AZ

AZ is a French record label established in 2002 as an affiliate of Universal Music Group with a big list of artists signed or with distribution rights for their releases in France. Valéry Zeitoun The founder and first president of AZ record label, Valéry Zeitoun, was born in Pantin near Paris on 13 February 1966. He ran the label from its creation in 2002 until October 2011. The label also encourages many new artists. Valéry Zeitoun (already a judge in the French television reality series Popstars in its second season in 2002) famously ran a campaign in 2010 on Facebook entitled Je veux signer chez AZ (meaning I want to sign with AZ). Two candidates were selected to join the label, namely Victor Le Douarec and Mélissa Nkonda. The campaign was so popular, Zeitoun ran a second series of casting for talent in 2011 resulting in signing of a third new artist, namely Alias Hilsum. Valéry Zeitoun also appeared in film Backstage directed by Emmanuelle Bercot where he plays the role of manager of the singer Lauren Marks (played by Emmanuelle Seigner).