Essential Records is a Contemporary Christian record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 based in Franklin, Tennessee

Franklin, Tennessee

Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...

. It is a division of a major label, Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....

.

History

It was established in 1992 and acquired by Brentwood Music in 1993. The label's first big hit release was Flood

Flood (song)

"Flood" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is considered to be their breakthrough song due to airplay on contemporary Christian music and alternative rock radio stations, two radio formats which rarely interact with one another. It was released in 1995 on their self-titled debut...

 by Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...

 in 1996. The song was a hit on mainstream radio before hitting on Christian formats; it hit #12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and appeared in the Hot 100. Today it is part of the Provident Label Group

Provident Label Group

Provident Label Group is a division of Sony Music Entertainment focusing primarily on Christian music in Franklin, Tennessee. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity Distribution service...

, a division of Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....

.

Current

The current roster of artists, updated November 1, 2011:

• Jars of Clay
  Jars of Clay
  Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
  
  
• Leeland
  Leeland
  Leeland is a Christian rock band from Baytown, Texas. The band was formed in 2004, although lead singer Leeland Mooring had been writing songs beforehand. Leeland is composed of Leeland Mooring , Jack Mooring , Casey Moore , Shelly Mooring and Mike Smith...
  
  
• Matt Maher
  Matt Maher
  Matthew "Matt" Guion Maher is a contemporary Christian music artist, songwriter, and worship leader originally from Newfoundland, Canada, who later relocated to Tempe, Arizona. He has written and produced five solo albums to date...
  
  
• Red
  Red (band)
  Red is an American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band's lineup consists of singer Michael Barnes, guitarist Anthony Armstrong, bassist Randy Armstrong and drummer Joe Rickard. They are known for their Christian rock music which incorporates other sounds such as...
  
  
• Revive
  Revive (band)
  Revive was a Christian rock band based out of Atlanta, Georgia, which consisted of Davette Hanbury, AJ Cheek, Richie Thompson and Michael Wright. Formed in 2004, they had success throughout Australia, releasing two albums, as well as supporting Third Day on a national tour in January 2007...
  
  
• Third Day
  Third Day
  Third Day is a Grammy award-winning Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee and former member Billy Wilkins. The other band members are bassist Tai Anderson and drummer David Carr...
  
  
• Elevation Worship

Former

• Warren Barfield
  Warren Barfield
  Warren Barfield is a Christian musician.- Personal life :Warren has been married to Megan Barfield since September 1, 2001...
  
  
• Brooke Barrettsmith
  Brooke Barrettsmith
  Brooke Elizabeth Barrettsmith is an Christian pop/rock songwriter and musician from Spring Grove, Illinois. She was a former contestant of the reality television show American Idol during its fifth season in 2006.-Biography:...
  
   (Active)
• Caedmon's Call
  Caedmon's Call
  Caedmon's Call is a Contemporary Christian band which fuses traditional folk with world music and alternative rock. They are composed of Cliff Young , Danielle Young , Derek Webb , Andrew Osenga , Garett Buell , Jeff Miller , Todd Bragg , and...
  
   (Active, with INO Records
  INO Records
  INO Records, also known as Fair Trade Services, is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, specializing in Contemporary Christian music . It is distributed through Sony Music Entertainment, and was owned by Integrity Media until June 2011. When Integrity Media sold its assets...
  
  )
• Andy Cherry (Active)
• Day of Fire (inactive)
• FFH
  FFH
  FFH is a Contemporary Christian band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the United States. The band is occasionally known as Far From Home. They released six independent projects before being signed by Essential Records. Since then, they have released seven studio albums, as well as a "greatest-hits"...
  
   (Inactive)
• Fireflight
  Fireflight
  Fireflight is an American Christian rock band formed in Eustis, Florida in 1999. The band is signed by Flicker Records. They have played in Shoutfest, Revelation Generation, and have been featured on The Scars Remain tour with Disciple, Family Force 5, and Decyfer Down...
  
   (Active, with Flickr)
• Grey Holiday
  Grey Holiday
  Grey Holiday was a four-member American rock band from Austin, Texas. The band is signed to Essential Records. Band members were Matt Minor , Steven Bedingfield , R.T. Bodet and Josh Fenoglio...
  
   (Disbanded)
• KJ-52
  KJ-52
  KJ-52 is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J...
  
   (Active, with BEC Records)
• Krystal Meyers
  Krystal Meyers
  Krystal Meyers is an American Christian rock / Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter and musician...
  
   (Inactive)
• Bebo Norman
  Bebo Norman
  Jeffrey Stephen "Bebo" Norman is a contemporary Christian musician from Columbus, Georgia, USA. His most successful album to date is Myself When I Am Real, which included hit songs "Great Light of the World" and "Falling Down". Other popular songs by Norman include "Disappear", "Nothing Without...
  
   (Active, with BEC Records)
• Andrew Peterson (Active, with Centricity Music
  Centricity Music
  Centricity Music is an American record label founded in Washington with artists in contemporary Christian music. Some of its artists include Aaron Shust, Andrew Peterson, downhere, and Jason Gray, among others.-History:...
  
  )
• Pillar
  Pillar (band)
  Pillar is a Christian rock band currently located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their sixth studio album, Confessions, was released in 2009.- Formation and independent albums :...
  
   (Active)
• Plumb
  Plumb (singer)
  Tiffany Arbuckle Lee is a Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter who uses the stage name Plumb...
  
   (Active, with Curb Records
  Curb Records
  Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
  
  )
• Kerrie Roberts (Active, with Reunion Records
  Reunion Records
  Reunion Records is a Christian music record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee and operating under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 1982 by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton.-History:...
  
  )
• Tal & Acacia
  Tal & Acacia
  Tal & Acacia is an American contemporary Christian two-sister music duo from nashville, tennesee. They are signed to Essential Records, and first received national attention when their song "Clearview" was released as an iTunes Discovery Download of the week in October 2009. Their debut album, Wake...
  
   (Active)
• True Vibe
  True Vibe
  True Vibe was a CCM group that was active from 1999-2003. composed of members Jonathan Lippmann, Nathan Gaddis, Jason Barton, and Jordan Roe, was born out of Lippmann's desire to pursue musical excellence without watering down his Christian faith....
  
   (Disbanded)
• V*Enna (Disbanded)