Recording for Naxos

[franz_]

Hi,

I've some questions regarding to make a recording for the Naxos label.
How does the selection happen? Cause I know many pianists who recorded for Naxos, and not all of them are extremely good, or worldfamous. At all.
Does Naxos just edit your recordings if you pay everything yourself? Or how does that happen? I have the impression that it can't be THAT hard honnestly.

[richard black]

Quite a lot of the recordings on Naxos are sent to the label by whoever made the recording (the artists, usually). Some people make an agreement with Naxos before making the recording, some do it largely 'on spec' and send it in anyway. You're unlikely to make any money, in fact you can end up basically paying Naxos to release your recordings. As a result, yes, performance quality can vary quite widely. I've not heard any Naxos recordings I would say are shocking, but some are pretty dull. Some, by contrast, are excellent, even though no one has ever (yet!) heard of the performers.

All this applies to plenty of other labels. Naxos just happens to be the biggest. A lot of first recordings of neglected repertoire should never have been made, but second-rate artists see it as an opportunity to get noticed. Indeed, some second-rate artists work very hard and conscientiously and make first-rate recordings that deserve more notice than they get. All too many do a quick job and bore everyone to death with the results.