| Jazzgroove Records
In about 10 years, the scene surrounding the Jazzgroove Association has grown from a handful of individualistic hard-working musicians into a genre-defining community of musicians and supporters. Jazzgroove Records is our mouthpiece to the rest of the world showcasing some of the finest performers and original music you will find anywhere. Browse our artists and release here ->
New for 2010 Members
Jazzgroove Members can now purchase any CD from the Jazzgroove catalogue for only $15! Simply click on the special Member Button and write in the details of your purchase. This offer is only available for current Jazzgroove Members, to become a member or if your membership has lapsed simply follow the link to sign up.
Members only CD special:
Check out our Cd bundle packs, a fantastic way to get a taste of what Jazzgroove Records has to offer. Cd Bundle Packs
About Jazzgroove Records
How did Jazzgroove records come about?
Jazzgroove Records was founded by David Theak, with some help from Nick McBride. In the early 2000s, music stores had around this time stopped accepting consignments from individual artists and would only accept stock from record labels. JGR’s first release was a two disc compilation, appropriately titled, Jazzgroove. The label was soon handed over to Gerard Masters, who carefully guided the JGR through its early years, securing distribution and overseeing the first twenty releases.
How long has the label been running?
Since 2001.
Who is involved and what is their role?
The label manager’s role has recently been simplified and folded into the Jazzgroove Administrator’s position. Albums are chosen by our Artistic Directors.
How do you make decisions about what to release?
The album artists are largely self selecting. If they are part of the Jazzgroove scene, organised enough to have prepared the album for release, if it has been produced with care and craft, and of course if the music sounds great, then they’re likely to be released.
That said, the Artistic Directors currently have total say on what is released through the JGR. In the past we have had a sub-committee formed, five or so people all listening and then meeting to deliberate. We found it unwieldy and ultimately unnecessary.
What are the challenges facing Jazzgroove Records? How do you hope to meet them?
The challenge is to always be able to justify the money and energy that the label requires to function in any meaningful way. Though the most obvious benefit goes to the album artists, it is important that JGR functions as much to the advantage of as many of our members as possible. This is simply a matter of regular review.
How is the label responding to changes in the market for music, for example a move towards digital downloads?
The entire back catalogue is available for digital download through all the usual channels and you’re also able to purchase hard copies directly from our website. The change in the way music is consumed has meant that we can streamline the running of the label pretty drastically. At this point we’re largely limited by the product the artists bring us.
What does the future look like for Jazzgroove records?
We’ll probably continue to have 3 to 5 major releases per year with a similar number of minor releases as required. The album launches have all been great events for everyone involved. As long as people are excited about releasing, and excited by the releases I think we’ll keep at it.
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Q and A prepared by John Hibbard for Extempore magazine, with thanks to David Theak, Gerard Masters, Jess Green, Simon Barker and Matthew Ottignon for their illuminating contributions.
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