1960 by Tom Phillips and his brother Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records. Tom had previously worked as Jerry Lee Lewis's road manager. After a planned European tour was canceled amid controversy surrounding Lewis's marriage, Tom lost the money he had invested in the tour. Sam then gave him work in the Sun Records warehouse and helped him remain in Memphis while he rebuilt his finances. Tom and his wife, Lucille, eventually opened a small record store and one-stop operation. The business supplied independent record shops, many of them Black-owned, with records and retail equipment such as phonograph needles and display fixtures. This combination of retailing and wholesale supply formed the foundation of Select-O-Hits and connected it to the regional music economy of Memphis. By the mid-1970s, the company was concentrating more heavily on distribution. Its retail store closed during the 1980s, followed later by the one-stop operation. Select-O-Hits then developed a broader independent-distribution model and created or supported labels including Avenue, Icehouse, SOH, Brutal Records, Basix Music, Blues Works, and Prophet. Rap, blues, soul, and gospel became especially important parts of its business, although the company's distribution portfolio covered a wider range of genres. Malaco acquired a 50 percent stake in Select-O-Hits in 1997. In 2005, the two companies jointly acquired Atlanta International Records. These transactions strengthened Select-O-Hits' role in independent label distribution and expanded the catalog relationships available through its network. The company entered Latin and regional Mexican distribution in 2007 under the Select-O Latino name. Its associated artists and labels have included performers such as Luis Enrique, Luz Rios, Diego Verdaguer, Los Invasores de Nuevo León, and Orestes Vilató, alongside its long-standing work in Southern U.S. genres. In its more recent operating model, Select-O-Hits has maintained sales personnel in Memphis, New York, Sacramento, Miami, and Dallas. It has supplied more than 300 independent vendors and distributed music to U.S. physical retailers and digital services, including iTunes and eMusic. The company has also handled releases connected with artists such as Johnnie Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Hypnotize Minds, Colt Ford, Diana Reyes, and The Texas Tenors, and with labels including Malaco, Sun, Stax, Mailboat, Blackheart, Prophet Entertainment, Art Greenhaw, and Foghat Records. Its identity is therefore best understood as an independent music-distribution and label-services business rooted in Memphis, rather than solely as a single-label recording imprint.

• 2007

  Select-O Latino begins distribution

  [1]Select-O-Hitsen.wikipedia.org

  Select-O-Hits enters Latin and regional Mexican music distribution through the Select-O Latino brand.

• 2005

  Atlanta International Records acquisition

  [1]Select-O-Hitsen.wikipedia.org

  Select-O-Hits and Malaco jointly acquire Atlanta International Records.

• 1997

  Malaco purchases a 50 percent interest

  [1]Select-O-Hitsen.wikipedia.org

  Malaco Records acquires half of Select-O-Hits.

• 1985

  Retail store closes

  [1]Select-O-Hitsen.wikipedia.org

  The original Select-O-Hits retail store closes as the company continues its transition toward distribution.

• 1975

  Distribution becomes the central business

  [1]Select-O-Hitsen.wikipedia.org

  The company begins moving its emphasis from retail toward music distribution.

• 1960

  Select-O-Hits is founded in Memphis

  [1]Select-O-Hitsen.wikipedia.org

  Tom Phillips and Sam Phillips establish Select-O-Hits as a record store and one-stop distributor serving independent music retailers.

A Memphis-based independent distributor focused on connecting regional, independent, and specialty music labels with physical retailers, independent vendors, and digital platforms. Its strongest historical areas include rap, blues, soul, gospel, Latin, and regional Mexican music.

• Independent music distribution · 1960

  Select-O-Hits Distribution

  The company's core business distributes recordings from independent artists and labels to physical retailers, independent vendors, and digital music services. Its catalog has included rap, blues, soul, gospel, country, pop, and other regional or specialty genres.

• Latin and regional Mexican music distribution · 2007

  Select-O Latino

  Introduced in 2007, Select-O Latino is the company's Latin-music distribution arm. It has handled Latin and regional Mexican labels and releases associated with artists including Luis Enrique, Luz Rios, Diego Verdaguer, Los Invasores de Nuevo León, and Orestes Vilató.

• Record labels

  Affiliated label catalog

  Select-O-Hits has formed or distributed a family of labels including Avenue, Icehouse, SOH, Brutal Records, Basix Music, Blues Works, and Prophet. Its wider distribution relationships have included Malaco Records, Sun Records, Stax Records, Mailboat Records, Blackheart Records, Art Greenhaw Records, and Foghat Records.

• 2007

  Enter Latin and regional Mexican distributionStrategy

  Background

  The company sought to broaden its genre and market coverage beyond its established Southern U.S. music strengths.

  Action taken

  Select-O-Hits launched Latin and regional Mexican distribution under the Select-O Latino brand.

  Aftermath

  Select-O Latino became an additional platform for Latin artists and labels, including several Latin Grammy-nominated acts.

  Source

• 2005

  Acquire Atlanta International RecordsM&A

  Background

  Select-O-Hits and Malaco pursued additional independent-label catalog and distribution capabilities.

  Action taken

  The two companies jointly acquired Atlanta International Records.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition expanded the labels and catalogs connected to the Select-O-Hits distribution network.

  Source

• 1997

  Sell a 50 percent interest to MalacoM&A

  Background

  Select-O-Hits sought to strengthen its position within the independent Southern music business.

  Action taken

  Malaco Records acquired half of the company.

  Aftermath

  The transaction created a continuing corporate and distribution relationship between Select-O-Hits and Malaco.

  Source

• 1975

  Prioritize distribution over retailStrategy

  Background

  The company's original retail and one-stop model was becoming less central to its long-term operations.

  Action taken

  Select-O-Hits shifted its emphasis toward music distribution; the retail store and later the one-stop operation were subsequently closed.

  Aftermath

  The change established the distribution-focused business model that defines Select-O-Hits in later decades.

  Source

1. 1Select-O-Hitsen.wikipedia.org