Downtown music

Downtown music is a subdivision of American music, closely related to experimental music. The scene the term describes began in 1960, when Yoko Ono—one of the Fluxus artists, at that time still seven years away from meeting John Lennon—opened her loft at 112 Chambers Street to be used as a performance space for a series curated by La Monte Young and Richard Maxfield. Prior to this, most classical music performances in New York City occurred "uptown" around the areas that the Juilliard School at Lincoln Center and Columbia University would soon occupy. Ono's gesture led to a new performance tradition of informal performances in nontraditional venues such as lofts and converted industrial spaces, involving music much more experimental than that of the more conventional modern classical series Uptown. Spaces in Manhattan that supported Downtown music from the 1960s on included the Judson Memorial Church, The Kitchen, Experimental Intermedia, Roulette, the Knitting Factory, Dance Theater Workshop, Tonic, the Gas Station, the Paula Cooper Gallery, and others. Brooklyn Academy of Music has also shown a predilection for composers from the Downtown scene.

Downtown Music

Downtown Music, LLC is a privately held independent company which owns and operates Downtown Music Publishing, Downtown Music Services, Songtrust, and Downtown Music Studios.

From 2006 - 2012, Downtown Music also operated Downtown Records before selling the label back to its founders in 2013. Downtown Records consists of its Downtown and Mercer Street Imprints and joint venture partners Dim Mak, Fool's Gold, and Mad Decent Records.

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