About Minivan Productions
www.minivanproductions.com
(BeansTalk note: Parents and music-fans alike -- this is a company to keep an eye on, because they're guaranteed to put out the kind of music everyone in the family will enjoy listening t -- turn off radio Disney -- turn into Minivan Productions tunes (and besides, we've known the company president since we were nine years old. Now there's longevity for you.)
Minivan Productions, founded in 2009 by music industry veteran Dan Perloff, is a new record label with the intention of becoming a full service production company for artists and projects in the kids’/children’s/family music genre.
The company debuts with a brand-new music release by Grammy Award nominee Peter Himmelman, My Trampoline. "“As much as I want Minivan to be a brand that is all things to all people and work on video, book, film & television projects, etc., the root of all of the projects are the recordings. I’m lucky to be starting a label with the recordings of Peter Himmelman, with whom I’ve worked for the past five years and have been a fan of forever and consider to be one of the most, if not the most brilliant children’s artists out there,” says Perloff.
Minivan will also release some of Himmelman's back catalog of children's music CDs in early 2010. These earlier releases are currently out of print and will feature refreshed package designs with artwork by Pete Oswald who did the artwork for My Trampoline as well as Peter’s last release, Grammy nominated My Green Kite. "There's a great brand aesthetic we're developing for all of Peter's music and related products that we hope to release in the future," says Perloff.
Perloff is a music industry veteran, with more than 20 years' experience in working in all aspects of music marketing, sales and distribution. His positions with the Concord Music Group, Moonshine Music, Navarre Distribution and Rhino Records, as well as artist management, have given him a wide perspective of the best ways to present music to the marketplace, particularly specializing in niche genres.
Perloff has worked with Himmelman for more than five years, helping to direct a deal with Rounder Records and an eventual Grammy nomination for the 2007 CD release My Green Kite. As the opportunities are exploding for independent children's music, Perloff decided to gather his own forces together to present Himmelman's next music release on his new label.
"Children's music is such an exciting genre these days and I truly believe that Peter Himmelman should be one of the superstars of this genre and hopefully Minivan Productions will help him achieve this status. Outside of a few superstars like Dan Zanes and others who get regular TV exposure, there are very few artists who are known on a national level, but do have strong regional followings. Minivan’s goal is to provide the knowledge and experience in launching music and multimedia projects for artists who have strong followings, but want to break out to the next level." The label plans promotional programs with retailers like the Land of Nod, Amazon.com, iTunes and others.
The Minivan logo image says it all - reflecting the label's goal to provide hip and offbeat music appealing to the next generation of parents, those looking for great tunes to spin while driving kids around town or listening to music together at home. As Perloff attests, "I want Minivan to become a brand that parents will trust and know that their kids will be listening to quality music of substance and not schlock. We will never dumb things down for the kiddies. We're all about providing quality, thought-provoking music which parents and grandparents truly will enjoy listening to over and over again. By starting out with the music of Peter Himmelman, we are setting the bar pretty high."
Minivan Productions music will be distributed by Allegro Music Group and their children's music catalog NewSound Music (www.allegro-music.com). Himmelman's My Trampoline will be available August 25, 2009. In addition to Reissuing Peter Himmelman’s back catalog, Minivan has an aggressive release schedule for 2010 that will feature a Minivan branded compilation as well as some exciting artist projects to be announced soon.
