What future for independent classical Music labels?

“It’s a Russian doll story”, or even a story of serial redemptions, where we see the little ones blending into the big ones. This is how, Philippe Venturini, editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Classicpresents the repurchase of lone of the oldest French classical record labels by the American giant Universal Music.

A historic label

Founded in 1958, by Bernard Coutazthe label specializes in early repertoire, particularly the organ, before seeing big names in classical music: Alfred Deller, William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe and René Jacobs. It was in 2015, upon the death of Eva Coutaz, wife of the founder, that Harmonia Mundi was bought by Pias, this Belgian group of which 49% of the shares had already been acquired in 2022 by Universal, a major which has now obtained 51% of the shares. shares. “It is a label which maintains what is becoming rare in the recording industry: long-term relationships with its artists. And, since the takeover by Pias, a new generation of artists has arrived, such as Benjamin Alard, Sébastien Doulcet , Raphaël Pichon, who today are the standard bearers of the label”.

Autonomy without independence

Philippe Venturini sees an opportunity to inject more resources into the classical repertoire, without diverting from its initial autonomy. “Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, founder of Pias, declared that the label was no longer independent but retained its autonomy. It is true that since 2015, we have not seen the artistic orientation of Harmonia Mundi change. It remains the label that we love and which is really very serious.” However, he does not rule out the problem of the obsolescence of young artists these days and certain practices at Universal: “We can sometimes ask ourselves questions, particularly at Deutsche Grammophon, where we see young artists coming out of nowhere, who do one lap, two laps and then disappear, to try others. I hope it won’t be the same for Harmonia Mundi.

The role of labels today

“IThere are still a few independent labels doing remarkable work, I’m thinking of Dolce Volta, Calliope, Evidence, NoMadMusic, all these small labels that dare to create original projects with orchestras or artists who are not necessarily the most famous, but who develop unexplored repertoires. Among the latest newcomers, there is La Boîte à Pépites, which defends female composers.”

“For around ten years, we have been hearing that the record is over. It is true that the record market has experienced a regular fall, but it is stabilizing, between physical sales and streaming.” Philippe Venturini recalls the importance of the record, even today, for young artists. “It’s absolutely essential. You have to stand out from the crowd, be able to approach a producer or a broadcaster, with a physical object, a concrete and strong project, rather than redirecting them to a listening platform.”

“There is no longer any in-house production”: this is an observation, today artists will tend to approach a publisher with a project ready to be exploited. “Very often artists bring the finished product to the publisher, for the chance to be published under a major label, this is the case with orchestral or opera records which are expensive. Even major orchestras, like the Berlin Philharmonic, and certain great conductors like Gardiner, have created their own label, to distribute their recordings, guarantee their independence and be able to carry out the projects they care about.