PBox, Living for Live Music

Pbox was established by Bertrand Aubonnet in the year 2000. The goal was simple: assemble a team of bookers to develop the live careers of a dozen artists. 

Pbox, a company based in Rhône Alpes, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2020. This office at Mila 18 provides a vital Paris base for a large part of the team.

Our work has also led us to organize French tours for famous non-French groups, like Public Enemy, NOFX, Jello Biafra, Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors.

On July 3, 2011, we organized a gig by The Doors at the Bataclan to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death. The two Doors members performing also honored us with a visit to the office for a work meeting—a sign that the neighborhood was starting to become visitor-friendly.

In 2004, we became the first organization to move into Mila. Since then, this little foothold has become much more than just an office—we've always done our best to make it somewhere our partners (artists, technicians, label, publishers, etc.) can visit to say hi, to have a meeting, to use for storing things, for get-togethers, parties, or even for the occasional sleepover!

Back then, we also had a label called Boxson, which subsequently became Pbox Music, and in 2005, we also set up a distribution company called Anticraft, which employed three people.
At the time, Pbox was very involved in day-to-day life at Mila, and we even worked with the local authorities to co-organize a festival called Le Festival des Attitudes Indépendantes (Festival of Independent Attitudes) from 2006 through 2009. 

The aim of this event was to present as many artists who had come out of Mila as possible at a variety of venues around the 18th district (Phoebe Killdeer, Kill The Young, Sebastien Tellier, Panico, Aldebert, Abd El Malik, Bertrand Belin, Ellen Allien, etc.). 

It was also by meeting up with other people involved with Mila to plan the festival that Pbox began its collaboration with Nouvelle Vague (Kwaidan), who we have been working with for 15 years now. 

Recently another label from Mila, Upton Park, signed the group Bigger, whose tours we manage. That closeness between independent organizations leads to all kinds of synergies. 

Over the years, the various Mila stores opened, the number of businesses increased (restaurants, bars, record store, grocery stores, etc.), the atmosphere in the street became a lot more easygoing, and now it's almost becoming gentrified.

Our work is always changing—this store has seen dozens of artists pass through, hundreds of projects set up—it's essential for it to remain a place where people can rub shoulders and exchange ideas.