Putumayo produces World Music for the world
In the past fourteen years, Putumayo World Music has become known for its compilations of great international music characterized by the company’s motto: “guaranteed to make you feel good!” The colorful, folkloric style of Putumayo’s CD covers, drawn by British artist Nicola Heindl, represent one of Putumayo’s goals: to connect the traditional to the contemporary. By combining appealing music and visuals with creative retail marketing, Putumayo has developed a unique brand identity.
Putumayo World Music was established in 1993 by Dan Storper. Dan Storper had majored in Latin American Studies in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in 1973. He then
headed to Colombia, Ecuador,Peru and Bolivia to visit the countries he had studied. In 1975 he opened a small retail store in New York City where he sold handcrafts and clothing he had collected in Latin America.
In 1991, he happened to hear the music of an African band from the San Francisco Bay area and fell in love with it . He made tapes of that music and played them in his now seven stores. The customers liked it. And Dan Storper wanted to get more of this. In 1993 he put together Putumayo’s first two world music collections. His long-time friend Michael Kraus joined to help him launch the label and established a non-traditional sales division. Putumayo has built a proprietary network of more than 3,000 book, gift, clothing, coffee and other specialty retailers that play and sell its CDs, while maintaining a strong presence in record stores.
After selling the Putumayo stores in 1997, Dan Storper was able to focus fulltime on his goal of introducing people to other cultures through great world music. He now travels extensively and, with the support of ethnomusicologist Jacob Edgar, pays attention to music scenes all over the world.
Putumayo has almost 150 releases, with sales of about 20 million CDs and offices in 12 countries.
In the year 2000, Putumayo launched the Putumayo World Music Hour, a world music program available on more than 120 commercial and non-commercial stations in the US, Canada and around the world.
In 2002, the Putumayo Kids division was created to introduce children to other cultures through fun world music. The Playground series of children’s CDs and activity kits have won numerous awards.
In 2006, Putumayo introduced Cumbancha, a new label founded by Jacob Edgar.
Putumayo World Music - headbutler
