| The $95 Ambassador Club is now open for membership. To join, click here | |
| To purchase BULK-BUY DEALS — click here | For details about becoming a CALLER on SNOW — click here |
The Sting Productions Ambassador Club was set-up in 2010 — to allow the production of new Square Dance music, to be made available as part of Sting and Snow Records; this Web-Site provides details of all that we are doing to achieve this objective; for more detailed information about the “Story of Sting and Snow Records” - please scroll down to the bottom of this page.
What's On This Web-Site?
- Lists of all the music that you buy from Sting & Snow Records (including our entire back-catalogue) — see Sting and Snow Shop buttons, above
- The release dates for single releases, taken from music that has been produced by the Ambassador Club — see Future Music button, above
- Information about Sting Productions Ambassador Club: how to join, what it does (and how it works). Details of all the tunes produced, so far - and the tunes that it will provide in the future — see Ambassador Club button, above
- Details of the Callers (past and present) to be found on our music — see Callers button, above
- The chance to sign up to our monthly Newsletter and a list of all the old Newsletters available — see Newsletter button, above
- How to be a “CALLER on SNOW” - record a Vocal on a Singing Call — see Ambassador Club button (or - to go direct - use the “CALLER on SNOW” bar), above
- How to buy Bulk-Buy music bundles at special reduced prices — see Ambassador Club button (or - to go direct - use the “Bulk Buy Deals” bar) , above
- Send us your ideas, thoughts comments queries and suggestions — see Contact button, above
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The Story of Sting and Snow Records
In 1986, Stefan Sidholm and Ingvar Pettersson, two of the new breed of young Swedish callers, decided to "take a chance" on producing Square Dance music. They looked into what was needed and formed a company that they decided to name "Sting Productions". Very soon after the first two records, Stefan and Ingvar asked Bengt "Bula" Ericsson to assist with the production; they found a studio, at Kumla, in Sweden and asked more Callers to be a part of the operation; the regular staff were soon identified as Stefan, Ingvar, Robert Bjork, Al Stevens and Paul Bristow.
Snow Records was founded as a "sister label" to Sting, in 1988, to give other European-based callers - who possessed the necessary qualifications and skills - the opportunity to record.
We re-launched Snow in 2015 and it now exists as a “springboard” for Callers who would like to record (see the Caller-on-Snow Deal), or as a means to allow us to release, at short notice, a “chart topping tune” - that needs an immediate release! (Every paid-up member of the Ambassador Club will receive any releases on Snow as a free bonus track, as part of their subscription for that year)
In 1989 Stefan and Ingvar started to record at a Studio in Nashville USA, using the talents of some of the best session musicians in the world. Soon after this they also added a Danish Studio to our productions. These extra resources, gave us the chance to offer a much wider range of musical styles.
By 2000 the company had released sixty nine records, all of which sold well - with many appearing in the “top sellers” and a fair number reaching the number one spot on the Hanhurst’s Best Seller listing; in the month of April, Stefan and Ingvar transferred ownership of Sting and Snow Records to Paul Bristow.
Since that “handover”, with Paul “at the helm”, new music has continued to be produced - both at the Studios that Stefan and Ingvar had located - and from several other excellent sources. These new recordings did well in the Best Sellers listings - featuring excellent vocals, provided by our Staff Callers together with a few Special Guests (comprising both well established top Callers - and newer Callers taking advantage of our offers to record) - were released (approximately) as two new tunes per month.
To meet the challenge of new technology, Paul carried out the mammoth task of making virtually all of the company's back catalogue available as MP3 files and in CD format (the few exceptions that you may find are a consequence of those original writers/publishers who would not licence their music for electronic distribution).
In 2010 we realised that we could no longer work within the standard methods of production, we could no longer afford to offer vinyl and we were unsure whether or not it would be possible to continue with music production, in any form...
However, after a lot of discussion and serious consideration - the idea of the Ambassador Club was born. (To find more detailed information about the Ambassador Club, click the button on the menu bar.) With the help and support of the Ambassador Club members, we are currently producing 24 tunes in each annual Edition - plus any tracks that are released on Snow (Ambassador Club members get these free) - and continue to produce a new Edition, each year!
We now rely entirely on the success of the Ambassador Club to allow the continued production of new music, so - if you are not a member already - please consider joining.
It is our aim to continue to provide the best that we can in quality music - for use by the callers - and for the enjoyment of the dancers in Square Dancing - the world's finest activity!
