Beatmart Recordings

"Do not become weary in doing good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest is we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

For many years the names Todd and Troy Collins were synonymous with Gotee Records, the scrappy indie label launched in the mid-'90s by Todd Collins, Toby McKeehan and Joey Elwood.

Todd's production skills and creative moxie helped put the label on the map. Brother Troy's sales and marketing savvy fueled projects by such Gotee acts as Relient K, the Katinas, Jennifer Knapp and Grits.

Never ones to rest on their laurels, the Collins siblings are busy with a new venture, Beatmart Recordings. After selling his portion of Gotee (shortly before EMI Christian Music Group assumed part ownership), Todd intended to be an independent producer and develop new acts. He had carved a name for himself as a cutting-edge producer having worked with Out of Eden, dc Talk, Greg Long and Audio Adrenaline, among others.

"I just really felt that it was my time to move on, and God was telling me to do other things," Todd tells Billboard about his departure from Gotee. "I never thought I'd be in a label situation again, nor did I want to. I just wanted to produce records and be creative.

"I started finding artists that I thought really deserved a shot in the market. So I thought: 'Rather than pawn them off on other labels, why [don't] I develop them? I know how to do this label thing with a few of the right people around me. Let's do another label.'"
Troy remained at Gotee for two years after Todd left and became senior director of retail, marketing and sales for Gotee and the EMI CMG-owned Forefront label. As Beatmart's production and publishing arms gained momentum and a new label seemed inevitable, Troy was faced with another proposition. Manager Steve Thomas approached him about becoming involved in a new rock label.

"Suddenly my heart and my head became torn, because there were advantages and disadvantages of doing both," Troy says. He told Todd about his options, and Todd told him to "do what's best for your family."

As events unfolded, Thomas wound up launching BHT Entertainment last December with industry vets Mike Blanton and Dan Harrell. Troy ended up with the best of all possible worlds, as Beatmart became a label under the BHT umbrella.

"It maintains its own funding and independence." Troy says of Beatmart. "but takes advantage of the alliance with BHT. They brought me in to be the GM of BHT, so now I get to work with Todd on a daily basis with Beatmart, and I also get to work with Dan, Mike and Steve."

Beatmart recently bowed with "Best of the Submissions," a collection of original songs by unsigned MCs in the Christian hip-hop scene. The project also includes appearances by such established names as K J52, Sev Stactic, Japhia Life and Manchild from Mars III.

One interesting aspect of the project is that it offers record buyers a chance to be on the next installment of "Best of the Submissions." When the CD is placed in a computer, the listener is taken to a Web site--which can be unlocked only with the CD--where they can post their own material or vote for their favorite. At the end of the year, the monthly winners will compete, and the three with the most votes will be featured on next year's compilation.

"We wanted the Web site to be very much like a community," Troy says, "and we had to somehow create a way for the product that we create to be a calling card for the site. All roads have to point back to the Web site and start from there because we want to create a community."

"We found a piece of product that could primarily help brand the label part, which is what we did early on in the Gotee days," Todd adds. "Most successful labels have created a brand, and then the consumer pretty much knows what they are going to get from that brand."

Thus far the label has signed Philadelphia rapper Japhia Life, whose album is due this fall, and R&B act Pee Wee Callins. Todd says the label plans to sign three more acts by the end of the year. "That will give us enough soil to plow for a while," he says.

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