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Special mu[sic] premiere double-bill, two for the price of one extravaganza! ****PART ONE: Doin’ It for Themselves: Women-owned Record Labels ****PART TWO: Doin’ It forYourself: Start Your Own Label!
Doin’ It for Themselves If you’ve wended your way through the web to this, the first installment of mu[sic] in SIGNUM, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the indie ethic. America’s landscape of strip-mall media feeds and Disn-O-tainment is dotted with oases of independent filmmakers, musicians, handcrafters, publishers, and hey, lil’ webzines like this one. If we’re gonna be a consumerist society, at least we can consume and create interesting stuff.
But you don’t have to be a big name to do it yourself. In 1989, Kristin Thomson and Jenny Toomey started Simple Machines "because there were a number of bands in the DC area that had music they’d recorded, but no labels were interested in releasing their albums," explains Kristin. The duo became well-known for their band, Tsunami, and for the Simple Machines roster, which included bands like Scrawl and Ida. They achieved lifelong underground fame by producing a document called the Mechanic’s Guide, which gathered resources for others who wanted to release records. What’s the advantage of starting your own label? "Total freedom," says Holly Figueroa, who heads up the not-for-profit independent label Indiegrrl. Indiegrrl started out as an online community primarily composed of female singer-songwriters. Soon, members were booking tours together and Holly released the label’s first compilation CD. Says Holly, "It’s me and four other industry people that come over to my house and drink coffee and eat donuts and listen to CDs… I can pretty much do whatever I want." Freedom and creative control motivate Kristin, too: she says "Because we released our own band’s CDs, we never relinquished control of our own material." "Running your own label is time consuming," warns Peter Spellman, indie music consultant and author of The Self-Promoting Musician. But it may be worth it: "Nine out of ten major and large indie releases fail to turn a profit anyway, it’s no more risky to do it yourself." If you run your own label–and our handy-dandy DIY article should give you a place to start–you may spend 40+ hours a week raising fundage, doing research, and promoting bands, without necessarily seeing a dime in profit. "You end up spending a lot of time doing the nuts and bolts work–from making phone calls to cutting cardboard into squares," Kristin admits. Holly spends her time doing research on radio stations, running an email list and website, and, as she puts it, "licking the stamps." Money is also a recurring problem. Though she has accepted sponsorships from other independent businesses, Holly says she’s turned down corporate sponsorships–and that means more work on a shoestring budget. Simple Machines found that the worst part of running a label was "the sheer volume of work and the lack of access to a constant and steady source of income." Still, the sense of community that develops around independent enterprises (like record labels and ’zines) can be inspiring for everyone involved. When Indiegrrl members perform together or appear on a CD, "their idols don’t have to be major label artists anymore," says Holly. Instead, their new idols might be sitting right next to them, onstage, and mentor relationships often emerge. Kristin is equally enthusiastic about running a label, even though she and Jenny closed down Simple Machines to pursue other aspects of their lives. Among her many favorite things about the label, she lists "learning new skills, meeting all the incredible people who are part of the music community, supporting our favorite bands in the most essential ways, and going on tour across the country many times." And doing it yourself is the best way to learn about anything. "I think that it’s good for anyone to try to release their own stuff," concludes Kristin.
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Grrrls
and women in music have dedicated themselves to this effort by
starting their own record labels. At the top of the industry,
we’ve got Madonna’s Maverick Productions, which puts
out successful soundtracks and signs artists like Canadian angst
poster girl Alanis Morissette, bass player Me’shell Ndegeocello,
and William Orbit, the producer everyone has suddenly "discovered."
Every grrl’s favorite folkie Ani diFranco has Righteous Babe
to call her own, and former Til Tuesday frontwoman, singer-songwriter
Aimee Mann, launched SuperEgo Records last year. Missy Misdemeanor
Elliott, Queen Latifah, Michelle Shocked, Jane Siberry, and Loreena
McKennitt all have their own labels. Some offer the artists’
own work; others are basically production deals with larger labels.
