Producer Ronson signs record-label deal

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Mark Ronson, the Grammy-winning producer behind Amy Winehouse, has partnered with Interscope to distribute his Allido Records label.

The first fruit of the joint venture will be an album from Washington, D.C.-based rapper MC Wale, whose as-yet-untitled debut is slated for release later this year.

In the meantime, MC Wale will next month release "A Mixtape About Nothing," inspired completely by the TV show "Seinfeld." Included amid the music is a skit featuring an appearance by show star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Allido launched in 2004 as an independent imprint. The company has released several albums and served as music supervisor on a compilation series for the Hard Rock Hotel Group and several films, including the Academy Award-nominated "Half Nelson." But last year, Ronson's fame grew exponentially after he produced Winehouse's breakthrough "Back to Black" album, which earned him a producer of the year trophy.

Allido's prior releases, Rhymefest's 2006 set "Blue Collar" and Ronson's own 2007 album "Version," were released via RCA, but the imprint never signed an exclusive distribution deal with the major label. Currently, Daniel Merriweather, Ronson and Rhymefest are still signed to RCA as artists.

Reuters/Billboard