Private Music

Private Music is an American record company founded in 1984 by experimental musician Peter Baumann, as a home for instrumental music. Baumann's previous solo career included the dance hit, "Strangers in the Night." Initially signing such artists as Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Patrick O'Hearn and Baumann's former bandmates Tangerine Dream, the record label set a cutting edge industry standard for new age music. Its releases were distributed by then-emerging global music giant BMG which bought Private Music outright in 1996.

In 1989, Baumann hired veteran Warner Bros. Records' music executive Ron Goldstein, well-respected throughout the industry, and well-liked among recording artists. As Private Music's President & CEO, Goldstein moved the offices from New York City to Los Angeles, and expanded the staff to include former publicist for U2, Tony Bennett and Warners' "Musicians for Life," Karen Johnson. Together, they propelled Private's image from that of a boutique company to a record label with the marketing muscle of a "major." Goldstein recruited mainstream A&R executive Jamie Cohen, and directed Johnson's "artist re-development" efforts, with such new, veteran-artist signings as Taj Mahal, Etta James, Ringo Starr, Jennifer Warnes, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Toots Thielemans, Jimmy Witherspoon, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, The Pahinui Brothers, while expanding the catalogs of Yanni, Leo Kottke, Andy Summers and Ravi Shankar, with debuts from A.J. Croce, Susan Werner, etc. With the addition of an international marketing department, helmed by longtime Sony Music executive JP Bommel, Private Music emerged as a global brand. Riding the wave of renewed consumer excitement for the blues, Goldstein also entered into a joint venture with House of Blues' record label (Cissy Houston, John Mooney).

Private Music's recordings earned multiple Grammy awards and nominations, and achieved high recognition on national television, with numerous artist appearances on The Late Show With David Letterman, The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, Late Night With Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Entertainment Tonight, etc. Private's artist-driven repertoire, with a mission of excellence, was highly praised by national music critics. The label's recordings by Taj Mahal, produced by John Porter, spawned the Phantom Blues Band which continues as a mainstay in blues recordings and concerts.

Following his Private Music tenure, Goldstein served as President & CEO of the Verve Music Group label at Universal Music Group, in New York City. Johnson maintains KJPR Publicity & Artist Relations, in Los Angeles and New York City. Bommel is a Senior Vice President at MIDEM.

In 2001, Private Music became part of the short-lived Arista Associated Labels which also included Windham Hill, but by 2004, after Sony and BMG merged, the label's releases switched to RCA and currently, no reissues have been set.

Discography (incomplete)

* Carlos Alomar
** Dream Generator

* Joy Askew

* Azuma
** Azuma
** The Wanderer

* Bounce The Ocean
** Bounce The Ocean

* Suzanne Ciani
** History of My Heart
** Hotel Luna
** Neverland
** Pianissimo
** Seven Waves
** The Velocity of Love
** The Private Music of Suzanne Ciani

* Michael Colina
** Rituals
** Shadow of Urbano

* A.J. Croce

* The Fabulous Thunderbirds

* Bill Gable
** There Were Signs

* Eliza Gilkyson
** Through the Looking Glass

* Jerry Goodman
** Ariel
** It's Alive
** On The Future of Aviation

* Philip Glass, Ravi Shankar
** Passages

* Mike Gordon, Leo Kottke
** Clone

* Dan Hartman
** New Green, Clear Blue

* Nona Hendryx
** Skin Diver

* James Newton Howard
** Promised Land (Soundtrack)

* Lucia Hwong
** House of Sleeping Beauties
** Secret Luminescence

* Etta James
** Mystery Lady (Songs of Billie Holiday)
** Time After Time
** Love's Been Rough on Me

* Eddie Jobson
** Theme of Secrets

* Leo Kottke
** A Shout Towards Noon
** Great Big Boy
** Leo Live
** My Father's Face
** One Guitar No Vocals
** Peculiaroso
** Regards from Chuck Pink
** Standing in My Shoes
** That's What

* Diego Modena, Jean-Philippe Audin
** Ocarina
** Ocarina II

* Kate & Anna McGarrigle
** Heartbeats Accelerating

* Patrick O'Hearn
** Ancient Dreams
** Between Two Worlds
** Eldorado
** Indigo
** Mix-Up
** River's Gonna Rise
** The Private Music of Patrick O'Hearn

* The Pahinui Brothers

* Sanford Ponder
** Etosha - Private Music in the Land of Dry Water
** Tigers Are Brave

* Willy Porter

* Kenny Rankin

* Shadowfax
** The Odd Get Even

* Ravi Shankar
** Bridges: Best of Private Music Recordings
** Inside The Kremlin
** Tana Mana

* Ringo Starr
** Time Takes Time

* Andy Summers
** Charming Snakes
** Mysterious Barricades
** The Golden Wire
** World Gone Strange

* Taj Mahal
** Like Never Before
** Dancin' the Blues
** Senor Blues
** Phantom Blues

* Leon Redbone

* Tangerine Dream
** Lily on the Beach
** Melrose
** Miracle Mile (Soundtrack)
** Optical Race
** Private Music of Tangerine Dream

* John Tesh
** Tour de France
** Tour de France...The Early Years

* Toots Thielemans

* David Van Tieghem
** Safety In Numbers
** Strange Cargo

* Jennifer Warnes

* Susan Werner

* Jimmy Witherspoon

* Yanni
** Optimystique
** Keys to Imagination
** Out of Silence
** Chameleon Days
** Niki Nana
** Reflections of Passion
** In Celebration of Life
** Dare to Dream
** In My Time
** Yanni Live at the Acropolis

* Dan Zanes
** Cool Down Time (1995)

* Yanni Compilations
** Winter Light
** In the Mirror
** The Private Years
** Devotion: The Best of Yanni
** The Collection
** Enraptured: A Collection of Yanni Favorites
** A Collection of Romantic Themes
*** Love Songs
*** Aria
*** Ultimate Yanni
*** Swept Away

* Various (Samplers)
** The World of Private Music, Vol. 1
** The World of Private Music, Vol. 2
** The Private Music Sampler 1988
** The Private Music Sampler, Vol. 4
** The Private Music Sampler, Vol. 5
** Piano One
** Piano Two
** Polar Shift

See also

* List of record labels