For those with label/distribution deals

[AgentofOblivion]

How did you go about finding the contacts and moving things forward?  What does your deal look like?  For instance, did you pay to record and print and just use them to distribute and promote?  Or did you send them the master and they printed and distributed?  Our band will have a debut record soon and we're amateurs at the business side.  Do you have a list of good candidates for the doom/stoner rock genre?  I'm in America but would love to break into the European markets.  Any general advice?  Ship out some press packages?

[Mr. Foxen]

Ours found us via my side project on the internet, wasn't really a business thing at all, we didn't stand to lose anywhere along the line, and his motivation was genuine. If you go looking, you'll probably come across a lot of total shysters, so be sure to check them out. Licence your music rather than handing over rights, don't send anyone money on vague promises, money shouldn't be coming from you unless you are actually paying for your pressing, to the pressing place, not giving it to them to give to their pressing place. Really, the whole idea of record labels and stuff is going out the window, get a bandcamp, find somewhere to make your CDs, sell them off your own back, all the resources to do so are a keyboard and mouse away.

[AgentofOblivion]

Thanks for the reply.  I guess the only part I would like help with is physically mailing shit out and promotional stuff.  It seems like it would be more efficient to let someone with established contacts help on that end instead of re-inventing the wheel.  Some place with a large facebook following, for instance, where you have access to a like-minded, built in audience instead of having to recruit them one by one.  Maybe the big label paradigm is going out of the window, but I can see a need for a place that takes on artists' material and helps get it to the right ears by establishing trust from an audience via solid releases.  And how many nationally touring and recognized bands do you know of that aren't on a label?  Relapse seems to head the charge. 

[Mr. Foxen]

And how many nationally touring and recognized bands do you know of that aren't on a label?  Relapse seems to head the charge. 

Depends on what you mean by recognised. I know dozens of bands who tour the nation on occasion and aren't on record labels, most I know licence their music to labels, because the labels are in no position to give them any money. Bear in mind I'm dealing with bands and people with in bands from when I get up to when I go to sleep though. If you've already recorded/mixed/mastered your album, there is not much need to sign to a label, you just need the distro, and licencing to a label or pressing your own and going to distros is the more sensible way, the years that a record cost so much you couldn't self fund are over.

[AgentofOblivion]

We are self recording/mastering.  I figure if we pay to have it pressed then it will be easier to convince a company to work with us than if they have to put money up front.  Basically what I want (or think I want) is to say, "Here's the product.  Slap your name on it, take a cut, and use whatever resources you have to promote and sell it."  Do you think that's a sensible approach?  Assuming they already have the website and promotional avenues, it would just be a matter of pushing our product through those established channels.  It sounds so simple in my head, but since I've never done this before I'm sure key details are being overlooked. 

[Mr. Foxen]

How often have you bought records because they are on a tiny label you know, basically, compared to the amount you've browsed online. The guys on the well known labels have done their time on small ones and the indie/toilet/demo circuit. Stuff doesn't necessarily work like that any more. Bands are doing well off their own back, as long as the music is good and they put the effort in. CDs are an old format now, music most moves online. Sell online in digital form until it makes enough money to fund the next record being physical, because that way it shows enough people might give a shit that its worth doing. There's a thread covering bunches of the relevant info on another forum of indie cunts, although there is an associated record label that has released one of my tracks: http://www.ttyc.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53374&p=553251

[AgentofOblivion]

Well, I decided "Fuck it!" and started my own label yesterday.  It's called Dead Groove Records.  The plan is to buy cool stoner rock/doom music at wholesale and distribute it online.  Then use that traffic to promote bands I'm working with (or in).  If nothing else I can write off all my music purchases as tax deductions.  Sweet loophole...  More on this as it gets going.

[moose23]

Well, I decided "Fuck it!" and started my own label yesterday.  It's called Dead Groove Records.  The plan is to buy cool stoner rock/doom music at wholesale and distribute it online.  Then use that traffic to promote bands I'm working with (or in).  If nothing else I can write off all my music purchases as tax deductions.  Sweet loophole...  More on this as it gets going.

What you really want to do here is trade your releases for the wholesale distro stock..that's how most small labels I know work. This way you have other people shifting your records as well as getting that traffic in promoting your bands.

[Mr. Foxen]

And if anyone wants a record label: http://anyandallrecords.com/

[moose23]

And if anyone wants a record label: http://anyandallrecords.com/

Amazing.

[AgentofOblivion]

Well, I decided "Fuck it!" and started my own label yesterday.  It's called Dead Groove Records.  The plan is to buy cool stoner rock/doom music at wholesale and distribute it online.  Then use that traffic to promote bands I'm working with (or in).  If nothing else I can write off all my music purchases as tax deductions.  Sweet loophole...  More on this as it gets going.

What you really want to do here is trade your releases for the wholesale distro stock..that's how most small labels I know work. This way you have other people shifting your records as well as getting that traffic in promoting your bands.

That's clever, I hadn't thought of that.  Thanks.  The hard part might be convincing them that a Truckfighters or Graveyard record is worth trading for mine haha.

[mawso]

Well, I decided "Fuck it!" and started my own label yesterday.  It's called Dead Groove Records.  The plan is to buy cool stoner rock/doom music at wholesale and distribute it online.  Then use that traffic to promote bands I'm working with (or in).  If nothing else I can write off all my music purchases as tax deductions.  Sweet loophole...  More on this as it gets going.

What you really want to do here is trade your releases for the wholesale distro stock..that's how most small labels I know work. This way you have other people shifting your records as well as getting that traffic in promoting your bands.

Yeah that's what a couple labels did with our last EP.  Took on 5-10 discs for their webstore, and paid us in their other releases.  I imagine that they're only trading the releases that they're having trouble moving anyway, so it makes a lot of sense on their part I guess - all that they're out is postage.  Funny thing was, was that nobody im the band actually cared too much about what releases we got in return - we were just excited to have a couple of people on different parts of the planet pushing our music a little bit.