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Production House Records
"When we started out we were putting out Soul and Swing Beat. In the last 18 months we've distributed our own tracks ourselves and the whole distribution had expanded really well, because during 91 / 92 so many dance distributors went under and the one we used couldn't pay money owed we tried a different way and did it ourselves - distributors going under was a major hiccup for us !! This policy of self distribution certainly has paid off as figures show - in 92 Production House's releases accounted for 2% of the dance market, equalling Sony's music share of the same market. Sony music? A major with umpteen different labels under its wing - talk about taking on the big boy and winning! If you ever wanted evidence that the majors can't grasp the idea of marketing dance music, this is it! Production House's artist roster reads thus: Acen, Baby D, House Crew, X-Static, DMS, Anti Chaos, Nino, DJ Solo and The Brothers Grimm. On the Special Reserve list are MC Juice, JJ, Lace and Samantha Scott, Special Reserve being production House's alter ego, in order to cater for releases not fitting in with the traditional Production House releases, which are by and large one the hardcore tip - "Special Reserve had always been a sister label where some of our earlier Should artists have been able to carry on releasing their type of music its there as a touch of variety because the talent that Production House get isn't always in one certain direction, just because the music has changed and gone harder we still like to keep the producers that have been with us from the start. With Special Reserve they continue to make new music. Production House was getting more and more established as a hardcore label , so obviously we would have had problems releasing a Soul Record - we wouldn't want people going out and buying a Soul Record thinking it to be hardcore, there by causing confusion," One surprising aspect of Production House's self styled success is the lack of major DJ promotion, they are quick to stress that they do not have a main DJ mailing list ( so take heed blagsters). "One of our unorthodox ways of doing things" as they put it. So what the reason behind it? "We've found the DJ's over the last few years will want to play records they've bought over those they've been sent, so, not only could we not afford to send out records but if a DJ has spent 4 or 5 pounds on a new record that record is bound to be played. Production House relies on its own unique style and product. We like to think our music is high up in its field and that our music speaks for itself - that's why it gets played." The advertising is kept to a minimum (back to limited resources) but music week is always a good choice - letting the industry know the product is there, letting the shops know that another Production House track is on its way and letting the tracks sell themselves, as explained above. Mario explained to us "With the PA's I though there was a bit of a gap in the market, so I set up a frame work where good quality PA's could be offered in a professional way and at a reasonable price, the main reason its worked so well is because we enjoy doing them, we get a bit of money plus we often get rebooked by the same clubs. I found that promoters often shy away from booking PA's as they have had to many bad experiences with others who don't offer anything worth looking at. We concentrate heavily on being as original as possible as well as playing live and being visually exciting. Other promoters, simply don't like the night to be broken up by PA's and that's fair enough, it depends on the type of event but if the PA's had been organised efficiently the night will still flow smoothly. So has all the hard work paid off? You bet! In last years music week awards, Production House came first and second in the dance singles section, with "Close your eyes" and "Trip II the Moon" respectively, the best selling dance singles of 1992, both by Production House fave Ace. Prodigy crept in at third place, and if this is any guideline with The Prodigy being the first credible dance act of this sort, Acen should have no worries when his album is released. Hopefully Production House don't mind this comparison with XL, as they've said themselves there's a good relationship with similar labels - more a existence than rivalry. Acen is Production Houses main hope at this time for breaking into the ever elusive market in the States. And of course the other Highlight of last year was the excellent "Let me be your Fantasy" by Baby D which deserves a piece of the national chart action big time. The aim is to do bigger and better things whilst still keeping their roots, they look to XL as an example of this having had good chart success and still keeping the under ground following. The music might change - as they explained. "We just have to try to keep everyone happy. We'll never be stuck down one road, but we'll always be quality music." The limitations imposed by working from a house didn't concern them last year and shouldn't cause any major problems in the months to come either. The message is that Production House will be here to stay in whatever form that maybe - "The record industry is like the fashion industry, so you have to chop and change swiftly. DiscographyPNT 01 Dice (3) I Can't Take It (12")
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