On the "List of Most Expensive Paintings" one is awed by the vast sums people are willing to spend on one painting when the opportunity affords itself and the money is available. The artist who shows up more than any other in the all-time Top Ten is Dutch born Vincent Van Gogh. One Van Gogh painting has sold for more than one-hundred and thirty-six million dollars ($136,000,000). Another recently sold for one-hundred and two million ($102,000,000). But in May of 1890, Vincent Van Gogh died at the age of 37, having shot himself "for the good of all" and during his brief career he had sold only one painting.

The heart of Dying Van Gogh Records is good music. There are usually great artists behind good music. Our goal is to hunt down great artists who make good music and release it however and whenever we can to as many people as we can. It is not an easy task. One cannot be "in it for the money" with a goal such as this. At DVG we made a decision from the very beginning that we do not care what an artist looks like, how old they are, how often they tour or if they even tour at all. We do not care what genre of music they make nor what format they fit into, how often radio spins them, whether "the girls will like them," nor whether the music they make is hip, in fashion, or trendy in today's market. The only thing we care about is if they make good music.

We know it is impossible to qualify such a concept. It's a subjective thing. A vibe thing. Maybe one vibes with what we consider good music. Maybe they don't. An artist might have only sold four CDs throughout their entire career but if we love their music we will do our best to help them create it and release it to the public. With that said, the opposite is true as well. There are artists who have sold millions of albums around the world who we just don't like. The tabloids are full of them. Selling millions of albums is not a guarantee that great art has been created. And so often times it's just not our thing. But collecting great artists who make good music is. We don't sign artists unless we love the hell out of them AND we feel that we can help them in some way further their career or increase their exposure to more fans who will also in turn love the hell out of them. If they happen to sell millions of albums, great. That means we can release more good music by more great artists.

There is more good music being made now than at any other time in history. Don't let anyone tell you any different. The airwaves may not represent this fact, but it's true. Some people claim that most commercial music that is being released today is bad and that most independent music is great. Which means that they just don't know what's out there. The truth is that there is great music being made all over the world on both sides of the fence. Commercial and indie. More importantly, that line that separates commercial versus non-commercial, between indie and pro, is quickly vanishing -- to the point of being almost invisible in today's market. One day someone is a "star" - good music or not -- because "the machine" has made them a star. A year later they are nowhere to be found. Likewise, great artists with no "machine" backing them at all are able to make a name for themselves and a living from their music today more than ever before due to advances in technology and consumers' ever increasing demand for "good music" over anything and everything else.

At Dying Van Gogh Records we recognize this. And we are excited by it. People love good music. And they don't care what it looks like, how old it is, or what demographic it appeals to. The independent music phenomenon, like independent film did a few years before, showed us all just how much good music is out there, and more importantly, what a high demand there is for it from people. Indie music is not a trend. It is here to stay. Record labels in this new environment need to fit somewhere in between the artists and the consumers almost invisibly. Not getting in the way. But simply providing a vehicle for consumers hungry for great music to find great artists. Dying Van Gogh is an American record label with offices in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.

Take a look around and a listen and tell us what you think. If you hear of any great artists that you feel deserve more recognition or a bigger audience, feel free to shoot us a line and tell us about them. We are always interested.