[1] They primarily represent instrumental guitar artists, with a focus on acoustic guitar, but include electronic music, alternative rock, singer-songwriter, and progressive rock, with musicians coming from many countries.
[2][3] Rob Poland founded the label in 2004, first signing fingerstyle guitar talent Don Ross,[4] followed by Andy McKee,[5][6] Antoine Dufour, and three other artists before officially opening in 2005.
[7] CandyRat Records has been called the "biggest acoustical guitar label in the world",[8] and the two-handed tapping technique of playing the guitar to produce bass, rhythm, melody and harmony, which is practised by many of its artists, has become known as the CandyRat style.
[10] Recording sessions are filmed and uploaded, contributing to the success of the albums.
[11][12] As of November 2014, the most popular video on the channel, a live recording of Andy Mckee's "Drifting",[13] garnered over 50 million views.