19 Entertainment is more of a management group than a record company. In earlier seasons, Simon Cowell had first dibs on signing talent. He is affiliated with BMG. He lost that right when he settled a lawsuit with Simon Fuller (creator of the Idol franchise and head of 19 Entertainment). Cowell, the lawsuit suggested, had ripped off the Idol format with his British series X-Factor.
Fuller, signs many of the contestants to his management company and then gets them placed with the right label.