NMC: Record Label and Charity

2nd August 2021

News NMC Recordings

It's Charity Awareness Week here at NMC 🎉 We're going to be sharing insights into what being a charity means for NMC. To kick us off, our Director of Development Alex Wright gives us an intro into our unique identity as record label and charity.

NMC holds a fairly distinctive position in the recording industry: we are both a record label and a registered charity.

Although this is an unusual business model for a record label, for NMC it enables us to fulfil a vitally important role in the classical music industry that traditional models would restrict. We are able to act as an advocator and promoter of recordings by composers creating high-quality new music that would otherwise not be given the life it deserves, due to its limited commercial viability.

Whilst there is a loyal market and ever-growing audience for the styles of adventurous new music NMC promotes, through sales of CDs, downloads and streaming income alone, we generate only around 18% of our income each year. If NMC was a solely commercial entity, this level of income would severely restrict the number of recording projects we could embark on each year.

Being a charitable organisation allows us to support many more composers from across Britain and Ireland as we can fundraise for recording projects from a variety of additional sources. This includes from Arts Council England, charitable trusts and foundations, and generous individuals who donate through our Friends schemes. The support NMC generates means we can take on recording projects based on their artistic merit, without the overwhelming influence of sales potential and the restrictions that stem from this.

Through sales of CDs, downloads and streaming income alone, we generate only around 18% of our income each year. If NMC was a solely commercial entity, this level of income would severely restrict the number of recording projects we could embark on each year.

Generating and supporting new audiences for contemporary music, and developing emerging talent are key aspect of our work too. Recording schemes such as Debut Discs, for composers yet to have a full portrait album dedicated to their work, and education projects such as those we run with Chineke! Foundation which inspire creative composition in the classroom, are made possible by grants and donations.

This week, we’ll be sharing stories from across our output to give you an insight into how and why being a charity is so important to NMC’s success. I hope you’ll enjoy reading and seeing how donations can help us transform the lives of aspiring young musicians, bolster the careers of composers who are just starting out, and continue to support those composers who are firmly established in the industry realise recording projects which need to reach a wider audience.

Getting involved

If you are interested in supporting the charitable work of NMC, head to the Support Us section to find out more.
Discover more about our series of education resources and projects here
You can explore our back catalogue and recent releases, as well as delve into the more than 500 composers featured on the label here
We’d love to hear from you too: feel free to contact alex@nmcrec.co.uk if you have any questions or comments about supporting NMC’s work.