Artists who had releases on the label include, Hans Juergen Baeumler, Candlewick Green, Don Cherry, Cindy and Bert, George Duke, Freddy Breck, Ella Fitzgerald, Peter Garden, Errol Garner, Jim Hall, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Rudolf Kempe, Manuela, Oscar Peterson, The Dave Pike Set and many others.
The first of March was the date given for the company's move into the record business with the BASF label making its debut in Germany.
Werner Cyprys a German producer had for some time already been active in building up a ready catalogue for the label's introduction.
[4] It was announced in the 24 April 1971 issue of Record World that BASF had made the decision to move into the pre-recorded tape field.
Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Friedrich Gulda, and Horst Jankowski were the artists that had ready recordings to use.
BASF felt then that in five to ten years that tape cartridges (meaning cassettes) would have fifty percent of the German market.
[6][7] It was reported by Paul Seigel in the 25 September 1971 issue of Record World that 2,000,000 German marks had been paid for songstress Manuela of Telefunken-Decca to come to BASF.
[8] It was also reported that Cindy and Bert were set to do good with their BASF single, "Ich fand eine Hand".
They were Don "Sugarcane" Harris with Fiddler On The Rock, Earl "Fatha" Hines with Fatha & His Flock On Tour, Jim Hall with It's Nice to Be With You, Dave Pike Set with Infa Red, Ella Fitzgerald with Watch What Happens, Oscar Peterson with Motions & Emotions and Hello Herbie, The Kenny Clarke Big Band with All Smiles, Milt Buckner Trio with Play Chords, and Don Cherry with Eternal Rhythm.
[14] Don "Sugarcane" Harris' album I'm On Your Case, released on BASF MC 21912 was also reviewed in the Recommended LP's pop section the 22 June issue.
[15] The issue also noted that Candlewick Green's song, "Who Do You Think You Are" which had an exclusive release in the US on BASF had been in the British charts for seven weeks.
The label's roster had also grown with the addition of five new artists, Angela Branca, Reiner Rodin, Charlotte & Jurgen Wentling, Hanna Heller and Rene Martin.
With a fourteen to seventeen percent turnover from classical sales, BASF was planning to release recordings by Dietrich Fischer Dieskau and Edith Mathis.