PMR Records is a British record label founded by Ben and Daniel Parmar, formed in 2011, distributed by Universal Music Group. Over its first six years of operation, PMR has earned a reputation as one of the most prominent new British recording labels, having achieved multiple chart-topping albums and a number of prestigious award nominations, including the Mercury Prize and Grammy Awards. Notable artists on the PMR roster include Disclosure, Jessie Ware and Jamie Woon.
History
2011-2012: Formation
PMR was formed in early 2011 after Ben Parmer quit his A&R job at Polydor Records. Following Ben's departure from Polydor, Ben had convinced his brother to join him in the creation of PMR. Daniel Parmar did exactly that, leaving behind an administration role with the NHS, following a departure from the British TV industry. Ben and Daniel began working from their mothers living room in Acton. They promptly built up the PMR roster with DJ's L-Vis 1990 and T Williams, as well as a then-unknown singer named Jessie Ware, and sibling production duo Guy and Howard Lawrence, now known as Grammy award nominated duo Disclosure, aged just 19 and 16 at the time. The acts kicked off their careers by releasing 12" singles.
2012-2015: Early Success
PMR's first major success arrived in the form of a South London singer named Jessie Ware. Around the time of Ware's signing to PMR, she had no songs ready to put on her debut album. As Ware went into production for her debut album, she decided to work with Dave Okumu, who is a multi-instrumentalist and former frontman of The Invisible, to contribute production. Meanwhile, Ben and Daniel decided to introduce her to Julio Bashmore. Through this introduction, Ware and Bashmore wrote the track "110%". Within the first twelve months of the album's release in August 2012, Ware's debut album, "Devotion" charted within the top 5 of the UK album charts and gained a Mercury Prize nomination. Her second album, 2014's "Tough Love", also charted within the top 10 of the UK album charts, earning yet more widespread critical acclaim. Due to PMR's belief in Ware, the label decided to sign Disclosure. In a similar situation to Jessie Ware, Disclosure had no songs ready to place on their debut album when they signed to PMR. The first full records Disclosure sent to PMR's Ben and Daniel after signing was a song named "Latch," featuring a then-unknown singer called Sam Smith. Following its release in October 2012, Latch brought more mainstream success to the PMR label, which lead to the song being streamed more than 215 million times on the Spotify streaming service. The track introduced a group of talent onto the world stage, including Disclosure, Sam Smith and songwriter Jimmy Napes. "Latch" went on to chart at number 7 on the US Billboard chart, and has sold more than 3 million copies to date. The track lent itself as the launchpad for Disclosure's debut album, "Settle". The album, another Mercury nominee for PMR, became a UK Number 1 album and achieved platinum selling status in the UK. Disclosure's second album, "Caracal", also became UK Number 1 album, alongside charting within the Top 10 on the Billboard album chart, and charity at number 1 on the US Electronic Charts.
2015-Present: Recent Ventures
More recently, PMR has also established a management company alongside the label operations. Alongside Julio Bashmore and Jai Paul, PMR also manages Two-Inch Punch, as well as co-managing artist Dornik. Ben Parmar also provides management services for another PMR act, Jessie Ware, whom he looks after alongside Mark Gillespie at Three Six Zero Group.
Distribution
Since 2011, all PMR Records releases have been issued through a worldwide partnership with Universal Music Group firstly through Island, and more recently through a wide range of label options within the Universal system, that also includes Virgin EMI and UMG's services division, Caroline.
Roster
As of 2017, PMR Records is home to a range of artists the most notable of which are Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Jai Paul and Jamie Woon.
