A well-known secret. Transnational discographic houses impose musical preferences. No matter how fleeting they could be. Record world is ravenous, showing in addition, a huge depression at hard times. Concise but dramatic are some features from record labels universe, within which every recording house from every country, has to be inserted for competition.

That's the way, a small Record Label from Havana City, works: Bis Music, born six years ago and having as main recognition a Grammy Prize for its record La Rumba Soy Yo, a successful CD approaching Cuban cultural roots.

From the conversation with her General Manager, Belkis Vilaragut........

Bis Music? It's a young discographic house, of six years old, composed by a small and very professional team, mainly women. Our house is holding 330 master tapes because, we bought the Caribe Productions' catalog six months ago, increasing our musical work and allowing Cuba to rescue the cultural patrimony of the island belonging to an important stage from Cuban music.

Its collections? Bis Music possesses three collections: Meneo, Sésame and Tributo. All things related to the ex Caribe Productions are treated as an additional production.

How do you approach market?

The catalog management is depending on the commercial strategy planned according to the characteristics of the market in evolution. As it's well known, since events from September 11, the international discographic market is harder and changing, transnationals experience fusion, other record labels close, some outstanding distributers also closed, influencing in all discographic companies all over the world.

Is CD ...del agua que bebimos proving this?

It is a good example. A very interesting record not only due to the history it holds itself, but also for this genre evolution. (The day it was launched, at Casa de las Américas, Silvio Rodríguez, our great poet of trova, surprised us with a new song Cita con ángeles, as always, full of premonitions)


From the most remote times/ the guard angels flight/ always keeping their votes/ against outrages and excesses/ ...Poor urgent angels/ they never manage to save us/ will they be incompetent?/ or there's no way to help us?

Silvio doesn't belong to Bis Music Record Label, but his presence at the launching of the record gave it a very important connotation. This record came up as an Lázaro García's idea, who was working along with Vicente Feliú, other troubadours and Silvio, during a not very short time. The process of selection of guests and how to entwine two epochs, took them a year, many were out of this CD, allowing the possibility of other volumes. It exposes how Trova is still alive and people is still preferring and believing in this genre. Lázaro García is producer and director from Eusebio Delfín Studios in Cienfuegos, enterprise belonging to ARTEX S.A, like Bis Music.

Respecting to your cultural product?

Bis Music is commercializing directly its productions in frontier through Discuba distributor. For the international commerce it has also shares, such as MIDEM, using Internet, commercial mission in other countries, contracts with Records Labels, etc.

From catalog, there are various records having a good acceptance at international level. One of them gained the Grammy, La rumba soy yo; we can highlight too, those by Issac Delgado, Mayito Rivera, Haila, Adalberto Alvarez, from whom an upcoming CD will soon gain popularity and more recently Trovarroco has achieved great appraisal.

Countries where Bis Music's work has gained more acceptation?

United States, Spain and Mexico. United States with the anthological music, Tributo Collection and also the new releases, they are very acclaimed during the first releases and purchases are not despicable. We are present, with our music, not only Bis Music, but also other companies such as EGREM and Abdala. Other remarkable markets have been Mexico and Spain, but with Operación Triunfo theme, they managed to invalid not only international but national enterprises in terms of sellings.

For Bis Music, the market situation in 2002 was very profiatble regarding to economic outcomes, there were also a special product for a new tobacco, Guantanamera. A record having two versions of Guatanamera, one sung as it was originally and the other one, made by Hel Group in Rap (video clip of this group new CD is currently in production). The record of Tobacco will be launch with the new product, is a way of working together and both entities are very satisfied with results.

For CUBADISCO a catalog record will be launched, to announce Cuban and foreing enterprises operating in the country. There have always been announcements at magazines and newspapers and now it will be a record.

In 2002, 32 titles were edited and for this year, there are plans for 16, although two of them will take 2004, because they will enter on studios around November and December, Haila's and Yumuri's, who are exclusive artists from this company. Bilongo CD by Yumurí is having an excellent acceptance with its title Acaramelao, at the market in United States, where it is lisenced. The second volume of La Rumba Soy Yo is being prepared to enter the studios in June with the same productors Joaquín Betancourt and Cary Diez.

Bis Music has a cultural and social compromise with cuban music, with the Cubal cultural patrimony.

What are the most attractive genres as Record Label?

All of them, Bis Music loves music in general sense. In the world, pop and fusion are the most demanded genres and there aren't enough titles to satisfy this demand. There are tiltes of salsa, rumba, traditional music and others. Now, was recently recorded a CD of Sucu Sucu by Mongo Rives, Esto es Sucu Sucu. In this case, the traditional genre was respected, to reflect on the record how Mongo Rives is, the most genuine representer of this genre. The launching is been prepared and we're planning its promotion here in Cuba and abroad, with a Mexican Agency, AICA. He made a sort of music using the accordion and machetes for percussion sounds, working also with marímbula, it is very attractive and original, holding many communicative links with the Caribbean, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador. He also interpreted guaracha, son montuno, bachata.

Bis Music, is a small Record Label, which certainly contributes a great deal to keep ....del agua que bebimos (.... from the water we drank) and will drink in the future.

Extracted from an interview published by Granma International.

See more information at Bis Music website

Buy records from this label in www.discuba.com