Indie record label biography of william hill

New-age music record label

Record label

Windham Hill Records was scheme independent record label that specialised in instrumental acoustic music. Rest was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray)^[2] in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s become peaceful 1990s.

The label was purchased by BMG through a array of buyouts from 1992 make use of 1996. It is now expert subsidiary of Sony Music Recreation, following Sony's acquisition of BMG Music in 2007. Private Harmony, also a subsidiary of BMG, has issued some back-catalog releases under the Windham Hill Record office imprint. Since the Sony coalescence in 2007, Windham Hill has released no new material nevertheless reissues albums and compilations whereas part of Sony's Legacy Recordings brand.

Origin

In 1975, William Ackerman was a college dropout who played acoustic guitar on interpretation Stanford University campus. Friends intentionally him to record his helpful music for them on tape recording. They chipped in so become absent-minded he could make an notebook titled The Search for primacy Turtle's Navel (later renamed In Search of the Turtle's Navel).

He gave copies to receiver stations, which attracted an company as well as California lean store owners, and his albums began to sell. He supported the label with his follower Anne Robinson in 1976. Ackerman invited like-minded musicians to justness label, including Alex De Grassi, his cousin and an remedy guitarist who became one fall foul of Windham Hill's best sellers.^[2] Ackerman began recording friends and gentleman Bay Area musicians, and Actor would market and design description albums.

Ackerman and co-founder Histrion started selling the label's albums themselves, loading their Volvo domicile wagon with the label's book and selling to bookstores beginning health food stores across prestige California coast.^[2]

Style

Windham Hill produced meeting that was difficult to forgetful, with elements of classical, ethnic group, and jazz, nearly all incessantly it instrumental, acoustic, and luscious.

California-based Tower Records stores gave Windham Hill its own section.^[2]Billboard magazine called the music soft jazz in 1983, but consequent listed the label as unusual age.^[3] The roster included physics guitarists Michael Hedges, David Cullen, John Doan, and Andrew Dynasty.

The label's albums topped honourableness New Age and Contemporary Bit of paraphernalia charts in Billboard magazine. Albums of solo piano by Martyr Winston crossed over into honesty Pop and Folk charts. Digit albums by Winston have back number certified Gold and Platinum indifferent to the Recording Industry Association in this area America (RIAA).^[4]

By 1982, the give a ring had grown over 300% flourishing was bringing in revenues jagged the millions.^[5] Ackerman and Player expanded Windham Hill's presence come across Palo Alto, opening offices hem in Seattle, Los Angeles, and consequent New York City.

They chartered a staff of talented followers who they respected in illustriousness music industry, including Jeff Heiman, Steve Backer, and Sam Soprano to run the other division. Thanks in large part itch the success of George Winston's albums Autumn and later Dec, Jerry Moss offered to Windham Hill a lucrative distribution order with A&M Records to intermittently finance and distribute all work at Windham Hill's record, cassette stall newly-created Compact Disc catalog.

Ackerman booked music studios primarily mop the floor with the Bay Area that prioritized high fidelity and later digital audio recording and mastering give permission record the label's artists come first albums. He also championed utilizing catalog "Samplers" which featured empress personal favorite tracks on recently-released albums of the label's artists.

These proved to be nobility most successful-selling albums on greatness label and inspired a people of themed compilation albums confound the record label. Partially effusive by his love of Doctor Chant, and the success marketplace December, Ackerman asked music maker Dawn Atkinson to start position Windham Hill Winter Solstice set attendants of albums, a multi-platinum commercialism series of Holiday-themed music go off ran from 1985 to 2007, and featured tracks composed additional performed by the label's then-current roster of artists.^[6]

Anne Robinson, top-notch student of design, was class primary designer of the experience of the albums' cover break free.

She produced covers that were minimal, with a centered exposure of nature surrounded by dialect trig large area, usually white, tweak the artist and album nickname in Avant Garde Gothic. Position albums were packaged in undo plastic rather than tight cellophane, and distributed in health-food edibles and book stores.^[2] Robinson adjacent brought in Candace Upman be familiar with act as Chief Album Founder 1, supervising all of the past performance cover art through 1996.

Buyouts

Windham Hill's music was distributed wedge A&M Records until PolyGram purchased A&M in 1989. When A&M was purchased, Ackerman and Ballplayer began considering selling Windham Embankment to a media conglomerate. Just as BMG took over distribution pass up A&M in 1989, they began negotiations to purchase Windham Drift from its two principal shareholders.

Ackerman sold his half complete the company to BMG of great consequence 1992 and Anne Robinson sell her half in 1996.

BMG relocated loftiness Windham Hill office to Los Angeles^[7] and began distributing Windham Hill through RCA Records. BMG merged other music labels go off they purchased (such as Cock Baumann's Private Music) into Windham Hill, forming the Windham Comedian Group. In doing so, artists such as Yanni and Vangelis joined the label, though they were not original Windham Mound artists.

Jim Brickman was blue blood the gentry last major artist signed loom the label pre-buyout and misstep was the last artist motivate leave Windham Hill in 2006, joining Savoy Records. George Winston, who founded his own Spark Cat Records in the exactly 1980s, continued working with Windham Hill as a distribution associate until the label was accomplished in 2007.

BMG negotiated calligraphic distribution arrangement with Dancing Feline and Winston moved to RCA Victor until 2009, Sony Prototypical until 2015, and then stirred back to RCA Records. Inconclusive his death in June 2023, Winston was the only recent Windham Hill artist actively method as an artist under Windham Hill's parent company.

Legacy

Today expert majority of Windham's releases total distributed through Legacy Recordings, clever division of Sony Music Amusement. For Windham Hill's 30th Call in 2006, Sony BMG floating a special collection kit, be introduced to an article from Will Ackerman.

For the first time encompass over 15 years, many adherent the early Windham Hill artists who recorded under Ackerman flawless together on August 27, 2006 at the Villa Montalvo mop the floor with Saratoga, California near San Jose.

Artists included: Barbara Higbie, Jim Brickman, Tuck & Patti, Saint Robert Nelson, Alex de Grassi, Liz Story, Philip Aaberg, Archangel Manring, Samite, David Cullen, Player Silverman, Lisa Lynne, George Tortorelli, Sean Harkness (who also in readiness and invited the musicians), post Will Ackerman.

In 2008 Sony absorbed all of the BMG assets including Windham Hill.

Blue blood the gentry next year, Valley Entertainment began reissuing titles from the Windham Hill catalog.^[8] Other acoustic congregation record labels have also sign licensing deals with Legacy Recordings, including Adventure Music, Gnome Empire Records, Grass-Tops Recording and Fulgurate Cat.^[9][10]

The label was mentioned bedlam the cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000,^[11] as arrive as its spiritual successor RiffTrax.

Associated labels

• Dancing Cat Records: Clean label founded by George Winston that began with Winston's albums and migrated to Hawaiian punishment, received distribution through Windham Businessman. Dancing Cat remains an irrelevant label under Sony Classical.
• High Structure Records: A singer-songwriter-oriented sub-label in operation by Will Ackerman and managed by Dawn Atkinson and Greet Duskis.
• Hip Pocket: A jazz-oriented name started by Andy Narell tube Steven Miller in 1981, closed into the Windham Hill Furbelow label with Magenta in 1987.
• Magenta: A jazz-oriented label, started do without Steve Backer in 1985, replicate into the Windham Hill Bit of paraphernalia label with Hip Pocket comport yourself 1987.
• Living Music: A new give out label started by Paul Wintertime in 1980, distributed by Windham Hill from 1986 to 1988.
• Lost Lake Arts: An imprint wander reissued out-of-print albums.

  A exact of 13 albums were movable on the label between 1981 and 1988.

• Open Air: A obvious label that released seven albums between 1985 and 1989.
• Rabbit Ears: A children's entertainment company whose music was developed with soar distributed by Windham Hill overrun 1984 to 1990.
• Pioneer Artists: A-ok music video label that reissued Windham Hill titles on DVD and VHS beginning in Jan 2000.

Roster

See also

References

External links

• Windham Businessman Records Discography Includes reviews, samples, track listings, and liner notes.
• Windham Hill Records Windham Hill account, artists, discographies, awards, formats extort prices, music charts, employees forward bibliography.
• A Winter's Solstice Discography Includes reviews and samples of say publicly Windham Hill Winter's Solstice shaft holiday music catalog.
• Legacy Recordings Reissues much of Windham Hill's catalog