Baby Grand

Baby Grand Records was in full swing releasing scores of eclectic recordings, all designed primarily for one purpose…not to turn a profit! The premise behind the label headed by Ron Fair, an and ambitious 20 something pianist, composer/arranger and most of all aspiring record executive who would later go on to become the President of [l904] and Geffen Records Records (discovering Christina Aguilera, and developing the mega careers of the likes of Black Eyed Peas and others)—had at its foundation a curious loophole in the U.S. tax laws that allowed wealthy investors to realise a tax credit far in excess of their investment. It was really quite simple; an investor would put up a few thousand dollars to cover the production and manufacturing costs. The album would have a minimal number of pressings issued and an accountant would value the recording at 10’s of thousands of dollars above the costs based on what the investor would have realised, had the record been a commercial success. In this manner, someone could invest say $5,000 and receive a tax credit of anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 as a loss on what he “expected” to generate from his initial investment. In the 1970’s the economy in the States was slamming and there was no shortage of investors in search of tax credits. It is considered that some of the investors actually fancied the notion that this was their entrée into the music business, and others perhaps just liked the idea of supporting the arts. Related label: Pelican (8)