Konichiwa Records

Building tension regarding numerous creative differences (even as a minor) since 1996 between Robyn and her A&R team/handlers (especially at label Jive specifically regarding her marketing in the United States) finally came to a head in 2003, leading to Robyn to strike out on her own, buy out of her contract and start her own label. The first followed the release of the U.S. version of her 1995 debut Robyn is Here in early 1997 when following her hits "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love" Robyn's star was rising globally. With grunge and Britpop stalling on either side of the Atlantic, a new renaissance of teen-marketed dance-pop was rising from Europe and making waves in the United States following the release of the Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe". In similar fashion to Louise, Cheiron Studios led by Denniz Pop and Max Martin had a vision to sonically lean harder into the R&B pushed in her debut but combine it with a brash new pop sound combining hard funk and metal influences then aesthetically amp up a blatant Lolita image translated to the late 90s, warping, repackaging then commodifying Madonna's message of sexual expression to mass market for multiple demographics. Rejecting this direction, their working relationship was severed and Max molded this direction for teen-pop to Britney Spears. Denniz would pass away from stomach cancer in 1998 prior to Britney's massive debut that became the blueprint for the music industry's jailbait era, with Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore following in her wake.[1]

The second creative difference arose from Jive Records' concern in early 1999 about the lyrics regarding her abortion in October 1998 at the age of 18, addressed in the songs "Giving You Back" and "88 Days" for her upcoming album to be released in 1999, "My Truth". Robyn rejected any demands for her to not only get rid of those songs but for a further production overhaul in the direction of Christina Aguilera's debut prior to any U.S. distribution. As a result of the stalemate the album was only released by BMG in Sweden and limited territories. The final creative difference between she and Jive Records came following her album cycle Don't Stop the Music in mid 2003 when they rejected the harder synthpop direction of her new demos influenced by Swedish band The Knife, especially "Who's That Girl", which was later released and charted at #26 in the UK and #37 in Sweden. Robyn decided in early 2005 to leave Jive Records to be liberated artistically, starting her own record label Konichiwa Records. Robyn’s first album under the new label was called Robyn, and included collaborators Klas Åhlund from Teddybears STHLM, Swedish duo The Knife and former Cheiron producer Alexander Kronlund.[2]