He soon rebounded by accepting a deal from BMG that gave him a 50-percent equity stake in his own baby, J Records. Armed with loyal top-level executives and several artists from Arista, Davis went on to make J Records a successful brand in its own right. Just five years later, his label boasts a roster that includes Grammy-award winning top-selling artists like Alicia Keys and Maroon 5. In an ironic turn that illustrates the capricious nature of the music business, Davis was recently named Chairman and CEO of BMG North America, putting him at the helm of numerous labels including Arista.

JRecords.com has a sleek look and feel, seamlessly launching a Flash animated logo at start up, which retreats to the navigation bar. A cool-looking aluminum turntable appears front and center, with images of the artists appearing in the album’s outline. A link immediately appears in the corner of the turntable apparatus, giving users the option to view the artists’ websites, read bios, or view press clippings. A large window fills the console, displaying the label’s latest news and information. Getting on the J Records mailing list is as simple as plugging in your e-mail address right there on the home page.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand how music sharing changed the fabric of the music industry in recent years. Once ridiculously profitable, record labels have to find a way to dance the dance without biting into their profit margins. An audio/video player (appropriately called “Listen Up”) appears on the top right of the site, providing visitors with a very limited playlist of some featured artists. Unlike Arista’s site, which offers lots of video and audio snippets as well as links to music retailers in lieu of downloadable music files, visitors do not have much to hear at JRecords.com.

J Records’ artist roster can be accessed from two pull-down menus that eventually redirect users to the same place: the artists’ own websites. For a label that takes pride in building careers of substance and longevity, it has dropped the ball on adding substance to the artist information area; it offers nothing more than basic bio information, missing a multitude of marketing opportunities by not offering enough information about artist activities such as tours and appearances. Another glaring omission occurs when users click on the artists’ name and a photo appears in the main page window, but a corresponding sample of the music isn’t made available. Even if an artists’ release isn’t current, there is value in offering visitors a chance to listen to something; it might result in a sale down the line.

About Us is a brief two paragraph synopsis of the label’s history with an accompanying photo of Davis. News & Press lists recent clippings and makes them viewable in pdf format. Visitors can also view artist specific press releases by clicking on an artist’s name. The few we visited dated back to 2002, proof positive that the site really needs some attention.

All in all, the JRecords.com brand experience sorely lacks the level of quality and integrity it typically delivers through music. Sure, the site’s look and feel makes a decent first impression, but anyone spending more than two minutes browsing will be confronted with the lack of substantive content. Even basic promotional tools, like community areas where the label could access the artist’s fan base or even music snippets for each artist, are absent. The label might dominate the charts and award shows, but it doesn’t dominate the web. Perhaps the folks at J Records should put forth some effort into signing a talented webmaster to its roster.