The Resurrection of Fania Records continues
Interview: Santiago Peluffo
Everyone knows the legendary tunes that came out of Fania Records and like all empires, Fania’s went into decline in the 1990’s. For many years the catalogue of iconic albums that sold millions, and made superstars of Latin artists such as Celia Cruz and Tito Puente and amassing music fans around the world, lay collecting dust. Along came a guy called Michael Rucker, who decided to convince some unlikely investors to resurrect the Motown of Latin Music. It takes either a romantic or business acumen to decide there is money to be made in a classic Latin music label. On Rucker’s advice, equity company Codigo Group bought not only Fania Records, but 14 other Latin catalogues from the same era, including West Side Latino and Kubaney Records. Taken together, it’s a major chunk of Latin music history. Rucker has spent the past few years fishing master tapes out of old storage units, getting them up on Spotify and iTunes and pressing up “Best Of” albums. Nevertheless, the new Fania isn’t just interested in just attracting collectors. Rucker has a different audience in mind.
“Now we look forward and we say – how do we take this to a younger audience today,” says Rucker. “Because at the end of the day, if you aren’t reinventing, if you’re not going to find new listeners then ultimately you die. And that’s exactly what we don’t want to happen.”
In an attempt to reach younger audiences, Fania has been working with DJs and putting out remix albums that sample their catalogue. It’s unclear whether the new Fania will succeed but at least it’s trying to give the new generation a chance to decide what Fania means to them.
For those who don’t know what Fania did. Tell us about the beginnings of Fania. Would you say Fania invented salsa in New York?
“When Jerry Massuci and Johnny Pacheco started Fania they believed that Latinos could be better recognized in the US by marketing their incredible music. At that time only in New York it could have happened, because Latinos were flocking there from all over the place – Dominican Republic, Peru, Colombia, Cuba! And they were all living in a small barrio and when you have that many Latinos in five blocks, the phenomenon of salsa happens. Later we created the All Stars band in the 70’s to represent the best latin music had to offer. They recorded 50 albums and inspired other artists to do the same. They were at the top of their industry.”
How did it go from THE record label to crashing in the 80s and reinventing itself in the recent years?
“It has been a quite incredible journey. In the 90s the owner -Jerry Masucci-, left the company to take other businesses. Then the label was in probate court, so our job was to take it out of that, to find the assets… They told us there were no recording tapes, and luckily we found a storage in the Hudson Valley and there lay a huge amount of recording tapes, so we documented and data based everything again.”
You were brought in as director of Marketing with the mission of resurrecting the label. What have you done to re-position the label?
“We wanted to deliver quality music to the original fans, so we re-mastered many of the albums, in fact hundreds of them to continue selling. Two years ago we moved exclusively into the digital world. We ensured people around the world can experience the sound of Fania. We have a Spotify catalogue for Latin music and then iTunes for artists’ profiles, and we also have a subscription services for collectors.”
What are the next steps?
“We are working with producers and DJs to create a new sound for Fania and ensure the label continues on for the next generation to come. We have done 150 remixes this years from around the world and these DJs are planning to take it to Europe. At the same time, we also continue to look for artists who are fit for Fania. We are signing artists from Mexico and Argentina, and will take them on tour. We continue to do salsa, we just expanded our businesses.”
Some might say that Latinos are made outside Latin America, US or Europe. More than anything it is music that often brings us together… do you agree?
“Absolutely. Once you leave your country and become integrated with other cultures, you take two things: music and food. I’m Mexican-American, I grew up with tortillas and Latin music.”
How do you feel receiving the Fellowship award for Fania at LUKAS Awards?
“To be recognized in London is a pride on behalf of the company. We are always proud to be Latinos, anywhere in the world.”
Fania Records were awarded the Air Europa LUKAS Lifetime Achievement Award which Michael Rucker received at Koko last week. More info at: www.thelukas.co.uk/tickets
