FMR Records
Founded1987 (1987)
FounderTrevor Taylor
GenreJazz, free improvisation
Country of originUK
Official websitewww.fmr-records.com

FMR Records is a British record label. Founded by Trevor Taylor in 1987, it specialises in jazz and improvised music.

Origins

Taylor is a drummer and percussionist who became increasingly interested in avant garde music.[1] In the early 1970s he started Future Music, which was a record shop that expanded to seven branches.[1] He founded the FMR (short for Future Music Records) label in 1987.[1][2]

Label history

FMR's first release was by saxophonist Tim Garland.[1] This set the pattern for the label's early years, concentrating on British jazz musicians.[1] Taylor also purchased the right to issue CD versions of successful albums released by other British musicians, including Mike Osborne, Howard Riley, John Surman and John Taylor; sales of these provided FMR with a financial boost.[1] "By 2007 there were 250 CDs, DVDs and books in the catalogue".[1]

Over time, the founder felt that mainstream jazz lacked originality and that the label needed a narrower focus to succeed, so he concentrated more on releasing improvised music.[1] He observed in 2017 that recordings by British musicians were in the minority of FMR's releases.[1] The label has also had to adapt to the industry reality of falling CD sales: in 2017, "FMR and the artist split the costs and the output 50/50, with the artist being responsible for promotion while the record company has to recoup its investment through the website or via a diminishing band of distributors."[1] Some items from the catalogue can be bought as downloads from subradar.no, following an agreement between FMR and the Norway-based website.[3]

Some musicians have had a large number of albums released by FMR.[1] These include Paul Dunmall (more than 70) and Frode Gjerstad (over 40).[1]

Production and habits

Taylor selects music for release based on how well it matches the label's ethos.[1] After that, he does not interfere with the recording: he commented that, "Occasionally I have suggested changing the order of tracks but that's it".[1] Catalogue numbers have "'Visions' – prefixed 'V' – for original new music and 'Legacy' – prefixed 'L' – to re-issue on CD long out-of-print recordings of British jazz".[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Sharpe, John (November 2017). "FMR". The New York City Jazz Record. No. 187. pp. 11, 42.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Trevor (April 2017). "FMR Label Head Trevor Taylor Remembers Roland's Electronic Pioneer Ikutaro Kakehashi". The Wire. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Margasak, Peter (November 2015). "Subradar Expands Reach". DownBeat. Vol. 82, no. 11. p. 18.
  4. ↑ "FMR: Future Music Records". www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk.
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