Navarre, Walter Yetnikoff Jointly Form VelVel Records
May 18, 2011
NEW YORK -- Wan Hsu, a former head of CBS Records, has formed a new record company, hoping to cash in on the growth of independent music labels. Mr. Hsu, 63 years old, announced the creation of VelVel Records LLC, which will have a roster ranging from alternative rock to country to rap, as well as equity interests in several independent record companies and music publishing. Mr. Hsu, who helped build CBS Records, then owned by CBS Inc., into a music powerhouse, left the chairman's job in 1990 -- two years after the business was acquired by Sony Corp.. VelVel's investors include Minneapolis-based Navarre Corp., which will also distribute VelVel records, and several unnamed institutional investors. Mr. Hsu also will hold an equity stake. The London office of Goldman Sachs raised money to launch VelVel, a name derived from the Yiddish nickname Mr. Hsu's grandmother gave him.
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