Naxos Music UK
Naxos Music UK Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Naxos Music Group, is the foremost distributor of classical music in the UK. Founded in 1991 to distribute and market the Naxos and Marco Polo labels, the company has steadily increased the scale and breadth of its operations. We now represent more than 100 independent classical labels and supply UK retail with over 35,000 live titles. As well as working in the audio market, NMUK has an impressive audio-visual catalogue, working with some of the finest AV labels in the world.
Aside from our distribution and logistics services, NMUK offers a range of additional label services. We maintain a dedicated sales force, working closely on the ground with retailers in the UK. Our team of label managers ensure that our labels are well represented, and simultaneously handle marketing and PR in collaboration with our experienced press team. We also have experts working in the fields of licensing, PPI collection, digital distribution, education and A&R.
Naxos Music Group
Naxos Records is the world’s leading classical music label as measured by the number of new recordings it releases and the depth and breadth of its catalogue. Naxos was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born entrepreneur based in Hong Kong. Under his continuing stewardship, Naxos has developed from being known primarily as a budget label focusing on standard repertoire into a global music group comprising a raft of downloading and streaming platforms, a significant catalogue of multimedia products, a vast international logistics network, a recording engineering arm, a publications division, and a licensing department.
Naxos, the record label, has transformed into a virtual encyclopaedia of classical music with a catalogue of unparalleled depth and breadth. Innovative strategies for recording exciting new repertoire with exceptional talent have enabled Naxos Records to develop one of the largest and fastest-growing catalogues of unduplicated repertoire. Some 11,000 titles are currently available at affordable prices, recorded in state-of- the-art sound, both in hard format and on digital platforms. Naxos works with artists of the highest calibre and its recordings have been recognised with numerous awards.
Naxos still stays true to its original promise of offering great value. Costs are kept to a minimum by focusing on the music rather than the artist; money is not wasted on expensive artist promotions, and profits are invested into recordings of new music rather than multiple versions of standard repertoire already in the catalogue.
Naxos recordings include complete cycles or cycles-in-progress of basic repertoire, such as the complete piano works of Liszt or the complete string quartets of Haydn, but the label has also introduced music lovers to many neglected composers, such as Joachim Raff, Ferdinand Ries and Simon Mayr. It has also helped to put contemporary composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, John Corigliano and William Bolcom in reach of a much wider audience. Additionally, the label continues to add to the numerous world première recordings it already has to its credit.
Naxos Records also has gained stature by pioneering ground-breaking projects like the American Classics series. Currently numbering about 500 titles, the series is set to be the most comprehensive recording project of American concert music ever attempted. Naxos is also leading the field with the landmark Naxos Historical Series. The releases in this massive restoration project are engineered by leading restoration engineers/artists. The series covers all genres of classical music as well as legends of jazz and pop music from the first half of the 20th century. Other notable Naxos series include Japanese Classics, Spanish Classics, Early Music, Organ Encyclopaedia, the Guitar Collection, and Opera Classics. The catalogue of Naxos World, a pioneering world music label, includes international music of many different cultures and genres, folk, pop and classical alike.