Catapla Classics...

• Offers shared manufacturing, distribution, logo, bar codes, and advertising

• enables independent decisions by each ensemble about repetoire and marketing

• avoids the start-up costs of creating a new label for each esemble

• allows for private sale as well as retail distribution

• producees income for an ensemble with every sale of one of its CDs

• create the greatest possible impact by building on the strengths of all the participants

The Need for Catalpa Classics

Many ensembles have had a similar experience: recording a master tape for issue on CD, only to find that no label wants to release the recording on CD. That leaves two alternatives: to create a new label and seek distribution for it; or to make private CD's intended for sale only at concerts and to supporters, but not in regular retail outlets. Each alternative has its pitfalls.

Creating a new label is neither simple nor cheap. A name needs to be secured that does not conflict with any of the hundreds of other label names in use; a logo needs to be designed, and a series of UPC numbers needs to be obtained for use on the label's packaging. This can be time-consuming, a distraction from the original purpose of making recordings, and requires a substantial financial investment. What's more, a distributor needs to be secured if the product is to reach retail stores, and few distributors are interested in a label with just a handful of recordings.

Private distribution does not require a logo, a barcode, or a distributor. It can also be financially attractive, because the retail price of a CD can be much higher than the cost of manufacturing, and there is no middleman to be paid. But it is inherently limited: the CD's never reach a wider audience.

While both options have some value, both have their drawbacks and limitations. (There is also a disadvantage in working with an established label, because they often require an advance payment of thousands of dollars, and sometimes impose other conditions as well.) There is another way: for independent ensembles to work together, building jointly on their individual strengths under a shared umbrella for the benefit of each.

How Catalpa Works

Catalpa Classics has invested in the design of a logo and the securing of an assigned UPC number series, and has established relationships with audio engineers, graphic designers, post-production services, and manufacturers in order to ensure a consistently high-quality product. Based on a release plan encompassing the recordings of a number of ensembles, Catalpa has secured distribution by the Empire Music Group, whose nationwide sales force will ensure the widest availability of Catalpa releases in retail stores and through internet outlets. This creates a complete framework for issuing the recordings of the ensembles that are associated with the label.

That framework is used by all the ensembles that participate in the label. Each ensemble chooses its own recording program and decides on its own marketing plan according to its own resources. At the same time, Catalpa's identity will maximize the chances to attract the attention of reviewers and retailers, and to get the best prices for advertising and manufacturing.

The relationship begins when Catalpa and an ensemble agree to work together, after an initial review by the label of the ensemble and its plans. Catalpa will help the ensemble budget for each recording, and will provide access to the label's logo, assign a UPC number to each release, and work with the distributor to solicit orders for each new title. The ensemble becomes a "regional office" of Catalpa, responsible for the recording, manufacture, and promotion of its own product, in exchange for a licensing fee assessed on each title released on Catalpa. Of course, Catalpa will offer expert advice to each ensemble so that every decision about the CD is fully informed.

Each ensemble receives all the income from its CD sales, as paid by the distributor. Ensembles are also free to use Catalpa discs for sale at their own concerts, or for any fund-raising or promotional purpose, since each regional office decides how many discs to manufacture. The more successful the recording, the more the ensemble earns, unlike the arrangements with many other labels.

In short, this arrangement offers all the autonomy and flexibility of an ensemble-owned label, while most of the technical and logistical issues are taken care of by Catalpa. Because Catalpa was started by a chamber-music ensemble, it is committed to helping musicians put out recordings with the greatest impact, at the lowest cost.

Contact Catalpa

Catalpa was founded by the Eaken Piano Trio, the ensemble-in-residence at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and is administered by the label's staff together with it's associated ensembles. The label's president and artistic director is Nancy Baun, and its General Manager in New York is Bob Goldfarb, the former Director of U. S. Operations for Teldec Records and other labels.

For further information, email:
Bob Goldfarb bob@catalpaclassics.com
or Nancy Baun nancy@catalpaclassics.com