Morris Ballen (Photo credit: Disc Makers)
For years, Morris Ballen kept his desk in the middle of the action at Disc Makers.
His longtime friend Harvey Becker would ask how the head of a growing company could get any work done without a private office. Ballen’s answer was simple: “I want to be where the action is. I want to hear what people are saying.”
That instinct helped Ballen transform a Philadelphia record-pressing business into a company central to generations of independent musicians. Ballen, longtime owner and CEO of Disc Makers, died Sept. 21 at his Philadelphia home. He was 88.
His story also belonged to a longer Jewish chapter in American popular music. Ballen’s father, Ivin, was part of a generation of Jewish entrepreneurs prominent behind the scenes of the independent record business after World War II, particularly in rhythm and blues and other markets often overlooked by major labels.
Ivin Ballen operated Philadelphia’s Gotham Records, a recording studio and record-pressing business. The label recorded R&B and gospel performers, including the Dixie Hummingbirds. Morris grew up learning the trade alongside his father and began working in the business while still in high school.
Ivin also operated Ace Sound Service, which supplied recorded music for parties and political events at a time when live bands were the norm. As a teenager, Morris helped haul equipment, set it up and play records — an early lesson in using technology to make music more accessible.
His first cousin, Jack Rosenfeld, remembered accompanying Morris and Ivin to clubs to hear R&B groups they might sign.
“He loved everything,” Rosenfeld said. “He loved the music. He loved the manufacturing part of it and making the manufacturing as efficient as possible.”
Born Aug. 10, 1938, Ballen grew up in Strawberry Mansion and later West Oak Lane. He graduated from Central High School in 1956 and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He served two years in the U.S. Army during peacetime.
Ballen eventually took the independent spirit of his father’s business in a new direction. The New York Times, in its Sept. 27 obituary, noted that “countless independent acts in every genre” relied on his company to produce small runs of professional-quality records and CDs.
Tony van Veen, CEO of Disc Makers and DIY Media Group, placed Ballen among the important figures in the development of independent music.
“I believe that Morris legitimately is one of the pioneers who enabled the independent artist revolution that started in the late ’80s,” van Veen said.
Getting there was not easy. Disc Makers went into bankruptcy in 1980. Van Veen said Ballen “clawed and fought himself out of bankruptcy” by 1982. Becker recalled Ballen borrowing money, investing in newer technology and modernizing the operation.
Ballen’s breakthrough was making record production simpler and more accessible.
Van Veen said that before Ballen developed his approach, an artist might have to deal separately with a graphic designer, color separator, label printer, jacket printer, mastering studio, metal-plating operation and pressing plant.
Ballen bundled those services into one package and price. He also offered smaller production runs, allowing artists to order hundreds rather than tens of thousands of copies and still receive a professional-looking product.
Carolyn Ballen Stanish said her father continually looked for obstacles he could remove.
“Any obstacle that was in the way of these artists, he looked to solve that problem,” she said, whether it involved artwork, design or quantities other manufacturers would not offer.
His other daughter, Anne Ballen Ladenson, said Disc Makers was never tied to a single format, moving from records and cassettes to CDs, DVDs and digital services as technology changed.
“It didn’t matter if it was records, CDs, DVDs, streaming, whatever you wanted,” she said. “We were there to help the independent artists do it.”
Among those artists was a young Eminem. Van Veen recalled him ordering 1,000 CDs, then another 1,000, followed by increasingly larger orders. Then the orders stopped: Eminem had been signed by a major label.
Ballen brought the same curiosity to running the company. He walked the plant, learned employees’ jobs and questioned equipment sellers and operators before making major decisions.
“He was smart and perceptive,” Rosenfeld said. “He sort of saw what was coming before other people did, and he adapted.”
Becker, who knew Ballen for decades, called him “the brother that I never had.” Employees, friends and relatives recalled Ballen helping people with practical needs, from car expenses to engagement rings.
That generosity also formed part of his Jewish identity.
Ballen was not deeply involved in organized religion, his daughters said, but he was proudly Jewish. Ladenson recalled him taking his daughters to Israel when they were young and telling them it was a place where they could always feel safe.
She also saw in her father the Jewish concept of tikkun olam — repairing the world — although he did not use the phrase himself.
One of Ballen’s favorite sayings captured the same idea: “You only have what you give away.”
He remained physically active and intellectually curious and continued visiting Disc Makers late in life. He attended a board meeting just a month before he died.
Van Veen said Ballen’s readiness to pursue new ideas remained one of his defining qualities.
“Morris was a guy who wasn’t afraid of anything,” he said. “Whatever opportunity it was that he saw, he figured we can figure out how to do that.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance obituary writer. She welcomes suggestions for individuals who had meaningful ties to the Philadelphia Jewish community. Email csix@midatlanticmedia.com.