Razormaid! (a.k.a. Razormaid Productions) is a subscription based remix service for DJs which once released 12" records and still produces CDs containing exclusive dance remixes of songs by various artists. The company was started in 1984 by Joseph Watt and the late Art Maharg, financed by a US$1000 bank loan.
Existing next to the other services of the time (Disconet, Hot Tracks, Ultimix, and DMC), Razormaid was soon praised for its compelling choices of dance tracks (often originating in the European dance music scene) and innovative sleeve designs.
Razormaid has released remixed tracks by numerous well-known dance artists, including Patrick Cowley, 2 Unlimited, Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Cabaret Voltaire, Yello, Telex, Eurythmics, The Human League, Dead or Alive, Gary Numan, Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Red Flag, Underworld and Orbital. It also has had the distinction of being the first remix service to have had its remixes featured on 12" releases by the major labels.
In 1989, Joseph Watt produced the band Red Flag's first album, Naïve Art -- which went on to see success in the dance and synthpop genres.
Razormaid created 1000 copies of each issue in vinyl through the 1980s and early 1990s. In the late 1980s they started releasing CDs, and they discontinued vinyl releases in the early 1990s. In the late 1990s, they created a 'burn-to-order' model where they create a custom CD-R for each order.
Nearly all remixes are still available to registered subscribers via the Razormaid website.
Copyright issues edit
Razormaid was once praised and criticized for meticulously adhering to the copyright rules of the time. This involved demanding the removal of cover art, track listings, and information on their releases posted on websites, and shutting down eBay auctions of any non-commercial releases containing any of their remixes.[1] These restrictions are still actively enforced despite possibly violating Fair use and First Sale Doctrine rights.
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External links edit
the site is up and running, there are two brand new Razormaid! releases that are avalible as digital downloads, they were made avalible March 30.2014.