Arthur Herman
president Zip Records
Zip Records was organized in 1998 in San Francisco, California. For the initial fifteen years, both Zip Records and Zip Records Australia specialized in rock and pop music and the artists represented originated in the US, Australia, Sweden, the UK and Spain. Upon permanently relocating to Amsterdam in 2017, the label’s repertoire began to include more soul and jazz and gradually adopted a roster of almost exclusively Dutch artists. Today, Zip Records represents, among others, popular soul singer Sabrina Starke and from the world of jazz, Montis, Goudsmit & Directie, The Pulitzers, Jan van Duikeren’s Fingerprint and Hans Dulfer. With each passing year, the emphasis on jazz has increased and there remains an emphasis on releasing most titles on both vinyl and compact disc. Distribution is through LAB Music and there are currently three employees with Zip Records.
- This will be the second year we have attended Jazzahead and our aim is to initiate relationships with other European independent jazz labels, jazz artists, booking agents and potential cross border partners for recording and live appearance collaborations. Most valuable is the opportunity to share experiences with other record labels. The ability to observe the many jazz showcases in three days also makes the Jazzahead experience valuable and enjoyable in itself. Although licensing and retail relationships are becoming less important, we have seen recent benefits in exploring these areas of the record business.