The Machine Group is a record label based in Atlanta, Georgia founded by Alvin & Calvin Waters in 1999. The duo has produced AC Black formed in the mid-'80s by Alvin & Calvin Waters with the Hit Single Funky Situation, European pop artists Robbie Williams and Dy Lon as well as Uptown 3000, Backstreet Boys song Over Her, B5, Peabo Bryson.
They have also worked with Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, Yung Joc, BoneCrusher, Patti Labelle, Teena Marie, Michael Jackson, TLC, Lil Jon, Janet Jackson, Chris Tucker, Eddie Griffin, Ne-Yo, Lloyd, The PJ5 Club, Crystal Wright.
They also teamed up with Broderick D. Morris who is responsible for bringing Michael Jackson to Japan (March 9 2007) in Tokyo, Yokohama and Okinawa. The company is set to open a venture to bring a Japanese artist to the U.S market.
In 2006, The Machine Group signed an agreement with INgrooves to distribute their new artist catalogue to iTunes and other major download and mobile stores in the United States, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom. INgrooves will be providing the distribution and internet marketing to make The Machine Group's recording artist ring tones and music videos available to the internet audience. The Machine Group is credited as being one of the most powerful entertainment consulting companies in the U.S. The Atlanta-based firm was launched in the late 1990s by musical geniuses Alvin and Calvin Waters. Through their collaborative efforts, the duo has brought together some of the entertainment industry’s most notable producers and songwriters, including Grammy Award-winning producer Bryan-Michael Cox, “The King of New Jack Swing” Teddy Riley, Clifford Henson, James Keyz Foye, Ken K Fam Frambro and Anthony Franks. Collectively, the group has sold over 200 million records internationally and secured 54 song placements in the overseas market in the year of 2016.
Alvin and Calvin began their journey as musicians signed under the legendary Motown Records. “The label had us doing a lot of touring overseas where we would meet hundreds of Asian artists. We maintained relationships with them, which then led to us traveling to do business out of the country several times a year,” Alvin says.
The Machine Group has also worked on projects with American artists Michael Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Sean “Diddy” Combs, TLC, Teena Marie and Janet Jackson. Although the group has achieved endless success in the States; they decided to primarily focus on their engineering abroad. The Machine Group is now partnered with Japan-based Avex Music Publishing, which is dominating the charts and creating a lane for Asian artists to cross over to the U.S market. Currently, they are working with Korea’s top grossing boy band, EXO along with Girls Generation, Super Junior & Shine; and Japan’s top-selling female artist, Namie Amuro.
“We understand the importance of professionalism and keeping genuine people in our circle. Artists feel most comfortable when they are surrounded by people they feel comfortable dropping their guard down in front of,” Calvin says.
The Internet is driven by pop culture, but that just gives Alvin and Calvin Waters more motivation to think outside of the box when breaking new artists. Interestingly enough, the digital era of music isn’t affecting their artists’ album sales. “Japan is a place that still thrives off of selling physical CDs and it’s funny because they have the technology to do way more than what we do in America. There are real fans in those markets who appreciate a physical body of work versus the digital download,” says Alvin.
As the duo continues to expand their business in the international bracket, so does their fan base. The Machine Group hopes to connect aspiring and established writers, producers and artists on a global scale, so they can thrive in an ever-changing industry.
For more information on their story, check them out at http://www.themachinegroup.org/