"One of the foundations of Interscope has been partnering with producers who can move the needle of popular culture," said Jimmy Iovine. "Mark has that rare ear for great songs and artists who will have extraordinary careers. We're thrilled to be in business with him." Ronson, as an artist or producer, will not be exclusive to Allido/Interscope.

The first artist signed to Allido/Interscope is Wale (pronounced wah-lay), a young, go-go influenced, hip-hop sensation from Washington, DC, who has been touted in both Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly as an artist to watch in 2008. His debut album is expected by year's end.

"Jimmy Iovine is a dude," explains Ronson. "The plain fact that he started out as an engineer on Born To Run, went on to produce records for U2 and Patti Smith, and then formed one of the most influential labels in the history of American music encapsulates every reason why I would want to be in business with Interscope Records. I've always tried to balance discovering brilliant new talent and producing great records; and, along with Rich Kleiman, then putting those records out through Allido Records. Interscope is the perfect place for us to do that. What a dude."

"Although we've signed individual artists to majors since our inception, Allido has always developed organically and independently. However, the time has arrived to formally bring the label to a place that has the infrastructure of a major but that is still willing to think outside the box," explained Kleiman. "Interscope has a reputation for being a true partner in their joint ventures and this is an invaluable characteristic."