Private Music

Private Music is an American independent record label, founded in 1984 by pop/experimental musician Peter Baumann, as a "home for instrumental music." Initially signing such artists as Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and Baumann's former bandmates, Tangerine Dream, the record label specialized in original music, including new-age music, but made a sharp turn to mainstream niches, with signings of Taj Mahal, Ringo Starr, Etta James, A.J. Croce, and many more. Its releases were distributed by then-emerging BMG (the label's earliest recordings having been distributed by RCA), which bought Private Music in 1996.

In 1989, Baumann hired veteran Warner Bros. Records‘ music executive Ron Goldstein, as Private Music’s President & CEO. Goldstein moved the offices from New York City to Los Angeles, hiring Karen Johnson, a former publicist for U2, Tony Bennett and Warner Bros. Records' projects (Madonna, Ice-T, Linda Ronstadt, Van Dyke Parks), and others, to expand the label’s image. Baumann recruited the well-respected, mainstream A&R executive Jamie Cohen (also a painter), in demand at the time for his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Visual image was important to Goldstein who handpicked exquisite art director Melanie Penny, previously of Virgin Records and Warner Bros. Records, as VP, Creative Services, through the life of Private Music. Private Music emphasized its "artist re-development" efforts, supporting such eclectic veteran-artist signings as Taj Mahal, Ringo Starr, Etta James, Jennifer Warnes, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Toots Thielemans, Jimmy Witherspoon, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Eliza Gilkyson, Joy Askew, The Pahinui Brothers and Kenny Rankin, while expanding the catalogs of Yanni, Leo Kottke, Andy Summers and Ravi Shankar, with strong "debut support" for A.J. Croce, Susan Werner, and more. An international marketing department was added, helmed by longtime Sony Music executive JP Bommel.