 |
 |
|
|
DIY: Start Your Own Music Label So you want to take the big leap and start a label… how do you begin?
"Be crystal clear in your own mind that starting and running a record label is a long-term prospect that demands as much business creativity as musical creativity," says author/consultant Peter Spellman. Find someone who runs an indie label, fanzine, music website, or record store, and help ’em out for a few weeks. You’ll definitely learn more about what you’re up against (plus you’ll start networking). Experiences in publishing, college radio, and marketing will also help you here. Get all the traditional small business advice you can; even though your label is cool, alternative, and independent, it’s trying to survive in a competitive capitalist landscape! Nicole Campbell, singer-songwriter and proprietress of Wrought Iron Records, would undoubtedly agree."Don't think that just because you are an ‘artist’ by night that you shouldn't be a shrewd, whip-cracking business person by day," she urges. The US Government’s Small Business Administration can help you out for free. Hook up with their SCORE program and a retired businessperson will share decades’ worth of wisdom with you. Musicians should take advantage of their best local resource: other musicians, many of whom will have already put out their own stuff in some form or another. "Don’t jump in completely ignorant," warns Holly Figueroa of Indiegrrl. "Have a three- or a five-year plan. It’s a business. If you go in with no business sense, it’s going to flop." Creating this plan will probably mean examining your whole life in order to determine whether you’re up for a big commitment like a record label. But there is hope! The Internet is an ideal way to stake out a musical claim–especially if your label is a smaller effort, aimed primarily at promoting or distributing your own work without worrying about making a profit. You can also help other musicians who aren’t terribly concerned about whether or not they ever get radio airplay or see their video on MTV. Online, you can give away MP3 files for free and sell a few home-dubbed cassettes or the CDs you burned at work. If your label does become more serious, you can retail your discs via mail order, sell them through an indie distributor like CD Baby, or work an affiliate program with a corporation like Amazon. And you may find more unorthodox ways to work the online music world. "The digital common has brought all kinds of non-music businesses into a space where creative partnerships can develop," says Spellman. "These non-music partners are fresh and unjaded and excited about associating with musical and entertainment arts as a way of adding value to what they’re about. "In this sense, it will be a better place for indies of all stripes. Forging creative alliances is sort of a mandate for all businesses today so I would encourage all artists, both women and men, to think about what companies–other than recording companies–you share a certain set of values and goals with. Make an alliance and use that alliance to market your music. Remember, the economic structures of the last century are being torn apart. The rules are being rewritten." It sounds like a college kid’s rock-star,/dot-com-IPO-before-the-NASDAQ-fell wet dream. But applied modestly, Spellman’s advice could work for even those who loathe complicated business arrangements. Just don’t sign away your hard-earned independence by failing to read the fine print. And remember: at certain rare points in life, attorneys are your friends. So you’ve made your decision and started your business plan. Assuming we haven’t completely scared you off from the idea, you’re ready to go. What more will you need to do? For each traditional release, you need to record the music; select a format for duplication and distribution; create artwork and packaging; and have the release mastered and duplicated. The Mechanic’s Guide is not up-to-date on the mindboggling possibilities of recording and distributing today (they’re working on that), but its section on mastering is fascinating, full of references to vinyl etchings, acetates, glass masters, and cool geeky stuff like that. Look around on Internet sites like Harmony Central and DIY Search for more info. You can also opt for how-to books, although the technology for music production and distribution is changing faster than a printed book will be able to cover. Diane Sward Rapaport’s book How To Make & Sell Your Own Recordings comes with high praise and features an introduction by Loreena McKennitt. Look for Spellman’s materials through his website. Once the actual CD/cassette/record is in your hands, you and your band have to distribute and promote it. When it comes to getting noticed, you’ll need to be persistent and creative–but you can keep your efforts indie and intelligent. There’s a huge network of musicians, fans, promoters, and media out there who geniunely believe in the Wild World O’ Indie. Use the resources they offer, go to some of their conferences, and check out their showcases. Make sure you’re sending your promotional materials to the appropriate ’zines, radio stations, and reviewers. If you’re reading a magazine and you see a positive review of a band similar to yours, send your band’s package to the magazine. Then try to find the reviewer’s email address online, and ask if you can send them the CD directly (writers often freelance for multiple venues). Don’t rely on someone else’s list of names and addresses as your only means of promotion. Keep your eyes peeled and constantly add to your database of valuable contacts. You may also need to wrangle with some bureaucratic hassles, like getting UPC codes, starting a website, and registering copyrights. Music publishing and performance royalties are strange and complicated: be sure to check out the websites for BMI and ASCAP. The minute you pick your label’s name, register the appropriate domain name (such as www.yourlabelname.com) for your future website. When your site is ready to go, join some indie webrings, in addition to registering it with search engines and music catalogue sites such as ubl.com. Throughout all these processes, "research is one of the most important things you can do," says Holly. She recommends that if you’re starting a label, you should get involved online, and "ask questions, to the point where you think you’re bothering people." And one last thing: this is actually supposed to be fun! So enjoy yourself if you possibly can.
|
It
may sound boring, but the first step for any enterprise is to
figure out what you want. To promote your music, and your friends’?
To have fun and be part of the music world? To actually make money?
Use your fave decision-making devices to help you cogitate on
this riddle. Make lots of lists, do Tarot readings, ask your astrologer;
better yet, talk to your mom’s friend who runs her own business.
Ask yourself, "Am I prepared to eat, breathe, and sleep this
label for the next couple of years?"
