According to Michael, the label's longevity in an industry where labels pop up and disappear like mushrooms in a field can be put down to, "great people, great artists, a strong work ethic, and perseverance." He considers himself to be, "fortunate to work with great artists: PPP, Greyboy, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Jeremy Ellis, John Beltran, who have all recorded great material. We have several new signings as well that we are excited about."

"Ubiquity is diverse, deep and soulful listening for the modern music enthusiast."
Will Holland (Quantic)

One of the reasons that everyone likes Ubiquity is the feeling that it is run by fans just like us and I think that comes across in their philosophy for signing new artists. "We've always just recorded records we like, records that we would buy. We've made mistakes, usually when we stray from that philosophy but for the most part we stick to it. In the end, I think that most our records are timeless and have soul."

Tellingly, winning the WorldWide Label of the Year award was, "better than any music award in our eyes because the people who vote for it share our musical vision and taste and it came from our peers."

"Ubiquity is movement, change, and true free artistic spirit, but not abstract or VIPÖ something for everyone."
John Beltran

Probably Ubiquity is best known now for its new releases but it all started with a record shop trading in old jazz releases and the label that grew out of it. Michael and his wife Jody had an important part to play in what became known as the acid jazz movement with their seminal re-issues of soul jazz but any credit should be put down to the "wealth of fantastic music that was recorded throughout the 60s and 70s, which was inspiring us all. Often some DJs, collectors and the like lose sight of that and think they invented it."

The problem with being part of a boom of course is that bust is inevitably somewhere round the corner, "The acid jazz bust of 1996 was tough for us, we hit a cold patch. Even when we had good records the label was still pigeonholed as being an 'acid jazz' label. That's when perseverance and running the company lean paid off."

"Experimental, focused and kickazz!!!"
Waajeed (Platinum Pied Pipers)

Fortunately, they hung on in there and were also busy with their Latin offshoot label, "Cubop was started after a conversation with Bobby Matos and a decision to release his album Chango's dance. We love Latin jazz and it seemed like a logical step. It's been tougher to sell lately and as a result we have really slowed down our Cubop release schedule."

I think this commitment to diversity shines through in their choice of signings, the multiple labels and the levels on which they operate including how the actual products themselves feel and look, "design is vital for any product and especially music. So many labels now have great design -- it's ultra competitive. We've always viewed ourselves as lifestyle company not a music company, as such art & design go hand-in-hand."

"quality music"
Roy Davis Jr.

Webwise, they have also proved savvy. With deals on emusic, a great website of their own and beautifully produced newsletters. For Ubiquity, the web is about, "keeping in touch with our customers, offering our full catalogue for sale, and keeping people updated on what's going on."

So if you are thinking of running a record a label, keep close to the people, have enough diversity to weather the odd slump and sign some kick-arse bands. Easy.

Links:
Original Piece on Fly
www.ubiquityrecords.com