Industry Profile: Bob Feldman

— Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

For Bob Feldman, owner of Red House Records, what started as a hobby in 1983 turned into an all-encompassing full-fledged business.

Red House Records is widely recognized as one of the leading independent labels in contemporary roots music with a sterling discography, and an impressive roster of artists. But like many labels, its origins were humble and its reputation was built slowly, one release at a time.

In 1983 Bob, a high school instructor from St. Paul, was visiting the fabled Minneapolis music venue, Coffeehouse Extemporé, and stumbled upon a budding singer/songwriter from Iowa named Greg Brown. He was so moved, and impressed by Brown's artistry, that the next day he went out and tried to rent the 1,400-seat Guthrie Theatre in order to present him to a wider and larger audience. Upon finding that he needed to be a "nonprofit" to rent the space, he brought the Twin Cities-based Cooperating Fund Drive (a sort of alternative United Way) on board as a co-sponsor. It took a dozen calls to Greg Brown (who thought he could never fill such a large hall), but Bob finally convinced the singer to appear on a Valentine's Day double-bill with singer Claudia Schmidt. With Bob's drive and the resourceful teamwork of the Cooperating Fund Drive, the concert by these relatively unknowns was sold out a month before the gig. The theater's lobby was filled with information tables featuring 38 different social change organizations, and by every measure the evening was a resounding success, raising over $10,000 for the fund.

In 1981 and 1982, Greg Brown had already self-recorded and released two LPs on his own, but both of them ("44 & 66" and "The Iowa Waltz") had gone out of print after their first pressing. Living in an old red farmhouse in Iowa at the time, Brown had coined his small label "Red House Records" and inscribed that name in the corners of their covers.

In late 1983, Garrison Keillor, and the nascent A Prairie Home Companion Show, invited Brown to come to St. Paul and become a regular on its new national broadcast. Brown still remembered the Guthrie concert, and called Bob to see if he would be interested in helping him get his music out. The first goal would be to get the two LPs back into print and Bob, thinking it would be a fun hobby and sidebar to his teaching career, agreed.

"I was knocked out by Greg," he says, "just blown away by him as a songwriter and as a person. I just knew more folks would share my enthusiasm if they had the opportunity to hear him."

So Bob had a logo designed, got "44 & 66" and "The Iowa Waltz" back into print, and began trying to help focus Brown's career. He also encouraged Brown to do a new album, and in 1984 he oversaw the recording and release of "In the Dark With You." Red House Records was now an official record company, Bob became the sole owner…and his home became a repository of record cartons and piles of albums.

"I didn't know anything about the music business, had no experience in any phase of it," he recollects, "but I began to learn, buying a book about the industry and seeking the advice of established independent record labels."

In a couple of years, Bob had put together a national network of independent distributors while developing friendships and relationships throughout the industry. He also began to sign other artists. At first they were exclusively from the upper Midwest, performers like Pat Donohue, Peter Ostroushko and Brown colleagues Dave Moore and Prudence Johnson. He also released a landmark LP by legendary folk blues singer Spider John Koerner, a master he obtained from a local independent producer Eric Peltoniemi with associations to Flying Fish Records. The two men struck an immediate friendship and began working together in a fruitful relationship that continues to this day.

Not one to shy away from adventure, Brown and Bob decided to go at the label full-time in 1986. He even moved the offices of the business out of his living room into some old warehouse space. Red House was beginning to gain a national voice. Bob was building an even larger audience across the country through his regular appearances on A Prairie Home Companion and, with the signing of artists like Claudia Schmidt and New Jersey's John Gorka, the folk music establishment began to sit up and take notice.

The next 10 years for Red House records were particularly volatile. The format from LP to CD took place and, for several years, it was necessary to design and manufacture every title in three formats (cassettes also being popular) as labels, distributors and retail outlets waited out the LP's lengthy demise. An unhappy consolidation to the infrastructure began to take place as small distributors began to file Chapter 11, taking the inventory of many record labels with them. It was getting harder and harder for a record label to even get paid. Many went out of business.

Under Bob's leadership, Red House Records had been prudent and cautious. The label had also assembled a rich and varied catalog of over 80 titles. Key artists signed at the time included big sellers like The Chenille Sisters, Lucy Kaplansky and veteran folksinger Bill Staines. Bob also had the foresight to combine all of the label's U.S. and U.K. distribution in a new single distributor -- Koch International. Koch has since grown into one of the world's foremost music distributors, and combined with a handful of fine distributors in Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, Red House Records has established a solid international presence.

Greg Brown's popularity continued to soar. Several major new artists were signed including folk legends Utah Phillips, Rosalie Sorrels and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, bluegrass singer Kate Mackenzie and blues singer Guy Davis. The label introduced innovative folk bands like Freyda & Acoustic AttaTude and up-and-comers like Neal & Leandra and Chuck Brodsky. They also began introducing exciting acts from outside the U.S. to American audiences. The decade saw the release of UK legends Ralph McTell and Archie Fisher and English guitarists Martin Simpson and Adrian Legg. Several Canadian acts were also released, including Quebec's Hart-Rouge, Yukon native Jerry Alfred and Cowboy Celtic.

By the end of Red House's second 10 years, several significant veteran artists were signed, including Suzzy Roche, Cliff Eberhardt, Loudon Wainwright III, Eliza Gilkyson, Garnet Rogers and John McCutcheon. Red House also released several critically acclaimed collections including a Newport Folk Festival CD (Richard Thompson, Indigo Girls, and others), a series of CDs celebrating the history of the FolkScene radio show (Mary Black, Loreena McKennitt, Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, Nanci Griffith, and others), and tribute CDs to Kate Wolf (Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, and others), Bob Dylan (great artists from the Red House roster) and Greg Brown (Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, Gillian Welch, Iris Dement, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and others).

Red House had already won its first industry awards back in 1989 when Greg Brown's "One Big Town" took an "Indie" Award (the Independent music industry's version of the Grammy) for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year, but in 1994, the Indie Awards included Greg Brown (Best Singer/Songwriter Album of the Year) and guitarist Dean Magraw (Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year). In 1995 Peter Ostroushko won the Indie (Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year) and Ramblin' Jack Elliott's "South Coast won the label's first Grammy (Traditional Folk Album of the Year). 1997 saw a Grammy nomination for Kate MacKenzie (Bluegrass Album of the Year) and an Indie Award for Utah Phillips & Rosalie Sorrels (Traditional Folk Album of the Year). In 1998 Greg Brown's "Slant 6 Mind" was nominated for a Grammy (Traditional Folk Album of the Year) and Martin Simpson won an Indie (Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year). In 1999 Emmylou Harris' track from our tribute to Kate Wolf was nominated for a Grammy (Traditional Country Performance of the Year) and Guy Davis won an Indie (Acoustic Blues Album of the Year).

Today Red House Records, which began with Greg Brown and in Bob Feldman's living room, has become an American roots music institution.

"In many ways we are the same as we always were," says Bob. "We're not the kind of label that puts out tons of records. We tend to work with the same artists-people we like personally as well as musically. Every now and then we'll add an artist who really knocks us out (as recently with Loudon Wainwright III and Eliza Gilkyson), but what we really want to do is present new facets of the same artists, rather than constantly trying to sell the industry on a new face from scratch. We want to remain a forum upon which great artists can present their art and grow. We're not strictly a folk label, and we aren't just tied to acoustic music either. But our operating premise could be described as 'acoustic' in the sense that we like honest music that really says something."

What kind of artists does Red House look for?
We look for touring artists who can and are growing an audience for their music. We look for artists who are one of a kind and would be writing songs and sharing their music vision if there were a commercial outlet or not.

Why did you do a tribute album to Greg Brown?
I've been working with Greg for 20 years, and I'm still amazed and inspired by his music, writing and artistry. As they say life is not a dress rehearsal. I felt it is important to recognize artists for their work while they can appreciate it themselves.

Greg's music has been a daily part of my life and thought for all of these years, and I felt he should be celebrated. He has moved many people and changed peoples lives with his songs. We met the night of Feb. 14, 1983. Some friends and I produced a benefit concert for 38 non-profit social change organizations that Greg performed at and helped raise $10,000 for. Going into our 20th year this "tribute" CD will benefit a wonderful organization, "The Breast Cancer Fund," and it's a great way in our minds to celebrate this work we've done together.

How were you able to keep Greg Brown on the label for all these years?
We really never even had a formal contract 'til recently and the relationship has worked out for both of us.

What kind of tour support does Red House Records offer its artists?
We work the gigs letting retailers know about it through our distributors sales reps. We have an in-house publicist, and we also use outside publicists to secure interviews and media for the concerts. We have a wonderful media list and work with the radio stations that are open to our music. There is no monetary tour support except for occasional ads in touring markets and national magazines.

What is your feeling about free downloading of music off the Internet?
I am very much against the Napster-like sites. If an artist wants and approves having a particular song or songs up and available for downloads it, can be a good thing. I think streaming sites can be very helpful with the label and artists cooperation.

Have you encountered distribution problems over the years?
Distribution is always a problem, but our distribution has been very stable since we started working with Koch Entertainment in 1992. The consolidation of retailers in America is a sad epidemic. We have lost and are losing too many independent stores that got into the business because they loved music in all its diversity. Too many genres are now neglected, and there is too little music knowledge among the music chains employees when it comes to these genres. I like to walk into any kind of store where the owner is on the premises. At music stores I look for the kind where employees care about the music I'm interested in. I like to walk into any kind of store or restaurant where the owner is on the premises.

First industry job
Started Red House as a hobby in 1983 while teaching high school entrepreneurship classes

Career highlights
Winning a dozen or so Indie Awards from AFIM/NAIRD for our music. I enjoyed getting a few Grammy nominations and winning a Grammy with my boyhood hero Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Working with all of our artists on a daily basis. Getting to work with all of our artists on a daily basis is the biggest deal.

Career disappointment(s)
The consolidation of retailers. The demise of so many exciting independent stores. Working with retailers and having to pay so-called "co-op" to get our CDs into their stores bins when it rarely works for us economically.

Greatest challenge
The way current retail and radio is set up it is getting almost impossible to work with new artists and help build long term careers. We have to continually find our way and niche in an industry that is overloaded with new releases. We have to keep finding new ways to get media attention for our artists.

Best business decision
To work with artists we care about and with music we love knowing there are others out there who will love it too.

Best advice you received
Keep doing what you are doing and in another ten or twenty years you might get the attention the music and artists deserve.

Best advice to offer
Work with artists who you truly care about. Be a fan first. Put out music you love. Pay all your bills on time.

Most memorable industry experience
My first NAIRD convention and finding distributors around the country for our music. It was great meeting other label owners who were so into the music they were releasing.

What friends would be surprised to learn about you
That's between me and Dr. Melfi

Industry pet peeve
So called "Co-op".

Office paraphernalia
Two frogs shooting pool Greg Brown brought back from Mexico

If I wasn't doing this, I would be...
Out of a job!

Industry mentor(s)
Barry Poss from Sugar Hill, Jim Musselman from Appleseed, Keith Holtzman. Garry West from Compass, the staff at The Electric Fetus in Mpls. Many AFIM members too many to mention, Duncan Browne, our artists and other artists I admire and are moved by.

Bob can be reached at: ; e-mail: bobfeldman@redhouserecords.com

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