HOW TO PRODUCE A CD FROM A TO Z, INCLUDING A CASE STUDY: THE CD OF THE AY KHEREL ENSEMBLE FROM TUVA
Keywords:
CD production, vinyl, Pan Records, Tuva, Ai Kherel, useful singing.Abstract
The CD was first introduced commercially in Japan in 1982 and the U.S. in 1983. By 1988, production costs dropped significantly, allowing even small record companies to produce CDs. That same year, CD sales surpassed vinyl records, and by 1991, they overtook cassette sales. In the 1970s, smaller operations began filling the role once held by folk label pioneers, a trend seen in both the U.S. and Europe. In 1976, Pan Records was founded in The Hague, Netherlands, with the goal of publishing vinyl LPs of local and regional folk music. By 1988, Pan Records shifted focus exclusively to CDs, releasing its first CD that year. In 1991, the company launched the Ethnic Series, highlighting global ethnic music. This paper explores the production of CDs at a small label like Pan Records in the late 1980s, the changes in production methods over the years, and presents a case study of CD production in 2025, reflecting on the evolution and impact of these developments in the music industry.
References
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Illustrationsfig.
Pan Records logo (design by Piet Schreuders, November 1984).fig. 2 Cover art of Pan CD no. 2090 (Gennadi Tumat, photo by Hajo Hohl, 1991, released 1990).
fig. 3 Ensemble Ay Kherel, left to right Orlan Chudekpen (chanzy), Vladimir Soyan, Gennadi Tumat (guitar). Photo by Istvan Santha, 26 June 1994 in Pilisborosjenö, Hungary.
