Island Def Jam Music Group and Procter & Gamble's TAG brand are teaming for a joint-venture hip-hop label, which will be led by Island Urban president Jermaine Dupri.

"My goal is to find artists that have longevity written all over their face," says Dupri, adding that TAG is expected to launch two artists per year during the course of the three-year deal.

According to Dupri, Proctor & Gamble, which produces TAG body spray, approached Island via ACME Brand Content Company for the joint venture. P&G views the union as a great way to reach its pop culture-influenced teen demographic. The label launch is also part of TAG's initiative to cultivate relationships with the urban community through programs that give opportunities to aspiring MCs.

Neither IDJ or P&G would comment on speculation that TAG artists will be supported with up to, but not limited to, $10 million in marketing dollars, an unprecedented figure for any contemporary new artist.

"Most artists get probably $1 million for a marketing budget," says Dupri. "The TAG artists will receive 10 times the typical marketing support. It will give these artists a chance to be and feel just as big as a Kanye West because the marketing budget is 10 to 20 times as much as the average. While it's not actually $10-20 million, the numbers are up in that area and further north."

Dupri will introduce the first artist in May, and says that while TAG is a hip-hop label, it won't be completely limited to the genre. "The whole process is on a fast track to align itself with TAG Body Spray's re-launch this summer," he says. "I like it because we can't stop the artist process because of the record business' [red tape]."

The artists will be the focus of TAG Body Spray's re-launch, via television, print, radio, digital ads and event marketing, and will be given a unique opportunity to merge their music with personal brand marketing.

Proctor & Gamble is the third major company to recently jump into the sphere normally occupied by traditional record labels, joining Live Nation (Jay-Z, Madonna, U2) and Bodog Entertainment (DMX).

"These companies like Live Nation and TAG are all new," says Dupri. "So we're all going to see what happens. Live Nation might offer a lot of money but they don't offer what TAG does because they don't set a platform."