Label discussion/recommendation

[DeliKuvveti]

Hi folks!

Those of you that are signed to label - could you share your experience? How did you find a label that fits your style or were you found/discovered?  Were you introduced to each other via common networks? Tell us about your experience!

I think most of us are eager to get their music heard more. We can utilize this thread to recommend labels that are looking for artists based on genre as well.

Edited June 15, 2021 by DeliKuvveti

[ignatius]

i self released vinyl in 2001ish. (still have about 50 copies if anyone wants one) someone who bought it played it for a guy who ran a label. he liked it and reached out. that was Rocket Racer records. now defunct.. since like 2007 i think.. or 2006 maybe. made a bunch of friends through that experience and played a lot of fun shows. was all gravy or icing or whatever. salad days part 2 or something. 

then i just started my own label and released a bunch of friend's music and then life went into a ditch of sorts. but i'm still releasing stuff.. mostly my own or things i collab on. 

unless you some how get into the ear of a label that has reputation, foot print online etc then you might as well just release your own music. otherwise.. it's who you know (networking), playing live, being lucky, and of course being good. 

i don't really have any advice about any of this. the world has changed so much. an experience from 20 years ago doesn't have much in common w/how people are getting stuff released today? at least i don't know if it does. seems like most people just self release, do small runs of cassettes or vinyl, play live locally and do a regional tour when they can, have a social media presence.. or they do youtube tutorials and become gear vloggers. 

the music industry has always seemed an impenetrable mess to me. 

[dingformung]

stop labelling things

stop the discussions

this is cancelled

fuck off

send me a video of you cumming

[purlieu]

21 hours ago, ignatius said:

unless you some how get into the ear of a label that has reputation, foot print online etc then you might as well just release your own music.

Nah, whenever I self-release I sell between two and 20 copies. Last time I released on a label - only a tiny DIY cassette one - the album sold 120+. Ultimately, even if it's a small label, you're only ever going to add to your own fanbase by including the label's fanbase in the sphere of people who'll hear the album. 

Lots of thoughts on this subject which I'll pop in this thread tomorrow.

Edited June 16, 2021 by purlieu

[ignatius]

24 minutes ago, purlieu said:

Nah, whenever I self-release I sell between two and 20 copies. Last time I released on a label - only a tiny DIY cassette one - the album sold 120+. Ultimately, even if it's a small label, you're only ever going to add to your own fanbase by including the label's fanbase in the sphere of people who'll hear the album. 

yeah.. i mean.. that's kinda what i was saying. the idea is move up and not laterally. there's a lot of labels that can't do anything for the artist beyond what the artist can do for themselves. 

[thawkins]

12 hours ago, purlieu said:

Nah, whenever I self-release I sell between two and 20 copies. Last time I released on a label - only a tiny DIY cassette one - the album sold 120+. Ultimately, even if it's a small label, you're only ever going to add to your own fanbase by including the label's fanbase in the sphere of people who'll hear the album. 

Lots of thoughts on this subject which I'll pop in this thread tomorrow.

Sent you a PM to hear your thoughts on an album/track by the way.

If anyone else is interested, let me know I will send a private link too, I just don't want it to be out on the public forums yet.

It's a huge 47 minute generative ambient masterpiece. 

[acid1]

I have never tried to seek out a label and no label has ever tried to seek me out.

Most likely mutually beneficial to both parties

[TubularCorporation]

12 hours ago, ignatius said:

a lot of labels that can't do anything for the artist beyond what the artist can do for themselves. 

The thing is, not everyone who makes decent music is good at self promotion (and a lot of people who are good at self promotion make crap music, but that's a different discussion). 

Edited June 16, 2021 by TubularCorporation

[xox]

21 minutes ago, thawkins said:

Sent you a PM to hear your thoughts on an album/track by the way.

If anyone else is interested, let me know I will send a private link too, I just don't want it to be out on the public forums yet.

It's a huge 47 minute generative ambient masterpiece. 

Do you like your music so much that you listen to it regularly, and you like it so much that it’s on your own top-something list of all time?

Also, would you play 30 euros/dollars for a flac album if it were someone else’s music? 

[purlieu]

12 hours ago, ignatius said:

yeah.. i mean.. that's kinda what i was saying. the idea is move up and not laterally. there's a lot of labels that can't do anything for the artist beyond what the artist can do for themselves. 

That doesn't really go with what I was saying. My point is: if you have followers, be it five or 500, if you release on a label, you'll still keep those original followers, and add any the label, be that five or 500. Going through a label can only increase the number of people who hear the album.

Some of the attitude in this thread seems really strange to me, possibly because I know a ton of musicians away from here and all of them release stuff on labels. There are tens of thousands of DIY labels out there putting out tapes, records, CDs and such, not to mention countless more doing digital releases. I have little experience with digital ones - 99% of my listening is physical, so I tend to stick to those kinds of labels. 

Discogs is a good starting point for finding labels. Go to the explore page and filter by decade and then this year, maybe last year too, then filter by the physical format(s) you're interested in, and the genre(s) that suit your music. Might be worth filtering by 'Album' if you're not planning on putting out singles, especially for more dance-leaning genres. You'll come up with hundreds of results, so just work through them gradually. I tend to click on any Bandcamp pages that are linked on the Discogs page, then have a scout through the last ten releases - you only need to listen to a song or two from each release to get any idea of the label's overall aesthetic - and then any that are of decent quality and sound like they'd be interested in the kind of music I put out, I put into a new list. It's time consuming, but in the end you'll come up with maybe 50 to 100 labels that are musically suitable and currently active, and will probably have found a bunch of releases and labels you like along the way (a lot of the music I buy is stuff I've come across when searching for labels). Then get in touch with each label, most won't reply or won't be accepting demos, but ideally you'll still get it down to 10 or 20. Maybe one or two will be interested in putting your music out. Maybe they won't, in which case it's back to the search - maybe widen it, maybe use Bandcamp tags - or time to give up and self-release. You can also look at any smaller artists you're already a fan of and see what labels they're releasing through. 

If you're moving up from self-releasing then there won't be any 'signing' to a label, it's literally a case of they'll work with you to release usually between 20 and 100 copies of a release on whatever format, maybe more if you strike it lucky. I've put stuff out on around 25 labels in the past ten years, sometimes the release hasn't got much interest (although always more than it would if I'd self-released), sometimes it's done really well, sold out quickly and ended up with radio play and good reviews and I've gained a bunch of followers from it. A couple of labels I've come across like this I've had a continuing working relationship with over quite a few years. I don't do myself any favours by radically changing alias and musical style every few years - I was getting some traction with my acoustic ambient stuff in late 2014, just as I scrapped that project and started up a '90s IDM inspired thing that alienated quite a few people - but aside from that, from the various label releases I've had over the years I've picked up a number of people who now buy everything I put out, who I suppose could be described as 'fans', and it increases by one or two people every time I do a new release like that. 

It's often a slog to actually do it, sat at the computer for hours on end trawling through stuff, and being out of work has definitely meant it's an easier task for me than it would be for a lot of people, but ultimately my music's been bought by hundreds of people who would never have come across it otherwise, and I'm now making hundreds of £££ a year instead of about a tenner, which is what I was getting when I was self-releasing stuff years ago. 

[thawkins]

40 minutes ago, xox said:

Do you like your music so much that you listen to it regularly, and you like it so much that it’s on your own top-something list of all time?

Also, would you play 30 euros/dollars for a flac album if it were someone else’s music? 

There are some tracks I am happy about and I will listen to occasionally.

However going for a label in my case I do not care about the money aspect of it. For me what matters is that I get my music out there for people who might be in the correct headspace to enjoy listening to it. And also to get opportunities to play live.

Making money from it is a distant cherry on top of the pyramid of Giza.

[xox]

1 minute ago, thawkins said:

There are some tracks I am happy about and I will listen to occasionally.

However going for a label in my case I do not care about the money aspect of it. For me what matters is that I get my music out there for people who might be in the correct headspace to enjoy listening to it. And also to get opportunities to play live.

Making money from it is a distant cherry on top of the pyramid of Giza.

You didn’t understand why I asked you those questions! Can you please try again to answer them, with yes and no?

(I wasn’t talking about earning money but your perception of your own music.)

[diatoms]

11 minutes ago, thawkins said:

pyramid of Giza

                                            8 sided great pyramid of giza

                                                  

[thawkins]

13 minutes ago, xox said:

You didn’t understand why I asked you those questions! Can you please try again to answer them, with yes and no?

(I wasn’t talking about earning money but your perception of your own music.)

I think yes to both questions. So far I have never paid that much for a download only album, only if it comes with a vinyl.

[xox]

10 minutes ago, thawkins said:

I think yes to both questions.

Then you’re ready to contact a label with THAT material. 

 

10 minutes ago, thawkins said:

So far I have never paid that much for a download only album, only if it comes with a vinyl.

Yes i know! Purpose for that question was just to determine your view of it being worth to listen/own. If you like it enough, if you think that it brings something new and/or worthwhile to the world, then your chances for finding another person that feels the same jump significantly imo (bc chances are you might be right about it)

Edited June 16, 2021 by xox

[diatoms]

                                  

1 hour ago, xox said:

Do you like your music so much that you listen to it regularly, and you like it so much that it’s on your own top-something list of all time?

                                            isn't there an interview where rdj says he enjoys listening to his own music the most

                                                                       i'm working on that as we speak

                                                           if my music raves me over and over

                                                                           then its time to find a label to release

                                                              yes i do listen to my one song over and over and its one of my favorites besides aphex

                                                                  i don't think a label would touch this though:)

[xox]

8 minutes ago, diatoms said:

if my music raves me over and over                                               then its time to find a label to release

imo it’s the easiest way to determine if it’s any good + the imagined purchase test

 

8 minutes ago, diatoms said:

i don't think a label would touch this though:)

That why I said that it may not be enough; it just adds to your chances,  nothing else 

Edited June 16, 2021 by xox

[purlieu]

To be fair, a lot of musicians never listen to their music once it's finished, so the first question isn't an entirely fair one.

[xox]

28 minutes ago, purlieu said:

To be fair, a lot of musicians never listen to their music once it's finished, so the first question isn't an entirely fair one.

Ok, maybe they’ve had enough of it but at some point they maybe liked it equivalently that much 

Edited June 16, 2021 by xox

[Zephyr_Nova]

I think the few times I had music released on labels, it ended up being heard less than the albums I released myself, because I left it to them to do promo, which amounted to basically nothing.  So yeah, either find a reputable one or release it yourself.

One label was good for getting a project included on festivals that they were a part of.

[dcom]

Quote

So, you want to start a record label or self-release your own music? Then this is the resource you need. You are looking at the ultimate guide to starting, running and growing your independent record label. You will learn all about the music industry business and how to navigate the tricky dos and don’ts. You will finally understand and take control of your music copyright and get to grips with the legalities involved. You will build your label effortlessly, learning how to professionally market your music and artists – allowing you to reach thousands of fans. And, essentially, you will learn how to create multiple label revenue streams to create an established record label.

Nick Sadler: The Label Machine - How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Record Label (Velocity Press)

Edited June 16, 2021 by dcom

[TubularCorporation]

5 hours ago, purlieu said:

There are tens of thousands of DIY labels out there putting out tapes, records, CDs and such, not to mention countless more doing digital releases. I have little experience with digital ones - 99% of my listening is physical, so I tend to stick to those kinds of labels. 

When I recommended starting a thread like this, my hope was that it would be about sharing ideas/suggestions/resources for sifting through those thousands of DIY labels.

 

2 hours ago, dcom said:

Nick Sadler: The Label Machine - How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Record Label (Velocity Press)

That looks like a good book but the process it's describing sounds absolutely miserable to me, hence wanting to connect to existing labels so I don't have to spend a bunch of time doing that shit when I could be making more music.

[thawkins]

2 hours ago, dcom said:

Nick Sadler: The Label Machine - How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Record Label (Velocity Press)

This is cool but it really feels like "running a label" is something like "getting into eurorack", i.e. a huge waste of money and energy that will allow you to say "i make modular music" ("i run a label").

That said it would be wonderful to know how to deal with all this licensing, fingerprinting and copyright crap because I don't think even experienced label runners have all that stuff down at the moment.

And I always felt like running a label would mean that you have to be a sociable person who gets around, befriends artists and other industry people, spiking their drinks at parties and stealing their ipods full of lossless demos so they can release it and make it look like it's all cool and legal. Also a person who runs a label has to - in my headcanon - be a really good and popular DJ who has 3 podcast shows and is a regular in at least one club.

 

1000 thanks @purlieufor that informative post, I guess it's time to start trawling.

[thawkins]

2 minutes ago, TubularCorporation said:

When I recommended starting a thread like this, my hope was that it would be about sharing ideas/suggestions/resources for sifting through those thousands of DIY labels.

It really looks like a job search. Send out your crappy CV to 100s of companies (labels) and maybe someone will care enough to listen to your demos, and even less of a chance that they like it enough to put it out.

I think for me it means a lot that even "experienced label-releasing artists" are doing this same thing over and over, and there are no cool boys and girls clubs that you can get into automagically. Maybe.

[purlieu]

4 hours ago, Zephyr_Nova said:

I think the few times I had music released on labels, it ended up being heard less than the albums I released myself, because I left it to them to do promo, which amounted to basically nothing.  So yeah, either find a reputable one or release it yourself.

Yeah, unless you're with a 'big' label, you still have to do the same level of promo you normally would. It's just a case of expanding your potential listener base by whatever amount the label already have. It's also worth checking their Bandcamp, etc. If they only have seven purchasers 18 months after an album's been released then they're probably not worth your while. If they've released runs of 50 tapes and they've all sold out then you've probably got 50+ extra listeners if you release on the label and do your usual promotion.

1 hour ago, TubularCorporation said:

When I recommended starting a thread like this, my hope was that it would be about sharing ideas/suggestions/resources for sifting through those thousands of DIY labels.

I have no idea if there are any websites out there that would really help, other than this thread literally being a list of labels who accept demos. Which would obviously be fine. 

From that perspective, if anybody has any '90s ambient techno/ambient IDM type music they want to release on CD, there's a bunch of labels who all seem very open to demos: Carpe Sonum, ...txt, Databloem, Fantasy Enhancing and Neotantra. The last two are run by former Neo Ouiji owner Lee Norris aka Metamatics.