must have music

6-12 two tracks of the upcoming Shawn Pittman album now out on digital platforms

Must Have Music was founded as a label for his personal favorites by Bert Pijpers. After having worked many years for renowned Dutch distributor Munich Records (as labelmanager for Rounder Records, Sugar Hill, Alligator, Arhoolie a.o.) he set up the European office for Rounder Records. As Continental Record Services, the office worked for Rounder Records' artists like Alison Krauss, Heather Myles, Ronnie Earl, Lynn Miles, Slaid Cleaves and Rhonda Vincent. Alongside work for the Rounder labels (Philo, Bullseye Blues, Black Top Records) CRS also set up its own Continental labels with releases by Dale Watson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Lynn Miles, Israel Nash (Gripka), Pokey Lafarge and many more.

In 2008 CRS became independent and has built a great roots catalog, making many North American releases available for a wide audience across Europe. Releases from both individual artists (Emma Swift, Matt Harlan, Chip Taylor, Robert Jon & The Wreck, Big Daddy Wilson) and labels such as Stony Plain or Signature Sounds.

Alongside his other work for CRS, Bert set up his own labels. Me and My Records (with separate lines for Blues, Americana and World Music) and more recently Must Have Music. He also runs a very selective agency and offers digital PR services to third party clients.