Aphex Twin The Caustic Window LP (CAT023) Kickstarter FAQ - LIVE NOW!

[YELLOW]

I honestly don't really think this a 'game changer' as far as music distribution goes. It's an interesting one-off for a very rare 20 year old unreleased album. But if a new Aphex Twin record came out soon, i think it would be released just like anything else on Rephlex or Warp or whatever

[YangYing]

Any self respecting WATMM'er will surely appreciate the rush, the adaptation, and the general backwardness of the act.

[BCM]

I honestly don't really think this a 'game changer' as far as music distribution goes. It's an interesting one-off for a very rare 20 year old unreleased album. But if a new Aphex Twin record came out soon, i think it would be released just like anything else on Rephlex or Warp or whatever

 

but why? why do you even need a "label"? you don't any more.... used to be that the label would sort out the production, marketing, PR and distribution of the record, but you don't need a label to do that any more. all you need to do is supply some source material and (if you have a big enough following) the fan base will do the rest - from production of a physical release (if that's what people want) to artwork and marketing via social media. what do labels actually do really? where do they add value? these are rhetorical questions btw, just trying to get people thinking about this concept... i personally believe a label is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin - a label for music; a brand, a logo, an image etc. maybe that's not as important as it used to be...or maybe it should never have been important in the first place - after all it should be the actual sound you listen to that creates the image/brand/label etc... i dunno, not saying i'm right, but think it throws up some interesting questions about the whole industry and the traditional model.

[Guest Akiak]

yay!

[YangYing]

[Dale]

 

I honestly don't really think this a 'game changer' as far as music distribution goes. It's an interesting one-off for a very rare 20 year old unreleased album. But if a new Aphex Twin record came out soon, i think it would be released just like anything else on Rephlex or Warp or whatever

 

but why? why do you even need a "label"? you don't any more.... used to be that the label would sort out the production, marketing, PR and distribution of the record, but you don't need a label to do that any more. all you need to do is supply some source material and (if you have a big enough following) the fan base will do the rest - from production of a physical release (if that's what people want) to artwork and marketing via social media. what do labels actually do really? where do they add value? these are rhetorical questions btw, just trying to get people thinking about this concept... i personally believe a label is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin - a label for music; a brand, a logo, an image etc. maybe that's not as important as it used to be...or maybe it should never have been important in the first place - after all it should be the actual sound you listen to that creates the image/brand/label etc... i dunno, not saying i'm right, but think it throws up some interesting questions about the whole industry and the traditional model.

 

I agree with 2WV

Labels are becoming a thing of the past. With things like bandcamp and soundcloud being used rapidly to self-release music, there's no need for labels anymore. Going it alone can be difficult though unless you write very well produced music that has a large fanbase already behind it that is constantly looking for new musicians within that style of music.

 

I think the internet is vastly becoming a means to bolster the individual and their creativity. Every now and then I come across some soundcloud pages of some really obscure musicians yet somehow they receive thousands of plays of their work.

 

It seems to me that playing live will be the real money-maker for bands/musicians in the future.

[YELLOW]

 

 

 

 

I honestly don't really think this a 'game changer' as far as music distribution goes. It's an interesting one-off for a very rare 20 year old unreleased album. But if a new Aphex Twin record came out soon, i think it would be released just like anything else on Rephlex or Warp or whatever

but why? why do you even need a "label"? you don't any more.... used to be that the label would sort out the production, marketing, PR and distribution of the record, but you don't need a label to do that any more. all you need to do is supply some source material and (if you have a big enough following) the fan base will do the rest - from production of a physical release (if that's what people want) to artwork and marketing via social media. what do labels actually do really? where do they add value? these are rhetorical questions btw, just trying to get people thinking about this concept... i personally believe a label is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin - a label for music; a brand, a logo, an image etc. maybe that's not as important as it used to be...or maybe it should never have been important in the first place - after all it should be the actual sound you listen to that creates the image/brand/label etc... i dunno, not saying i'm right, but think it throws up some interesting questions about the whole industry and the traditional model.

I agree with 2WV

Labels are becoming a thing of the past. With things like bandcamp and soundcloud being used rapidly to self-release music, there's no need for labels anymore. Going it alone can be difficult though unless you write very well produced music that has a large fanbase already behind it that is constantly looking for new musicians within that style of music.

 

I think the internet is vastly becoming a means to bolster the individual and their creativity. Every now and then I come across some soundcloud pages of some really obscure musicians yet somehow they receive thousands of plays of their work.

 

It seems to me that playing live will be the real money-maker for bands/musicians in the future.

Very valid points and actually I just remembered how the My Bloody Valentine album came out last year without the help of a label and that seemed to work pretty well. At least if the hype is there.

 

I guess I just don't see Kickstarter as the game changer for music releases. It makes sense in this case, crowd sourcing to purchase a very expensive, very rare test pressing

[jules]

 

 

Any self respecting WATMM'er will surely appreciate the rush, the adaptation, and the general backwardness of the act.

[Guest HokusPoker]

Would you have known about Aphex Twin if he was just another guy on Soundcloud? I don't think all of us can say that.

[Dale]

Would you have known about Aphex Twin if he was just another guy on Soundcloud? I don't think all of us can say that.

We live in a different world now. Back then when he got snapped up by Warp, there weren't many people doing that kind of music (not as many as there are today of course). Now we have a situation where there are so many musicians/bands, of which most are turning to self-releasing outlets as they're just not getting any replies from labels, since the labels are receiving too many demos! I don't work in the music business so I could be very wrong, but in all honesty; yes it's great Richard got snapped up by Warp, but that was a different world back then.

[Guest HokusPoker]

 

Would you have known about Aphex Twin if he was just another guy on Soundcloud? I don't think all of us can say that.

We live in a different world now. Back then when he got snapped up by Warp, there weren't many people doing that kind of music (not as many as there are today of course). Now we have a situation where there are so many musicians/bands, of which most are turning to self-releasing outlets as they're just not getting any replies from labels, since the labels are receiving too many demos! I don't work in the music business so I could be very wrong, but in all honesty; yes it's great Richard got snapped up by Warp, but that was a different world back then.

 

 

Well, but the distribution model doesn't matter then if I understand you correctly. I didn't mean we wouldn't know about him because his music is not that special anymore, but rather because there is this sheer amount of music out of which he'd have to stand out (which he would) AND be known to enough people willing to pay for it (which might not be the case).

 

If there's the name Rephlex on something, I can assume the content to be of a certain kind and quality of music. That's where a label can be very valuable.

 

Besides, I want physical releases.

[Dale]

 

 

Would you have known about Aphex Twin if he was just another guy on Soundcloud? I don't think all of us can say that.

We live in a different world now. Back then when he got snapped up by Warp, there weren't many people doing that kind of music (not as many as there are today of course). Now we have a situation where there are so many musicians/bands, of which most are turning to self-releasing outlets as they're just not getting any replies from labels, since the labels are receiving too many demos! I don't work in the music business so I could be very wrong, but in all honesty; yes it's great Richard got snapped up by Warp, but that was a different world back then.

 

 

Well, but the distribution model doesn't matter then if I understand you correctly. I didn't mean we wouldn't know about him because his music is not that special anymore, but rather because there is this sheer amount of music out of which he'd have to stand out (which he would) AND be known to enough people willing to pay for it (which might not be the case).

 

If there's the name Rephlex on something, I can assume the content to be of a certain kind and quality of music. That's where a label can be very valuable.

 

Besides, I want physical releases.

 

But I see the new artists that Warp signs up these days, and I just do this

I often hear new artists when I listen to either a compilation release on bandcamp (that someone has posted on here who may have arranged the compilation and doesn't belong to a label), or I watch a youtube video and like the music I hear so I do some further exploration. Vast majority of music I listen to are not new artists though, which kind of shows you my high expectations of new music (it has to hit a certain level for me).

 

It is an issue though - attempting to stand-out amongst the rest of new musicians/bands. I'm sure there are many excellent artists out there that will just always remain obscure and unheard. But I think the internet, if used with a lot of effort (and your style of music already has a large audience), can propel an artist without reliance on a label.

 

I think soon enough, physical releases will stop. Just look up on google physical vs. digital releases and you'll see digital sales making up an increasingly larger amount of sales revenue.

[pcock]

 

 

I honestly don't really think this a 'game changer' as far as music distribution goes. It's an interesting one-off for a very rare 20 year old unreleased album. But if a new Aphex Twin record came out soon, i think it would be released just like anything else on Rephlex or Warp or whatever

 

but why? why do you even need a "label"? you don't any more.... used to be that the label would sort out the production, marketing, PR and distribution of the record, but you don't need a label to do that any more. all you need to do is supply some source material and (if you have a big enough following) the fan base will do the rest - from production of a physical release (if that's what people want) to artwork and marketing via social media. what do labels actually do really? where do they add value? these are rhetorical questions btw, just trying to get people thinking about this concept... i personally believe a label is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin - a label for music; a brand, a logo, an image etc. maybe that's not as important as it used to be...or maybe it should never have been important in the first place - after all it should be the actual sound you listen to that creates the image/brand/label etc... i dunno, not saying i'm right, but think it throws up some interesting questions about the whole industry and the traditional model.

 

I agree with 2WV

Labels are becoming a thing of the past. With things like bandcamp and soundcloud being used rapidly to self-release music, there's no need for labels anymore. Going it alone can be difficult though unless you write very well produced music that has a large fanbase already behind it that is constantly looking for new musicians within that style of music.

 

I think the internet is vastly becoming a means to bolster the individual and their creativity. Every now and then I come across some soundcloud pages of some really obscure musicians yet somehow they receive thousands of plays of their work.

 

It seems to me that playing live will be the real money-maker for bands/musicians in the future.

 

Labels are great for finding music in the same vein as something that you already like. i would say that for me, the output of labels like semantica and prologue are more than just the sum of their parts. as a musician its an amazing way to reach a much vaster audience aswell.

[Guest HokusPoker]

 

 

 

Would you have known about Aphex Twin if he was just another guy on Soundcloud? I don't think all of us can say that.

We live in a different world now. Back then when he got snapped up by Warp, there weren't many people doing that kind of music (not as many as there are today of course). Now we have a situation where there are so many musicians/bands, of which most are turning to self-releasing outlets as they're just not getting any replies from labels, since the labels are receiving too many demos! I don't work in the music business so I could be very wrong, but in all honesty; yes it's great Richard got snapped up by Warp, but that was a different world back then.

 

 

Well, but the distribution model doesn't matter then if I understand you correctly. I didn't mean we wouldn't know about him because his music is not that special anymore, but rather because there is this sheer amount of music out of which he'd have to stand out (which he would) AND be known to enough people willing to pay for it (which might not be the case).

 

If there's the name Rephlex on something, I can assume the content to be of a certain kind and quality of music. That's where a label can be very valuable.

 

Besides, I want physical releases.

 

But I see the new artists that Warp signs up these days, and I just do this

I often hear new artists when I listen to either a compilation release on bandcamp (that someone has posted on here who may have arranged the compilation and doesn't belong to a label), or I watch a youtube video and like the music I hear so I do some further exploration. Vast majority of music I listen to are not new artists though, which kind of shows you my high expectations of new music (it has to hit a certain level for me).

 

It is an issue though - attempting to stand-out amongst the rest of new musicians/bands. I'm sure there are many excellent artists out there that will just always remain obscure and unheard. But I think the internet, if used with a lot of effort (and your style of music already has a large audience), can propel an artist without reliance on a label.

 

I think soon enough, physical releases will stop. Just look up on google physical vs. digital releases and you'll see digital sales making up an increasingly larger amount of sales revenue.

 

 

Of course but that's a problem of Warp signing crap, not of Warp being a label.

 

I also discover music through channels like Youtube, but the fact that you mostly seem to like older music kind of says that even in the old times of traditional label signing artists they deem good, good music was produced and found its way to the public. Maybe ESPECIALLY in the old times.

 

I don't think physical releases will stop that soon. Just look at the revival of vinyl. Digital sales are skyrocketing because most people buy and have always bought their music as a mere way of entertaining, just putting it on as background noise for daily work. I'm sure you know this famous quote by somebody that the music industry manages to sell music to people who normally wouldn't listen to music at all. These are the people who don't care about physical releases, cover art, having a collection. Put the artist's face and name on that thing and people will buy it. I'm not judging that, not everybody has to REALLY like music. Anyway, these are the people who are just happy they have to pay less and get their music easier than before.

To others like most people on this forum, I believe, music has a completely different value, and I think this won't change much. I have bought music digitally, but owning a CD or vinyl is a completely different experience.

[PigeonSt]

People realize this is far from the first or most successful music project funded on Kickstarter, right?

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/music/most-funded

[Hugh Mughnus]

People realize this is far from the first or most successful music project funded on Kickstarter, right?

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/music/most-funded

 

 

shhhhh... let them live in ignorance.

[joshuatxuk]

Any self respecting WATMM'er will surely appreciate the rush, the adaptation, and the general backwardness of the act.

 

This.

[calx]

People realize this is far from the first or most successful music project funded on Kickstarter, right?

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/music/most-funded

It was first on the front page under the "popular" listings earlier today...

[Friendly Foil]

Of course labels are still relevant. They're like a filter from all the crap, most of the time.

[BCM]

yeah but do you really need any other filter except your own ears? why do you need a label to define what is good or not? just because a track is on rephlex records, does that mean it's somehow "better" than something self-released on bandcamp?

[Hugh Mughnus]

yeah but do you really need any other filter except your own ears? why do you need a label to define what is good or not? just because a track is on rephlex records, does that mean it's somehow "better" than something self-released on bandcamp?

 

No but it's a good way to collect music of a similar sensibility. Thus the "label" in record label.

 

Like... "hey that sounds like rephlex"; the record label almost becomes a genre.

 

I don't think it's a matter of identifying it as better or worse than something self released so much as it is a convenient way of accessing similar music. I don't know.

[Guest decon]

Backed :) Can't wait to get my mouse cursor all over it.

[Amen Lare]

yeah but do you really need any other filter except your own ears? why do you need a label to define what is good or not? just because a track is on rephlex records, does that mean it's somehow "better" than something self-released on bandcamp?

 

You need filters to get your attention in the first place. Say, there is a 1000 releases on bandcamp on some bright sunny day in future. How will you listen to "good" unknown stuff? If you go by basic filters like genre, the math is that you won't meet music for your liking in a month of mildly enthusiastic surfing. Label must be an equivalent to certain specific taste, so you don't need to do unbearable amount of listening every time you want to listen to something new. That said, the distribution model may rest in past, true.

[psn]

An ideal label has many functions, some obvious ones:

- Discovering talent, nurturing talent.

- Assisting the artist with direction/repertoire.

- Motivating the artist, giving the artist time and means to perform their work.

- Promotion.

- Financing recordings/productions.

- Financing printing of physical copies.

- Distribution.

 

Whichever functions are still relevant in an ever more digital reality will vary from label to label and artist to artist.

[Friendly Foil]

yeah but do you really need any other filter except your own ears? why do you need a label to define what is good or not? just because a track is on rephlex records, does that mean it's somehow "better" than something self-released on bandcamp?

I would totally let my ears do the job if I had an unlimited number of hours in the day. Until that happens, having a label "recommend" (for a lack of a better word) stuff is more than good enough for me. Labels like Tri Angle and Modern Love releases amazing stuff all the time and if I had to search for this stuff myself, I'd probably never have heard 1/10th of it.

 

Edit: I get what you're saying though. Not trying to start a foight here.

Edited April 13, 2014 by Friendly Foil