Philosophy

WHAT WE DO

Innova® Recordings serves the needs of original, visionary, creative musicians by offering artistic and technical guidance throughout the recording and publication process; amplifying the reach of new musical ideas through access to our marketing and distribution networks; and by actively working together to maximize professional impact. Together we champion a curated body of diverse and compelling American musical voices to the listening public.

If your tastes as a creator or devourer of new musical ideas run counter to the mainstream, perhaps innova is for you. Our artists take risks, so do we. No two releases are alike, yet each promises a reward of worthwhile new discoveries.

Expanding musical horizons one note at a time.

Innova is dedicated to forward-looking (and -hearing) work that pushes and challenges the boundaries of contemporary music. The label's releases are characterized by the freshness of the work, its personal voice, fierce purpose, conceptual richness, technical quality, and the artist's willingness to support and promote the release. As part of a non-profit service organization, Innova redefines the typical relationship between artist and label. We seek a synergy, taking advantage of each other's strengths to provide both the tools of an established record label and the freedom of self-publishing. Where there is no obvious market for the cutting edge, we delight in finding – or trying to create – one. We are staffed by creative artists who understand your needs and can help you put your best foot forward in the befuddling world of recording publication.

Innova strengths lie in work that is unlikely to find a home in the mainstream industry – yet has greater potential than merely sitting on your dusty hard drive. We focus on remarkable music regardless of its genre (or lack of one). When innova accepts a project it means that we believe not only in the quality of the work but also in our ability to help it reach new audiences. Innova is not a vanity label that accepts all projects (competition is stiff – maybe 15% of applications are accepted). They need to be a good match for our particular resources, and we need to be convinced that we can do a better job of promoting and selling the records than artists could do by themselves or via a different route.

A PARTNERSHIP IN MUSICAL ADVENTURE

Labels often get a bad rap. In this case, however, Innova has no profit motive; indeed, thanks to our endowment, we heavily subsidize the costs of the being on the label. We are part business, part service, and are just crazily motivated by music worth spreading and helping artists reach their goals.

We have a flexible business model tailored to your needs, and offer access to our worldwide network of relationships in the so-called industry as well as a helping hand through the thicket of back-end distribution. That is a constantly changing world and it can be an education for artists to see how it works.

Innova is a place to try out new marketing ideas as well as new musical ones. Many of our artists are repeat customers and much new business comes from word of mouth; that makes us proud of our innova family.

In the spirit of equity and inclusion, we also recognize the financial hurdles artists face in bringing their recorded work to market. We welcome the chance to consider projects that challenge us to adapt our support services to be more flexible and effective.