RMM Records & Video

[Ralph Mercado Management] RMM Records & Video Corp.
Parent company	Universal Music Group
Founded	1972
Founder	Ralph Mercado
Defunct	2001
Distributor(s)	Sony Discos (1990-1995) Universal Music Latino (1996-present)
Genre	Salsa, Merengue, Tropical, Latin Jazz

RMM Records, also known as the RMM Records & Video Corp, was an independent Latin music record label established in 1987 and based in New York City. The label was most active during the late 1980s and early 1990s and produced primarily salsa, Latin jazz and merengue music. At its peak, RMM Records employed 55 staff members and had distribution deals in 42 cities around the world, occupying 9,000 square feet in two floors at its Soho headquarters. The label was established by Fania Records promoter Ralph Mercado who also established RMM Management, an artist management and booking agency.

Artists who recorded for the label included Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Oscar D'León, Eddie Palmieri, Cheo Feliciano, Ismael Miranda, José Alberto 'El Canario', Tony Vega, Tito Nieves, Johnny Rivera, Ray Sepúlveda, Domingo Quiñones, Miles Peña, Orquesta Guayacan, Conjunto Clasico, Manny Manuel, the New York Band, Marc Anthony, arranger Sergio George, Isidro Infante, and Linda Caballero, also known as La India. The label also recorded the Fania All-Stars, a group of singers and studio musicians from the heyday of Fania Records, the powerhouse salsa label from the 1960s and 1970s.

Empire and Legacy

RMM filed for bankruptcy in November 2000, selling its assets to Universal Music Group. According to the NYTimes, unpaid royalties, as well as a lawsuit settlement of $7.7 million to Glenn Monroig totaling over $11 million, plus interest, contributed to the end of RMM Records. On June 25, 2001, as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy sale, Universal Music Group (UMG) announced the acquisition of RMM’s assets.

Founder and Key Staff

• Ralph Mercado Jr. (September 29, 1941 – March 10, 2009) was born in Brooklyn to a Puerto Rican mother and Dominican father. He entered the music business as a teenager, organizing parties and dances as president of a neighborhood social club. In the 1960s, he promoted R & B and soul artists like James Brown and paired them with Latin artists like Mongo Santamaria. In the 1980s-1990s, Mercado was a promoter of Latin Jazz, Latin rock, Merengue and Salsa. He establishing a network of businesses that promoted concerts, managed artists, and led to the foundation of the record label Ritmo Mundo Musical (RMM). Following the bankruptcy of RMM in 2000, Ralph Mercado returned to artist promotion.
• Debra A. Mercado, starting in the early 1990s, was RMM's National Director of Publicity, as well as overseeing international promotions generated by RMM International. She also was in charge of public relations for four other enterprises: RMM (Management), Ralph Mercado Presents, Caribbean Waves Music (ASCAP), and Crossing Borders Music Inc. (BMI).
• Nelson Rodríguez, starting in 1991, was the General Manager of the Record Division. He was also the National VP of Promotions & Marketing for RMM until 2000/2001.

Familiar RMM Recordings

• Combinación Perfecta 1993
• Tropical Tribute to The Beatles 1996
• Recordando a Selena 1996
• En Vivo 1994 (recorded at Miami Arena, July 1993)
• European Explosion 1996 (recorded at Cannes, February 1995)

Artists

2

RMM labels

• SOHO Latino
• Sonero Discos
• RMM International
• TropiJazz
• Merengazo
• RMM Rocks

See also

• List of record labels
• Ralph Mercado