Want to Subscribe?
Sign In or Sign Up now!

" One of the greatest independent labels of the last decade." - Billboard Magazine

Having celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2005, Nashville-based Compass Records has already emerged as one of the most respected independent labels in the music business. Compass has pursued an ambitious path of growth and met every goal, including the most important one: providing a thriving haven of creativity for artists and a reliable beacon of quality for music fans.

Through nearly 200 releases in folk, Celtic, jazz, and new acoustic music, Compass founders Garry West and Alison Brown have nurtured the label with attention to detail and a passion for a wide variety of music. Professional musicians themselves, West and Brown bring to Compass a unique mix of business know-how and sensitivity to the needs of recording artists. Brown, for example, has a finance background that includes a BA from Harvard University, an MBA from UCLA and several years in investment banking. This, combined with a commitment to excellence in recording and design, is helping to preserve and develop roots musical genres often overlooked by the mainstream entertainment culture.

In an environment where major record labels are becoming unrecognizable servants of the larger entertainment industry, the success of small, music-oriented record labels becomes more important than ever. Compass Records has put Nashville's independent music scene on the map, proving that it's possible to take advantage of the Music City infrastructure and talent pool, without necessarily playing by the old Nashville rules.