- The company
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- The company
- About us
- Philosophy
- Core values
- Good reasons
- Only at jpc
- The little extra
- History
jpc is a music mail order company based in Georgsmarienhütte near the beautiful Teutoburg Forest.
Founded in 1973 by Gerhard Georg Ortmann, today we have more than 50 years of experience, expert knowledge, and excellent contacts to labels and suppliers.
Thus jpc has established itself on the market as a modern owner-managed company from the Osnabrück region.
About us
jpc offers a large selection and excellent advice to music fans.
Our repertoire and knowledge reach into all scopes of the entire music catalog and provide new inspiration.
Philosophy
»Passion for music« is more than just a slogan at jpc. It was the reason the company was founded and it shapes our continuous development.
We share this passion with our customers: music enthusiasts and connoisseurs, who value professional service, reliable advice, and an above-average selection.
Core values
Authenticity
Music is our passion.
This principle characterizes our daily thinking and our work.
It is reflected in the personal interests and the technical expertise of our employees as well as in their commitment.
Fairness
Fairness is very important at jpc, especially in dealing with customers, artists, labels and within our team.
We are honest, communicate openly and always act in the interests of our customers.
Appreciation
As a specialist in music, our work is based on the respect for every artist and his work.
Therefore, we attend to every product with the utmost care—from knowledgeable product descriptions up to the safe packaging of our goods.
That also reflects the appreciation for our customers, who love music as much as we do.
Good reasons for jpc
Selection and offer
jpc considers itself a service provider for all music and movie fans, especially those with special interests.
We have made it our mission to offer more than just the standard range to our customers.
Therefore, for many years we maintain excellent contacts with labels and suppliers from all over the world.
Consulting
We make our special knowledge available for our customers—in personal consultation, detailed product descriptions and with our catalog magazine, the jpc-courier.
In addition to that, we are continuously expanding our range of sound samples in the online shop.
Service
We place great value on personal contact with our customers.
Our experts will gladly answer all of your questions about products and order fulfillment.
The satisfaction of our customers is our top priority.
Only at jpc
courier
Our catalog magazine, the jpc-courier, provides our customers with special information about selected products and exceptional offers.
Thereby we offer new and exciting pulses every month.
cpo
Our passion for music was the reason why we established an own label for classical music in 1984: cpo.
Our focus is on selected, mostly lesser-known composers and works.
With a good ear for music and an unparalleled repertoire diversity we have gained an international customer base.
That little extra for our customers
jpc maintains a close and friendly contact with artists and labels. This collaboration involves privileges that we gladly share with our customers.
These privileges include limited, signed editions, special collector's editions, editions with audiophile formats, and exclusive sets at special prices.
The history of jpc
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1970
Seed capital: two pasting tables
Gerhard Georg Ortmann und Johannes Stuckenberg sell the first records in front of the Universities of Cologne and Göttingen—using two pasting tables.
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1973
A name is found
The name jpc is introduced. jpc means jazz—pop—classic.
The first store
The opening of the first jpc record store.
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1976
The first jpc-courier
The first jpc-courier is a list in black and white. To date, the jpc-courier is an important means to inform our customers.
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1980
jpc releases its first exclusive products
For the first time, jpc is releasing specially licensed and manufactured products. It all starts with the 6LP box set »Walter Gieseking spielt Debussy«.
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1984
cpo—our label for classical music
Our passion is classical music. With cpo we can offer our customers exclusive recordings and fulfill unusual requests. Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel's »Oratorium nach Bildern der Bibel« is the first cpo production in the label's long and successful history.
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1991
Moving to Georgsmarienhütte
Modern logistics at our headquarters ensures the perfect flow of orders. About 70,000 products are permanently in stock.
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1995
cpo wins »Cannes Classical Award«
cpo gets a »Cannes Classical Award« for best label (worldwide!) at MIDEM in Cannes.
jpc is expanding
After several years, space is slowly running out in Georgsmarienhütte. For this reason, a second office building and a second warehouse is added to the existing headquarters in the course of the year.
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1996
jpc on the Internet
After jpc has already sold music via videotext as early as the 1980s, we are represented on the Internet since its beginning.
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2003
Niedersächsischer Musikpreis for cpo
cpo wins the »Niedersächsischer Musikpreis« in recognition of their creative achievements.
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2008
jpc wins the Echo award for the »trading partner of the year«
The jury of the »Deutsche Phono-Akademie« presents jpc the Echo for »trading partner of the year«. We are pleased about this award because it is a confirmation of our work and the continuous development of our catalog and our customer service.
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2009
cpo producer Burkhard Schmilgun gets an honorary certificate
The association »Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik« honors Burkhard Schmilguns »sense for repertoire gaps outside the mainstream«.
A medium-sized company
jpc is the largest classical music retailer in the world. The motto "Music à la carte" stands for a huge selection of more than 2.5 million items and outstanding service.
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2010
Moving away from the stores
For economic reasons, jpc ends its store business at the end of 2010. Instead we focus on the mail order and online shop.
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2013
jpc wins the Echo for »jazz retailer of the year«
jpc receives its second Echo award. We are pleased with the award for »jazz retailer of the year«.
Introduction of the eCourier
Thanks to the new eCourier, our customers can decide for themselves which artists, genres and media they want us to keep them conveniently informed about by e-mail.
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2015
Grammy and Echo for cpo
We are happy to announce: »La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers« by Marc-Antoine Charpentier is the fifth production of our label cpo which was nominated for a Grammy. In 2015 it finally worked: The Charpentier-recording wins the Grammy for »best opera production of 2014«. In addition, the recording wins the Echo in the category »best opera recording (17th/18th century opera).
Echo for »editorial achievement of the year«
cpo wins an Echo in the category »editorial achievement of the year« for the edition of »Giacomo Meyerbeer: Vasco de Gama«.
jpc is expanding further
Our storage capacity is no longer sufficient. We need more space. In mid-2015, construction of our large new warehouse begins, directly adjacent to jpc's previous warehouse. This third warehouse is put into operation in late fall of the same year.
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2018
Renewal of the entire IT system
jpc renews its entire internal IT system in order to keep up with rapid technical developments and the company's constant growth. The major upheaval has its pitfalls but is successful and puts us in an excellent position for the future.
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2023
Vinyl packaging machine goes into operation
jpc is one of the first companies in the world to put a packaging machine into operation just for vinyl records. The machine was developed in close cooperation with jpc and safely packs thousands of LPs every day.
Introduction of our digital assistant
Thanks to the artificial intelligence of our digital assistant Melody, jpc customers can now find many answers to urgent questions directly in our store.