Pinecastle Celebrates Seven With Label Compilation

In the challenging world of independent record labels every year of existence is cause for celebration, and that's what Orlando, Fla.-based Pinecastle is doing with a seventh-anniversary promotion designed to draw attention to its diverse roster of acoustic talent.
Pinecastle founder/president Tom Riggs acknowledges that in light of the competition's longevity--Rebel Records has been around for 35 years and Rounder for 25--seven years is just getting started. 'It's our seventh anniversary, and we thought we'd have some fun with it,' says Riggs. 'It's turned into a pretty decent promotion.'
The promotion involves giving away a Pinecastle compilation CD with every new release purchased through September (see story, page 29). The promotion was designed to celebrate the label's anniversary and thank consumers for their support of the label by giving them a taste of the other acts on the roster.
Riggs is pleased with Pinecastle's growth. 'Seven years ago, I sold another business I'd been involved in 23 years, but I wasn't ready to retire,' Riggs says. 'I had been talking about starting a label to launch new acts.'
Bluegrass has always been a passion with Riggs. In fact, while he was still involved in a pizza franchise business, he began buying hard-to-find bluegrass product and selling it at festivals. When people told him they wished they could order product, he began using a storage building in his yard to house mail-order product. Thus the Music Shed was born as Riggs' first foray into the music business. The Music Shed is now a catalog Riggs' company issues three times a year that features acoustic music product not only from Pinecastle but also numerous other labels. The label has a motor home, also called the Music Shed, that travels to music festivals.
Riggs says he wanted to start Pinecastle as a way to help young artists. 'Our initial approach was to be a label to help emerging artists, and we have kept that commitment,' he says. 'Plus over the years we've been fortunate to gain well-known artists like the Osborne Brothers.'
Five years ago, Riggs purchased the Webco label and acquired its roster, which included the Reno Brothers, Larry Stephenson, and Bill Emerson. Though initially the labels were kept separate, Riggs says, there was some confusion, so he recently folded everything into the Pinecastle label. 'It took us a little while to figure out how we wanted to do it,' he says, 'but after consulting the artists . . . it made a lot of sense.'
Riggs says he's planning a series called the 'Webco Classic Series,' which will resurrect the label's old spider web logo, but all new product by current acts will now be on Pinecastle.
The label's roster includes the Osborne Brothers, Continental Divide, the Reno Brothers, Emerson & Newton, Stephenson, Dale Ann Bradley, New Tradition, the Rarely Herd, Eddie & Martha Adcock, Jeff Autry, Barry Barrier, Greg Cahill, Doug Cloud, David Crow, Terry Eldredge, Tim Graves, Smokey Green, Sharon Horovitch, Mark Johnson, Rick Purdue, Danny Roberts, Rickie Simpkins, Mary Warburton, Russell Johnson, and the newly signed McClain Brothers.
'As far as I was concerned, a few years ago when I heard that Tom Riggs was buying Webco, the label I was on, I was very happy about it,' says Stephenson. 'At the time, Pinecastle was starting to come into its own as a bluegrass label. I already knew Tom Riggs and what he had been doing with his new label, Pinecastle. I think Pinecastle is getting stronger. People are taking more notice of the label as we grow. Last year Tom decided to move all the artists to the Pinecastle label, and I'm very pleased to be labelmates with the other (acts) on the label, like Continental Divide, the Renos, Dale Ann Bradley, the Osborne Brothers. It's a good association.'
Riggs says he tries to create an atmosphere for his artists that's conducive to trust and creativity. Continental Divide's David Parmley says he's succeeding. 'As an artist, one of my main reasons for signing with Tom Riggs was his honesty in business,' says Parmley. 'When Tom tells you he's going to do something, he does it. Pinecastle is a fairly young company, and I think it has come a long way during the time we've been with them. Tom and his staff are hard-working and open to any suggestions I have as an artist.'
Riggs says Pinecastle has four basic classifications of artists--emerging acts, such as Bradley, Graves, and Barrier; legendary artists, such as the Osborne Brothers; 'next generation' acts, such as Continental Divide, that are well-established but not yet legends; and regional acts, such as Chicago-based Cahill and his band Special Consensus and Boston-based Southern Rail.
'We try to work with bands to accomplish their aims,' says Riggs. 'Everybody is not a national artist. We have a few bands we don't promote nationwide but concentrate on regionally.'
Riggs acknowledges that running an independent label has its share of challenges. 'I think the primary challenge is financial,' he says. 'Making records is a very capital-intensive business. You put up a lot of money whether you're RCA Victor or Pinecastle. You invest a lot of money before the album is ever even offered for sale . . . You have to be well-capitalized, and you've got to be in it for the long term. You're not going to get the return six months after you put out an album, and, in some cases, you're never going to get a return.'
Riggs obtained his business savvy through years of on-the-job training in the restaurant business. He was involved in opening Pizza Hut franchises in central Florida and was responsible for opening 60 restaurants in 23 years.
When it comes to the record business, he cites distribution as another challenge for indie labels, because it's hard to compete for retail space. He says Pinecastle has successful distribution relationships with Distribution North America and Record Depot that take them into both chains and mom-and-pop stores. Catalog orders also account for brisk sales, and Riggs says Pinecastle's World Wide Web site is becoming an increasingly successful outlet for selling product.
In addition to running the label, Riggs hosts 'American Acoustic Country,' a radio program syndicated to more than 250 stations. He also hosts many bluegrass shows and festivals, as well as a local TV show, 'Cable Country.' Riggs also serves as chairman of the board of trustees for the Bluegrass Museum. Pinecastle also produces an annual bluegrass festival in Kissimmee, Fla., as a fund-raiser for the Kissimmee Kiwanis Club. This year's event is Friday (6)-March 8.

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