Patti Austin, Jones's goddaughter, was one of the first artists to sign with Qwest, and the label released her album, Every Home Should Have One, in 1981.

This included Frank Sinatra (whom Jones produced in the 1960s), Tevin Campbell, Radiance, and the British alternative dance group New Order (formerly known as Joy Division, its earlier post-punk incarnation).

They're beautiful people.In the 1990s, Qwest Records demonstrated its adaptability by venturing into the burgeoning hip-hop music scene.

The label also signed the gospel group the Winans in 1985 and Táta Vega, who released Now I See through Qwest.

Robert Stewart, a performer on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wynton Marsalis recording Blood on the Fields,[2] was signed to the label in 1994.