Wide Ear Records

By Ken Waxman

The old joke about the way to make one million dollars in jazz is to start with two million could be applied with even more accuracy to recording improvised music, especially with a non-profit label like Wide Ear records. Since the Swiss imprint, that has been around since 2009, gives its artists complete control over their music and its presentation these artists are also responsible for all financing. That means “100% of our revenue goes to the artists,” explains Zug-based drummer Alex Huber, one of Wide Ear’s founders. “We’re more flexible and don’t need to make a living out of the label, “ he adds. “We see ourselves more like a curated platform.”

The we he refers to are his two Zürich-based associates: drummer David Meier, another founder, and accordionist Tizia Zimmermann. Other players such as pianist Yves Theiler, vocalist Dalia Donadio and another founding member saxophonist Tobias Meier had been  involved for greater or lesser periods, with Zimmermann joining initial founders Huber and David Meier in 2023. “We don’t really have any hierarchy in Wide Ear, everybody does everything,” Huber explains. “We don’t really have any hierarchy in Wide Ear, everybody does everything.” The Zug location was strictly a matter of convenience. With no post office boxes available in Zürich when Wide Ear was created, the founders found one in Zug, 20 minutes away by train from the larger city.

Why start a record company in the first place? “Established labels seemed to have a clear and fixed musical direction where we didn’t see our music fit, and going through an established label often involves big hurdles,” Huber elaborates. “We wanted to create our own platform to release our broad vision of contemporary music. We also wanted to keep as many decisions up to the artists themselves, most importantly the artwork and the format of the releases. For us it’s an easier and quicker way to release some of our own albums as well as our peers’. The thought was also that every release would generate interest and publicity for the other releases and artists.

Although Huber admits that with no experience in running a label “We had to figure stuff out and there’s plenty we still could do better”, Wide Ear has so far put out 80 sessions in a variety of formats. Most arrive in finished form from the musicians involved, with the label promising speedy timelines for the releases. Initially the label paid for the basic structure, but now for every release, the musicians involved contribute a small amount which pays for storage, webhosting and the like.

As for the three organizers “The three of us only get paid by the specific artist we help setting up a release”, says Huber “This means talking to the artist about the process, what they want to do, what they need to send us but also about finances and deadlines. Then we prepare the release, sometimes getting in touch with pressing plants or set up the homepage, upload the music for streaming and prepare a newsletter.”

Geneva pianist and composer Jacques Demierre, has two CDs on the label, 2023’s The Hills Shout, an edited version of a live solo piano and 2024’s in the endless wind, with LDL trio of Urs Leimgruber and Thomas Lehn focused on collective creative processes. Someone who has recorded for many companies over the years, he points out that “every label that releases this kind of music wants to set itself apart from the rest. but wide ear records offers a particularly interesting perspective on the Swiss experimental/improvised scene because it’s transgenerational and trans-linguistic. It’s also interesting because it doesn’t limit itself to Switzerland while its musical cartography breaks down the borders of this small country.” Confirms Huber: “We have quite a few artists from the Berlin scene on our label, since there has been an ongoing exchange over the years, as well as a few New York artists. It has a lot to do with our personal connections.”

Anna Frey, a Zurich-based rapper, poet, spoken word performer, has put out three Wide Ear releases since 2019, two with guitarist Florian Stoffner and one this year with drummer Camille Émaille. Knowing Meier and Zimmermann personally she figured her music and lyrics would be in good hands. “My first EP was released in 2006 back when CD stores still existed when you could still earn money with music. Since then, everything has changed completely. It’s no longer clear what exactly belongs to the tasks of a label and what belongs to the band. But what’s special about Wide Ear Records is it’s a label by musicians for musicians on fair terms. When they publish something, you can assume that they like the music. They don’t put any pressure on you or anything, but are supportive and offer advice. It’s a partnership-based collaboration.

Although no musician records exclusively for Wide Ear, it’s the artists alone who decide in what form their work should be released whether CD, LP or digital. However Huber does say ruefully that “we do streaming but that doesn’t do anything I guess. The whole streaming – money business is a joke and killed physical sales.” The average number of copies release for either LP or CD is about 200, though, depending on the artists sometimes it will rise to 300. However so far no album has been re-pressed

As for the future David Meier notes: “In 2026 we’ve already released OMNIVORE’s Yber Hybris and the debut album by Camille Émaille and Anna Frey. A duo by Meret Siebenhaar and Pascal Sontag will follow next in April. Then we have an album by Kimmig-Henkel-Weber and the new record by the Der Verboten quartet in the pipeline and the septet Hunter-Gatherer.”

Re confirming the company’s mission statement that Wide Ear is a non-profit platform from musicians for musicians,” Huber states:  “We think that labels like ours are very important for emerging as well as for established artists. We’re a platform where the artists have 100% control over their music and art. We try to make releasing music as straight-forward as possible, in the best interest of the music and the artists themselves.”