Music West Records was an independent record company founded by Allan Kaplan in December 1985 in
San Rafael, California
San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of th ...
.
The company was initially formed to promote
Ray Lynch, their first artist.
During its run, artists released under the record company included
Jim Chappell, Kenneth Nash,
Chris Spheeris, and
Øystein Sevåg.
According to Gary Chappell, the manufacturer for Music West, the artists originated independently, claiming that the company's idea "has a statement that comes directly from the
artist with no interference."
In 1991, the company attempted to break away from their "New Age" roots. In an interview with
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
in April 1991, Kaplan said "I believe the new age category is shrinking rapidly, but the winning titles–maybe about 200 of them–will continue to sell more than ever."
The company attempted to expand the company by releasing tracks from
Sun Studios
Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records la ...
in Kaplan's hometown,
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
.
[ However, after a lawsuit by Ray Lynch for allegedly not paying him, the company was foreclosed by ]Security Pacific Bank
Security Pacific National Bank (SPNB) was a large U.S. bank headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was acquired by Bank of America in 1992.
History
On September 1, 1868, Hellman, Temple and Co. opened their first bank branch in Los ...
in November 1991 with all of its assets sold by June 1992.
Artists
* James Asher
* Teja Bell
* Jim Chappell
* Kimbal Dykes
* Ekimi
* Ray Lynch
* Kenneth Nash
* Windsor Riley
* Øystein Sevåg
* Mark Sloniker
* Dallas Smith
* Chris Spheeris
* The Telling
References
{{Authority control
1985 establishments in California
Record labels established in 1985
Defunct record labels of the United States
Record labels disestablished in 1991
Record labels based in California
San Rafael, California