Label loyalty

[Mark]

Is there any one classical label to which - by design or by accident - you've become loyal?

Many here know that I have a not-inconsiderable number of Naxos releases. I'm guessing around the 280 mark. When I had little cash to splash but wanted to grow my collection and explore new avenues, Naxos fitted the bill. So I guess a kind of 'loyalty' to that label has grown up for me.

After Naxos, this label loyalty is shared by EMI and DG. They're just two names I always feel I can trust. Rarely have I had a dud from either. I feel I ought to do more to support smaller independents like Chandos and Hyperion (both of which aren't doing all that badly in my collection). Whereas I have no feeling of loyalty to household names like Philips and Decca.

How about you? Any hints of label loyalty that you can detect?

[Drasko]

None.

[Que]

Mark, this is just the subject for you!

Generally there is no strong correlation between a label and artistic value - especially not so in the case of the major labels. In small labels choices for repertoire and performers are made by just a few individuals whose tastes could show some correlation with mine. Quality of sound and recording is another matter, again especially in the case of some small labels this can uniformly excellent.

After Naxos, this label loyalty is shared by EMI and DG. They're just two names I always feel I can trust. Rarely have I had a dud from either.

This simply cannot be true! 
If so, you either have been very lucky or have quite different "ears" from mine.

Q

[Grazioso]

Not loyalty per se, but since I explore a lot, I tend to favor labels like Naxos, Chandos, et al. that cover the lesser-known repertoire. In fact, I rather look down on the old majors for their stodgy, complacent conservatism.

[marvinbrown]

Is there any one classical label to which - by design or by accident - you've become loyal?

Many here know that I have a not-inconsiderable number of Naxos releases. I'm guessing around the 280 mark. When I had little cash to splash but wanted to grow my collection and explore new avenues, Naxos fitted the bill. So I guess a kind of 'loyalty' to that label has grown up for me.

After Naxos, this label loyalty is shared by EMI and DG. They're just two names I always feel I can trust. Rarely have I had a dud from either. I feel I ought to do more to support smaller independents like Chandos and Hyperion (both of which aren't doing all that badly in my collection). Whereas I have no feeling of loyalty to household names like Philips and Decca.

How about you? Any hints of label loyalty that you can detect?

  Mark I am loyal to Deutsche Gramaphone (DG) first and formost, most of the CDs and especially DVD recordings (I collect operas from that label) are from DG.  EMI comes next in line. I love their Great Recordings of the Century series, a lot of jewels to be had there.  For some reason I tend to shy away from Naxos, the general impression I get is that they are very affordable (ie cheap) and I worry that that could have some effect on the performances or sound quality.  Its an unjustified concerns (I do have quite a few Naxos CDs) but I never find myself rushing to buy from the Naxos label for some reason  .

  marvin

[71 dB]

I have a love-hate relationship with Naxos (about 300 discs). They release a lot of music for good price and mostly very well performed/recorded. However, the way Naxos releases music is most annoying. They release some complete sets (like Haydn's symphonies/string quartets) but totally ignore other stuff (Haydn's piano trios). They "avoid" German baroque and only now they have started releasing more Buxtehude. Where are Fauré's Piano Quintets/Quartets? For long their way of releasing Elgar was chaotic. They record today and release 10 years from now. Why keep people waiting? After 20 years they started releasing Taneyev. Better late than never. I have bought many works from other labels just because I got tired of waiting...

I like Harmonia Mundi, BIS (for their fantastic SACD releases), CPO & MDG (new favorites). I value EMI for their Elgar cataloque. Archiv is my favorite too.


I dislike DG and Decca. Weird glassy sound and extremely narrow repertoire. 

[The new erato]

I am loyal to no label. But some tend to put out more interesting and non-disapponting releases that others. There are no majors on thet list. But Harmonia Mundia, ZigZag, Hyperion are a few of the minor (and oxymoron, for me, these are the majors!) on that list. Naxos have imrpoved drastically in the last few years and are invaluable for the kind of repertoire they currently promote, and for the fact that they forced the majors to put out interesting reissue seris at good prices.

[gmstudio]

Lately, I've been buying nothing but CPO - not necessarily out of loyalty, but simply because they seem to be swimming in releases of my favorite genre: semi-obscure symphonic composers...

Also digging dacapo and Marco Polo for the same reason.   Went through a huge Naxos phase a while ago, but when they raised their prices they stopped becoming my 'first stop,' so to speak.

[Peregrine]

No label loyalty here, I'm a label whore; picking and choosing as I see fit!

[71 dB]

Went through a huge Naxos phase a while ago, but when they raised their prices they stopped becoming my 'first stop,' so to speak.

Naxos was forced to raise the prices in US because dollar is so weak. We Europeans have the old prices. You Americans can blame yourself for voting chimpanzees to the White House who want to spend billions in unnecessory wars and finance it all with dollar devaluation.

[Mark]

Glad 71dB mentioned Harmonia Mundi and BIS: two extremely good labels who, for reasons purely of availability on eMusic, are fast becoming favourites in my download collection. In particular, and because I've waxed lyrical elsewhere on GMG about my love of Herreweghe's work, it's no surprise that Harmonia Mundi should be steadily gaining my loyalty. 0:)

As to DG having an ' ... extremely narrow repertoire ... ', I'd never noticed this. And yes, Que, I've been very lucky with DG and EMI - but then, I've never bought indiscriminately works on either label. I can tell you, however, that some EMI Eminence releases are awful and best avoided - got my fingers burned a few times with charity shop purchases.

[Drasko]

No label loyalty here, I'm a label whore

Doesn't the fact that you are paying for their product make the relationship to be of somewhat opposite nature.

[71 dB]

Glad 71dB mentioned Harmonia Mundi and BIS: two extremely good labels who, for reasons purely of availability on eMusic, are fast becoming favourites in my download collection. In particular, and because I've waxed lyrical elsewhere on GMG about my love of Herreweghe's work, it's no surprise that Harmonia Mundi should be steadily gaining my loyalty. 0:)

Herreweghe, Junghänel, Manze,... HM also has a 'bold' repertoire.

As to DG having an ' ... extremely narrow repertoire ... ', I'd never noticed this.

I think Decca is narrower than DG. In fact I have only three (!) DG discs so maybe my judgment was hasty... ...maybe I should explore DG more?

[Peregrine]

Doesn't the fact that you are paying for their product make the relationship to be of somewhat opposite nature.

Indeed! 

[sidoze]

None.

same here mostly. However while Bryan Crimp was leading APR I became quite loyal to them -- dozens of fascinating piano performances of which I bought many (or most). Same with Arbiter, absolutely wonderful label and I'm really looking forward to their 2CD Sirota set next year. These are small labels whose staff are as interested in historical performances as we are. Not only that but they keep the same staff, so unlike with Naxos Historical you don't have a new guy coming in for every new venture (at least that's how it used to be). IMO both of these labels are heads above Naxos Historical and most other historical labels too (you could mention Tahra with them though, but Tahra's not as advanced on the piano front IMO).

And of course Marston Records, which I'm still a subscriber to (which means I'm automatically billed for every new historical piano CD). Unfortunately their operations have slowed of late.

[Todd]

Why on earth would anyone be loyal to a company for anything?  When it comes to music, I'm interested in repertoire and performances; labels are utterly unimportant.

[71 dB]

Why on earth would anyone be loyal to a company for anything?  When it comes to music, I'm interested in repertoire and performances; labels are utterly unimportant.

If a label does their best to make good performances/recorded sound quality and takes risks releasing obscure works I am interested of I will support them being loyal. Label = the business idea/philosophy.

[marvinbrown]

If a label does their best to make good performances/recorded sound quality and takes risks releasing obscure works I am interested of I will support them being loyal. Label = the business idea/philosophy.

  I agree, plus the EMI Great Recordings of the Century series gives recordings that have proved to be stellar, sold well in the market, withstood the test of time etc. etc. the designation of Great Recordings of the Century.  Now I am not arguing that all the recordings so designated deserve that title,- but you would be surprised how many are superb. It just makes the search for a good recording that much easier- or so I would like to believe.


  marvin

[Todd]

If a label does their best to make good performances/recorded sound quality and takes risks releasing obscure works I am interested of I will support them being loyal. Label = the business idea/philosophy.

Your response would make any marketer happy.

[Brian]

Why on earth would anyone be loyal to a company for anything?  When it comes to music, I'm interested in repertoire and performances; labels are utterly unimportant.

That's a perfect question, and in principle I agree with the point, but unfortunately I have an answer. Given a choice between two (or more) performances of the same music and of similar sound quality, I will always choose the cheaper one. I'm a broke college freshman who has already eradicated his spending money for November by paying for some friends' movie tickets and purchasing the complete novels of Carson McCullers and the Beatles Blue Album, so cheaper is quite necessarily better. I have no new-release EMI, DG, or Decca/London CDs; my Hyperion discs were all Christmas presents; and although I love the artists, repertoire, and cover art on Harmonia Mundi, I have never purchased any of their stuff. Someday, like Mark, I will move beyond listening to Naxos, Brilliant Classics (all Grieg's Lyric Pieces for $11! Zoinks!), and those EMI reissues with the astoundingly crappy liner notes, but really the only thing I feel like I am missing is the output of a couple of great artists who work for Hyperion, Chandos, HM, and Decca.

Not attempting to defend the thread from your (very sane) line of reasoning; just explaining my personal reasons. And as for Naxos, that price increase has forced me to mp3 downloads, since on Classicsonline each disc is still a $7 download.