Monitor Records (New York)

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Monitor Records is a record label from the United States specializing in classical and folk music.

Contents

History

The label was started in 1956 by Michael Stillman of Leeds Music and Rose Rubin. [1] [2] They founded the label to provide music to Americans from the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. [1] Rubin and Stillman both served as company President at different points. [3] [4] Monitor was created to focus on classical and folk. [2]

The first issues were from the Soviet Union featuring works by Bach and Prokofiev performed by Leonid Kogan and Sviatoslav Richter. [2] For the first year, all issues were sourced from Russia, but in 1957 the label began recording young American artists. [5] Monitor Records were available through the Diners Club record club from 1959 to 1961, an arrangement made out of "desperation" by Monitor management according to Rubin. [6] Monitor releases first became available on reel-to-reel tapes in 1963 through an agreement with Musictapes, Inc. [7] That year Monitor became distributed worldwide through Transglobal Music. [8]

In 1966, Monitor began a budget series called "Monitor Collectors Series". [9] At introduction, the series consisted of more than one-hundred releases. [9] The primary focus was on Baroque music. [10]

In 1967, Monitor became the first label to release music in North America by composer Josef Mysliveček. [11]

In 1968, the label attempted to make an entry into the popular music field when they released singles and an album by The Freeborne. [12]

In 1999, Rubin and Stillman donated the label and its catalog to Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. [13] Although Folkways was already strong in most folk music, it felt that the Monitor acquisition filled their gap in belly dance music. [13]

Artists

Artists appearing on (but not necessarily signed to) Monitor include:

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Reineke, Hank (2009). Ramblin' Jack Elliott: The Never-Ending Highway. Scarecrow Press. p. 147. ISBN   9780810872578.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Monitor Waxes 1st 3 Albums". Billboard. December 15, 1956. p. 30.
  3. ↑ "Disk Execs Project Different Points of View on Three Fronts". Billboard. October 15, 1966. p. 48.
  4. ↑ "RIAA Elects Lieberson". Billboard. February 1, 1964. p. 5.
  5. ↑ "Monitor to Promote U.S. Artists Series". Billboard. November 4, 1957. p. 20.
  6. ↑ "Marek Calls Club Boon To Whole Disk Industry". Billboard. February 16, 1963. p. 4.
  7. ↑ "Musictapes Deal". Billboard. March 2, 1963. p. 8.
  8. ↑ "Transglobal in Deal - Including The Scandinavian". Billboard. February 2, 1963. p. 6.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Monitor Bows Budget Line; to Retail at $1.98". Billboard. April 16, 1966. p. 44.
  10. ↑ "Gift Records That Sell Cheap... Yet Still Sound Great". The Kiplinger Magazine. December 1966. p. 16.
  11. 1 2 3 "Monitor Disk - 1st Pressing of Mysliveecek". Billboard. September 16, 1967. p. 54.
  12. ↑ "Monitor Adds Pop Records". Billboard. May 11, 1968. p. 4.
  13. 1 2 3 Bessman, Jim (June 19, 1999). "Smithsonian Folkways Gains Two Imprints". Billboard. p. 55.
  14. ↑ Young, Izzy (2013). Barretta, Scott (ed.). The Conscience of the Folk Revival: The Writings of Israel "Izzy" Young. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 22. ISBN   9780810883086.
  15. ↑ Shay, Anthony (2008). Dancing Across Borders: The American Fascination with Exotic Dance Forms. McFarland. p. 24. ISBN   9780786437849.
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