philo’s aesthetic hallmark was its artist-centered culture. the prevailing industry employment of sa&r (artists & repertoire) executives who choose material, hire arrangers and sidemen, and then oversee the production of market-ready music was never adopted at philo. schubart and couture chose musicians, not for only their renown, but for their ability to perform live outside the studio. they often opted to record unknown artists whose work they respected and gave them full control over their own production and choice of sidemen. their goal was to capture on lp the artist’s own vision of their music. there was no prescribed company vision. this, of course, cut both ways. the company produced a number of releases that received significant critical acclaim but sold only a few hundred copies. it also led to considerable success and the debut of a number of new faces in the folk, traditional and, later, new music fields such as: tom mitchell, kilimanjaro, mary mccaslin and jim ringer