BY RICHARD JOHNSON—
Observer senior reporter—
Donovan Germain
Come March 7, music producer Donovan Germain will be making his Penthouse Records catalogue available to the public, digitally, for purchase.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, the music industry veteran behind names such as Buju Banton, Cutty Ranks, Tony Rebel, Romain Virgo, Dalton Harris, Richie Stephens, George Nooks and Shuga noted that the launch of this new phase of his music business coincides with his 69th birthday and was, among other things, a means of streamlining the operations.
“It is something that has been years in the making. What I have realized is that a large number of my recordings is not available on the major digital platforms, such as iTunes, Amazon, etc. So based on the depth of the catalogue, I just said to myself let me just go for it, and what this has done is really just pointed to the depth of the Penthouse catalogue. It will also highlight some of the things that people never even knew existed as well as the favorites… so we a try a ting, “ he shared.
Germain was also quick to point out that as the years passed, he wanted to ensure that all his music was available in one place.
“As you notice, the launch date is also my birthday and as I advance in years, I just want to put my thing in order, so that when that day comes when I’m no longer here, my family will be aware of what is owned by Penthouse so there is no questioning as to what belongs to who. So this new project serves to give the purchasing public access to the music in one place, and in doing so it also puts things in order for that day when Donovan Germain is no longer at Penthouse. I feel very strong about this, as I see it happen far too often that persons are not putting the plans in place, and I would be remiss if I didn’t do my part and clean up my house,” he said.
So far, Germain and the team at Penthouse have pulled 400 albums for this digital platform, which will be available on the record label’s website. Still to be added are the recordings which were released on vinyl, new and old exclusive music as well as merchandise.
Penthouse Records was established in 1988, but the label officially began a decade earlier when he began working as a producer. However, while he shared that he was always surrounded by music, growing up in Jamaica, Germain’s entry into the industry was via the record shop which he owned and operated in New York City in the 1970s. As a producer, he had hits on the reggae charts and broke through into the UK Singles Chart in the early and mid-1980s with Sugar Minott’s Good Thing Going and Audrey Hall’s One Dance Won’t Do.
You must log in to post a comment.