ABSTRACT
Founded in 1986 by Franz Koch, Koch is the largest independent recording distributor in the U.S. and Canada, and its Koch Entertainment unit is also an important record producer. With headquarters in New York,the company employs more than 200 people and has the largest marketing and sales department of any independent American distributor, with eight regional sales offices and a marketing and sales staff of over 70 music professionals. Headed up by CEO Michael Koch, it incorporates a large roster of strong independent labels, covering the entire spectrum of music and video, including Chandos, Pearl, ASV, Gothic, MD&G, Ondine, as well as their own Koch productions. In 1999, with the purchase of Walter Yetnikoff’s label, Velvel Records, Koch founded a subsidiary, Koch Entertainment, to include all of its web, music publishing, and recording holdings. Koch’s own label focus on classical and jazz music. In 2002, Koch Europe’s independently run recorded music and music publishing operations, founded in 1975, in Austria, were sold to Universal Music International. [Website: https://www.kochint.com./]
HOWARD FERSTLER
A firm located in St. Paul, Minnesota, manufacturer of a record player combined with a clock and bookcase; this amalgamation sold for $100 in 1916.
