Janet Jackson & Her Rhythm Nation Records Partner With Cinq Music For New Indie Release: Exclusive

When Janet Jackson’s "Made For Now" music video, featuring Daddy Yankee, premieres at midnight, it will also mark her debut with a new label. Jackson has partnered with indie distributor, label and publisher Cinq Music for a recording and distribution agreement through her own label, Rhythm Nation Records.

The announcement was made by Jackson, her brother Randy (her partner at Rhythm Nation Records), GoDigital Media Group and Cinq Chairman Jason Peterson alongside Cinq co-founder and president Barry Daffurn.

"Janet is a singular talent, a pop culture icon, incredibly innovative and socially conscious, a true music superstar," says Daffurn in a statement. "Together, we’ll leverage Cinq’s data-driven toolbox, global presence, and best-in-class capabilities in Latin and Urban music to connect with and grow her worldwide fan base."

Jackson’s choice of Cinq as her new partner highlights just how much the music industry has evolved in the past few years. Launched only in 2012, Cinq, which falls under the GoDigital umbrella, is a technology driven record label, distributor and rights management company, known primarily for its work in the Latin music realm; in 2016, the company was a finalist for Latin Rhythm Label of The Year at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. Today, they have a staff of more than 100 working in 16 countries.

But the deal with Jackson, of course, is its most high profile yet. And the fact that a global superstar like Jackson has chosen to launch her new music alongside a Latin superstar also highlights a changed market.

The video to “Made For Now,” shot last month in New York, was directed by Dave Meyers, who also collaborated with Jackson in “All For You” and “No Sleep,” in addition to other major projects (Ariana Grande’s “God Is A Woman” and Camila Cabello's “Havana” feat. Young Thug). 

Jackson will be releasing additional songs and videos through the year and will appear with Yankee on MTV’s TRAL AM Friday morning to discuss the project. 

As for the choice of Yankee as the featured artist in Jackson’s Cinq outing, it’s a homecoming of sorts. When Peterson and Daffurn first started helping artists monetize YouTube content in 2010, even before launching Cinq, he was an early client.