record labels 101

[piscaries]

alright, i know starting a label is tough as shit. but i have a tight group of friends that want to start something up. not necisarily a label, but maybe a collaborative network of all forms of like-minded artists under one umbrella (multi-media, sound, anything). we're all trying to figure out what we need to do as far as getting some ground work established. so i'm asking for advice from anyone that may have any kind of input they want to give. one thing we're kind of clueless to on the music side is how do you get in with distributors? i've heard this is one of the toughest aspects. i know a lot of it is in who you know and where you are, but we've been building up a lot of contacts. we want to try to do this punk-rock style though.. doing as much of it as possible from the ground up. maybe even start our own distribution (is this even feasable??). we're all just tired of the dying music scene around us. the same crap is churned out day in and day out and we're all sick of being left behind because we're not what's cool right now. it's as if promoters and club owners have forgotten that up-and-coming is just as good as here-and-now, except that the up-and-coming have more time left in them. we want to try to make a difference and bring the soul and excitement back into our world of music and entertainment. the soul has been draining for some time and it's time to get the blood running again.

so as i mentioned above, any advice is welcome.

¡viva la revolutÃ*on!

[Lady E]

it may be different in the states so i dont know. a lot of distributors arent taking labels on here in europe because there are so many and sales are good generally...find a distributor whose output you like and try to find someone in there who will support you, i guess
i know people who have basically done their own distribution up to a point - a lot easier in the UK which is small and even europe...but start small and build it up - punk rock...find friends with record shops or people who do online shops, or contact some of the cool ones - forced exposure? with your first release. send it to some europeans too! the collaborative network thing should work well because all those people know 100 people and they should just promote to everyone they know. sell your stuff at any shows...eventually if its good and the project is working out you will be offered more structured ways of getting your stuff out there...its up to you to decide how you want to continue at that point!

good luck it aint easy but fun to try. and worth it soul-wise.

[m j]

well... so so.... It is a lot of words

[anarchosyn]

http://music.hyperreal.org/business/

*bam*.. enjoy this..


Don't thank me, thank an old school yank tech writer named chris sattinger for setting this up back in the day.

[Sheridan]

Originally posted by anarchosyn
http://music.hyperreal.org/business/
chris sattinger .

hell yeah. chris is timeblind! wicked producer!!

[piscaries]

timeblind is damn awesome. thanks for the link anrchosyn. i had forgotten about hyperreal.

[piscaries]

...and thanks emma for the kind words of support!

[anarchosyn]

Yes, chris is an awesome person, but I never really really dug his tracks... to loopy for me. Bangers, for sure.. and his newer stuff is nice for background music, but.. well.. at least his personality kicks ass.

;)