Draft:Mansions and Millions

Founding and early years

Anton Teichmann founded Mansions and Millions in 2015 after working at the German independent labels Sinnbus and Morr Music.^[4] The label's name is taken from Joan Didion's 1979 essay collection The White Album.^[3] Distribution was first handled by Morr Music, then by Cargo Records from 2020 and by Believe Digital from 2023.

In its first year the label co-organised the inaugural German edition of Cassette Store Day together with the Berlin label Späti Palace.^[5][6] In 2016 Teichmann was one of the initiators of the Off-Kultur festival in Neukölln, staged in parallel with the state-funded Pop-Kultur festival as a critical response to it.^[7] The label was the subject of a 2019 portrait by the Arte music magazine Tracks.^[8]

Critical reception and recognition

In 2020, on its fifth anniversary, Mansions and Millions received the VIA Award in the "Best Label" category from VUT.^[2] The same year, taz published a feature on the label headlined "Pop muss nicht harmlos klingen" ("Pop doesn't have to sound harmless"), describing its output as a notable strand of independent music outside Berlin's electronic mainstream.^[1] Der Tagesspiegel has characterised Neukölln-based labels including Mansions and Millions as part of an emerging pop centre in the district.^[9]

In March 2023 Bandcamp Daily featured the label in its Tape Label Report, noting that its name comes from Joan Didion and that its output spans "'80s-referencing synthwave, gauzy dream pop, and arty bedroom studio experimentation".^[3] The English-language indie music site Nothing But Hope and Passion profiled the label in its "Label in Focus" series in 2022.^[10] Teichmann has been interviewed about the label by Kaput Magazin^[11] and by Berliner Zeitung.^[12]

In April 2026, Teichmann was quoted by The Guardian in a feature on viral-marketing agencies in the indie music industry, where he argued that "the same few platforms now control access to audiences" and called for greater transparency in music marketing. The article described Mansions and Millions as an indie label "home to artists including Discovery Zone and Sean Nicholas Savage".^[13]

Tenth anniversary

In 2025 the label marked its tenth anniversary with a series of events, including a festival on 30 May 2025 at LARK/Fritzroy Park in Berlin featuring ten acts from the roster.^[14] Teichmann was profiled in feature interviews by The Berliner and the Berlin radio station Refuge Worldwide,^[4][15] and the label appeared on the music platform Nina Protocol with a label mix and accompanying interview.^[16]

In addition to releasing music, Mansions and Millions operates as a press agency, music publisher (in cooperation with Kick The Flame) and concert promoter.^[11]