This year it became obvious to me that I should start a record label; it became obvious to those around me that I had slipped a cog, and was blowing blue smoke out my tailpipe. Which is fine. Visionaries and skeptics need each other.
Like becoming a writer, starting a label is a process of self-declaration. I am a label! (Wait for thunder. Still waiting). Perhaps there’s more to it than that.
One of the first people I told was a co-worker who is in an MBA program. He’s a bright, articulate guy with excellent taste in fashion eyewear. He asked to see my business plan. Oh, I need one of those? OK, here it is.
1. Find songwriters and bands who are creating original music, and who deserve a wider audience than they are currently able to reach.
2. Using my gear and experience, help them produce recordings they can be proud of.
3. Show them how to get their music online at places like iTunes and eMusic.
4. The artist won’t go in debt to the label. Recordings will be a joint investment of time with little or no cash outlay. We’ll do as much marketing as possible using free Internet tools.
5. We’ll work to create community through social media interaction and live performance.
6. Everything we do will be skinny, fast, and cheap. Instead of full-album efforts pressed to CD or vinyl, our focus will be on single-song digital-only releases.
He asked where the money was. I told him I’d get back to him on that.
If this was the twentieth century, I’d leave you waiting for the next chapter in the story. Instead, I want you to become part of the story. Am I onto something, or am I crazy? What am I doing wrong? Who should I be recording? I look forward to reading your comments.
{Photo by Jeremy Burgin, used from Wikimedia.}
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I did recognize Justin. I think what you are doing is extremely awesome. I can’t wait to see what bands you find and support. If I know of any looking for a label, I’ll send you links. Would you reconsider your no-vinyl policy?
Thank you for your comment! I am hoping these posts create a conversation.
I love vinyl, though I’m not a purist – I enjoy CDs too. For me the problem is that creating and managing inventory goes against the “fast and cheap” paradigm. Physical distribution is a couple orders of magnitude slower and more expensive than digital, and creates problem of depreciation, sell-through, quality control, returns, and slow-paying AR.
Low cost and high speed encourages iterative experimentation. for the time and money of doing one vinyl album wrong, I can do 20+ digital releases wrong, and learn 20x as much.
If we have a breakout release, we’ll serve the needs of the market on multiple delivery platforms. Now find me a soulful alto who writes her own music.