Bernard Stollman
Bernard Stollman | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | April 19, 2015 | (aged 85)
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Lawyer, record label owner |
Known for | Founder of ESP-Disk |
Bernard Stollman (July 19, 1929 – April 19, 2015) was an American lawyer and the founder of the ESP-Disk record label.
Biography
He was born to a
He also learned
Stollman faced allegations of not paying
For an extended period Stollman pretended to represent the Sun Ra estate. Irwin Chusid, who has served since 2013 as administrator of Sun Ra LLC (encompassing the lawful heirs of Sun Ra), said in a 2017 interview: "I found the man crazy, creepy, and vulturous. He tried for years to get the Ra heirs to allow him to represent the estate, but they rejected him each time. So in 2001 he drafted ... [a] bogus document [and] managed to convince a number of foreign sub-publishers, record labels, and performing rights organizations that he was the legit administrator. He pocketed all foreign and some domestic revenue for 13 years."[10]
On the positive side, Stollman had artists sign a two-page contract for only one record, so that they could consider offers from larger labels if the album proved successful; and he gave them joint ownership with ESP, allowing for an equal partnership in contrast to the standard arrangement where a label has sole ownership of an album. It set, he claimed, “a new standard for the treatment of artists.” [11]
ESP album sleeves contained the message "The artists alone decide what you hear on their ESP Disk". Although many of his label's releases were critically acclaimed, most did not sell well, and by the early 1970s his funds had been exhausted. Stollman married, moved to live on a farm in the
References
- ISBN 9780819571601.
- ^ a b c "The ESP Story at ESPDisk.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
- ^ a b Bernard Stollman feature in 801 Magazine, 17 April 2008 Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Clifford Allen, Bernard Stollman: The ESP-Disk Story, AllAboutJazz.com, 21 November 2005
- ^ Michael James McGonigal, Ni Kantu en Esperanto: the Story of ESP, emusic.com
- ^ Kelley, Frannie (22 October 2010). "Legendary Record Label Loses Staff In Split". NPR. NPR. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- ^ ISBN 9780819571595. Archived from the originalon 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- ^ Fugs, The. "History of the Fugs". Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "Bernard Stollman feature in 801 Magazine, 17 April 2008". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- ^ "Angels and Demons at Play: Jim Knipfel on Reclaiming Sun Ra's Legacy", Knipfel, Jim, Archived 2017-10-08 at the Wayback Machine The Believer magazine, July 19, 2017
- ^ Steve Danziger, "Dignity, Conviction, and Mrs. Stollman’s Checkbook", Open Letters Monthly Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 1 May 2015
- ^ "ESP-Disk Founder Bernard Stollman Has Died". Pitchfork. 20 April 2015.
External links
- ESP-Disk discography
- 2013 interview with Stollman, by Graham Reid