RousseauBABA
New member
well...i think first of all musicians should concentrate more on their music..rather than publishing it..
i don't think many people reallize how many influential, very successful labels are created by musicians. epitaph, fat wreck, dischord, and a-f just to name a few from the punk scene. that whole attitude is what has screwed over artists. it makes perfect sense... but the music distro in the hands of people who could care less about music, besides the money it brings in. its kind of hard to focus on your music when you are being pressured by a label to crank out some radio friendly tunes. sure there might be some acceptions, some good people high up in the industry. but they're kept pretty quiet.RousseauBABA said:well...i think first of all musicians should concentrate more on their music..rather than publishing it..
yep, because the first round of copies has to pay the artist's tab for recording fees and other expenses. where you have indie labels spending just enough to get the band heard, and there is a lot less to make up. most bands on indie labels pay for everything themselves, aside from recording and distribution/marketing. motels gass, food, its usually payed for by the merch a band sells.juststackit said:Also take in consideration that small indie labels can make money off of selling thousands of albums- big companies on the other hand need to sell hundreds of thousands to see any money.
lykwydchykyn said:Why does this thread keep jumping to the top?
Damn it man. You are me! Except I got 2 more kids than you. Running a label is hard work. I'd say the hardest part is radio airplay, plus there is so much stuff out there, it's unbelievable and a lot of them are good too.bigwillz24 said:Maybe my ongoing experiences will clear up why some people should not start there own record company. I started YBM Entertainment a "indie" record label with a couple of friends. Basically we started the label out of frustration, sending demos to big labels only to never hear from any of them, not knowing anyone in the music business circle that actually had the clout to back up all the B.S that came out of there mouths like "Ya man you guys are awesome and with me we are gonna make some serious money or the I can make you guys famous crap. Besides that the paranoia that comes with getting screwed. I have heard songs on the radio here that i would swear that some other label had used the idea from a song on a demo I sent them and made money off of it. Ya I could probably fight it in court but when you don't have the money to back you for lawyers, proof of copyright, and all that other crap well... why try? Starting your own record label isn't that hard. All you really need to do is go down to the county clerks office pay 20 bux for a DBA and file for a Tax Number and bam! your a record label. But thats the easy part making money and establishing yourself as such is the hard part. I haven't made one red cent since i went to the courthouse and "purchased" my business. Why? Because now I have to wear a million something odd hats. I have to be the C.E.O, the producer, the songwriter, the promoter, the publisher,the manager, the musician, the rapper, the singer, web site moderator, well you get the picture. I also have to do all this a a very limited budget usually it what i have left after paying bills in my apartment and taking care of my wife & son. Although fun the project consumes all of my spare time. I go to work 12 hours a day 7 days a week sleep maybe 4 then get up and put up with no name rappers who can't seem to stay out of jail long enough to ever finish anything there recording. After that i sit down and attempt to mix and master stuff that took entirely too long to finish, then try to come up with a new track for that other guy and do all this while my son begs for me to play him and his Legos and the wife wants her QT as well. Im currently working on finishing a full length album for one of the artists i work with he seems to be the only one with the same ideas and the determination that i have and realize that its all hard work. We have 9 songs recorded and we are shooting for 7 more. I would like to focus more on the production but i've already commited to so many other tasks and with no money to hire help well it's usually all up to me. Starting your own label isn't a bad idea to me though, I love music and I was raised to believe that anything that you didn't have to work hard to get isn't worth having. So if you feel that you could run a label by all means start one if not, find one that supports your music. Hell i'd sign you but I have enough problems as it is.
lanterns said:I, for one, have no desire to be recognized by the self serving little bastards. have you seen what's being released by "large labels" these days? hmmm. sorry if you're into that stuff, but it's shite! My "job" as an artist is to create music that is reflective of what I experience in life that other people can relate to. The more people relate to it, the better. Now, I wish I could just get them to listen to it.
lanterns said:speak for yourself. I, for one, have no desire to be recognized by the self serving little bastards. have you seen what's being released by "large labels" these days? hmmm. sorry if you're into that stuff, but it's shite! My "job" as an artist is to create music that is reflective of what I experience in life that other people can relate to. The more people relate to it, the better. Now, I wish I could just get them to listen to it.