By Trevor M of soundsxp.com:
I had always dreamt of running a record label, right from the time when I first got my mitts on a 7” single in the early 80s. When I was in my mid 20s in the time before the internet had really taken hold. I tried, and failed, to start a label from my bedsit in Wales. The band I wanted to release sounded a little like the Orb. They made sounds on their Ataris. I liked it. The label was going to be called Symphobia.
Rewind to my student days in Newcastle in the early 90. Inspired by John Peel and the fanzines I had been buying in my teenage years I had started a proper paper fanzine. ‘Wiremesh’ didn’t last long. I think I did 3 issues. All long lost and forgotten with features on bands like Sofahead and Leatherface. I didn’t find it easy to build and copy zines when I had bugger all money coming in. But I still had a DIY itch that I wanted to scratch.
My dream of getting Symphobia off the ground was always going to be an uphill struggle. I didn’t have the money or the know how for a start. What was a DAT tape? What was mastering? How do I get my records into record shops? (more on this later). How did record contracts work? I probably trawled the back pages of Sounds, NME and Melody Maker looking for adverts from pressing plants that did small runs of vinyl. Because even back in the mid 90s, when vinyl was a dirty word, I still wanted to do my releases on vinyl. After finally getting all the information I required, the band I wanted to release (name not remembered, as they never settled on one) decided to call it a day. So, I was then stuck with the idea of a record label and no one to release. And the local gig scene wasn’t inspiring me to take my dream further. I really didn’t want to release a death metal band from Ystradgynlais.
Fast forward 10 years. The Internet is established. I can browse to websites set up by enthusiastic unsigned bands or even use myspace and hear an unlimited number of unsigned bands making the kind of music that makes me want to release records. Again. Or in reality for the first time. I started out by revisiting the fanzine idea and in October 2004 I started my first proper blog – Lostmusic. Within a few years this had morphed into putting on shows in London and yes, a proper record label, with 7” singles. Some of them even made it into shops and everything.
What had changed? Well, alongside all the bands being readily available, CDr’s were invented and also acceptable and they were cheap to buy and use. So there was no fretting over DAT tapes and other confusing things. The internet also made the doing part of DIY easier. I could easily research pressing plants and record manufacturing online – finding places that were happy to do smaller runs to cater for the micro labels like Lostmusic suddenly made it all more affordable. I could make 500 7” singles for £800. Not exactly cheap – but split between the three partners in Lostmusic it was within reach.
And it’s only when 6 boxes with 500 pristine platters arrive at your door do you realise that making the records is only half the battle. You’ve got to be abIe to flog them, too. So I crudely built a paypal shop on the website to sell the records – I have limited web building skills and the shop was a source of much frustration over time and I have since, for a modest fee, upgraded to a properly designed web shop. I still haven’t really sussed out the distribution malarkey, to this day. I am currently in talks with Cargo about taking my stock.
What I did do was this: I sent the records out to interested outlets like Norman Records, Rough Trade and a handful of others. I then found collecting the sales money is time consuming, especially as these stores take the stock on a sale or return. At first I even found that I was being paid less than it cost per single to make by some of the stores. Talk about putting you off before you’ve barely had a chance to begin.
You can also use specialist distros that abound on line. They often pay in advance for stock and they’re a great way of getting your records to more people. There are places like Fraction Discs in Sweden or Thee SPC here in the UK that often take a few copies and help get the records you’ve spent your money on out to people that might want to hear them! Lostmusic muddled through and after a number of 7” releases and a few home produced CDr releases – I decided to go it alone and my current label Odd Box Records was born just under a year ago.
If I was advising anyone on setting up a small DIY label I think I’d stress the following:
- be prepared to lose a bit of cash along the way – releasing records isn’t cheap.
- only release bands you really believe in, regardless of whether you think they have the potential to make it.
- do it at your own pace.
- try and build a list of useful contacts (be that blogs that like what you are releasing, radio stations and DJs that also like what you are doing or press contacts). You can then write that all important press release to send out with promo copies of your latest release.
- putting on live shows can be a lot of fun but also a lot of stress. It’s also a good way to sell your records/CDs direct to the fans of the band.
- try and get distribution sorted. It’s a nut that I’ve yet to fully crack, but being able to sell your records is a key part of actually running a record label. Without selling records you are nothing more than a warehouse, really.
Related Posts - Learn More About The Changing Face Of The Music Industry The face of music has always been changing, from the days of Mozart to Buddy Holly there has only been one constant factor remaining consistent throughout the centuries, the music industry is a commercial medium. The musical revolutionaries of the 60s might well disagree however even at that point people......
- Communicate Professionally in the Music Industry If you are looking to get out of the independent music scene and seek a record deal then one of the best assets you can have is to know how to communicate with music contacts. The music industry is full of professionals so mastering the art of communicating professionally is......
- Internet Music Downloads and the Music Industry If you are a music lover the Internet music industry has given you access to music like never before. No matter your taste in music, if it's grooving to the latest hip hop tracks, or relaxing with classicial music, no problem. You can find what you like and download it......
Related Websites - How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......
- Return of the B-Sides? The music industry is very interested in the recent movement to return to vinyl turntable records. Bootlegging is infinitely more difficult than merely downloading MP3 files. The lost art of LP packaging could bring in some new revenue. CDs that were never released in record form can now re-sold to......
- Should Congress Bail-Out The Auto Industry? I got into a lively debate yesterday with a fellow student about the bailout of the auto-industry. He said the social ramifications of letting them fail were too high. The impact on the local communities would be too high and so they should be bailed out by the tax-payers. I......
