Hi,
There's probably been loads of topics on this one already but I couldnt find any with the search. I'm looking into setting up my own record label, solely releasing vinyl.
Can some of the guys on here that have experience give me some advice on how distributors work, best place to get records pressed etc?
Also, do the people that have their own labels send the music off ton engineer first or maybe your experienced enough to do this yourself? (I'm not!)
So far i basically have the ideas of the first few releases so far including remixers and I also have a graphic designer! That is it!
Thanks for your help guys,
Dave
Setting up a record label
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patrick bateman
- mnml maxi
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Brian Ffar
- mnml mmbr
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I would STRONGLY encourage you to consider the global effects of the economy before jumping into funding a new vinyl only label.
Make sure you've got a sound business plan, and more importantly, an innovative marketing and promotional plan if you want to differentiate yourself from tens of thousands of other labels out there all competing for market share.
This may not be what you want to hear, but you should take a good, hard look at yourself, your motivation, and your plan to make sure you've got all of your bases covered.
Do you have any idea how many units you want to press per release? How many do you think you'll sell?
Do you know what your cost per record is to produce, and how much you need to sell to break even? Consider your options when dealing with distributors. Are you looking to fund everything yoruself, and handle the logistics, or looking for a P&D deal?
How much do you plan on spending on mastering, and what are the consequences of not professionally mastering our work?
Nobody is going to just give you these answers. I hope you look at these comments from the same positive perspective that I'm offering them to you. I truly hope you succeed, but want to make sure you truly know what you're getting into without the glamour and glitz perception of "running a record label."
Make sure you've got a sound business plan, and more importantly, an innovative marketing and promotional plan if you want to differentiate yourself from tens of thousands of other labels out there all competing for market share.
This may not be what you want to hear, but you should take a good, hard look at yourself, your motivation, and your plan to make sure you've got all of your bases covered.
Do you have any idea how many units you want to press per release? How many do you think you'll sell?
Do you know what your cost per record is to produce, and how much you need to sell to break even? Consider your options when dealing with distributors. Are you looking to fund everything yoruself, and handle the logistics, or looking for a P&D deal?
How much do you plan on spending on mastering, and what are the consequences of not professionally mastering our work?
Nobody is going to just give you these answers. I hope you look at these comments from the same positive perspective that I'm offering them to you. I truly hope you succeed, but want to make sure you truly know what you're getting into without the glamour and glitz perception of "running a record label."
Thanks for your reply Brian, first of all I'd like to say that I'm not setting up a label for any kind of glamour or glitz, I have a very strong passion for music and I also have a group of close friends who share the same passion and I want to build a platform for me and them to share what we do with other people.
Alot of the points you've mentioned below I would not have the answers thats why I'm simply asking people who actually work in this industry for some advice.
I'm not going to go off and get 2000 records pressed for the sake of it and I'm not in it to make a profit either. I have a job, along with djing and making music so what I would be looking for is to invest a certain amount of money into it so each release can pay for the next.
Alot of the points you've mentioned below I would not have the answers thats why I'm simply asking people who actually work in this industry for some advice.
I'm not going to go off and get 2000 records pressed for the sake of it and I'm not in it to make a profit either. I have a job, along with djing and making music so what I would be looking for is to invest a certain amount of money into it so each release can pay for the next.
Having considered this same dream myself many many times, I've decided against it and here is why.
But really... Setting up a label just so you can release your own music?! seriously? All that work and effort!?
If your so passionate about music why not just spend your time making it? If your passionate about the business of music, this is what the label is for. And you'll be spending a lot of time doing it if you want any sort of success. even paying for itself.
Be sure you are setting up a label more so than just to promote yourself. Otherwise your not really much of a label. Just a personal distribution site.
This is also really difficult during these times, most people I know running self made labels are not doing so good. Their music is incredible, if not better than some of these top tier labels and releases, but just can't compete with the flooded market and all of the free downloading. Many can't even afford mastering for each release!! because profits are so low per release.
So beyond that in order for this to work, I felt a new label has to be fully active with a solid business plan to sustain itself over a couple years, grow and build a fan base. The label won't be sustainable unless you design it to be profitable.
Sorry if this came across discouraging. It was to me when I was really woken up from my pipe dream when I did my research, spoke with people of successful, partially successful, unsuccessful labels both digital and vinyls(Measured by popularity/self sustainability/income) and decided this was not a great direction to take my music.
I decided it was better for me to network with other artists of like minds that already have stuff going, along with building up a real fan base of my own(Not just 10000 myspace fans) without a need for a record label. When things start moving and it looks sustainable and I have people begging me to put out their music... I may start up a label.
Anyways... back to your plan...
It seems like you are far along with the first couple of releases + remixers. Much further than I was... I hope these guys are pushing vinyls in the market place because those remixers are going to be the ones lubing the deals for everything, Distribution, record sales, connections. (Unless you've already got some records out and a big name for yourself and your already selling tons of plastic).
And yes get your sh!t mastered before sending it to anyone outside your circle of friends. Get at least 3 - 6 releases complete, with remixes, mastering and everything. Again, Have a solid plan. Market yourself and this label concept to these distribution business's. Be prepared to pay for PR so your label doesn't fall through the cracks. Are you really gonna score a P&D deal or distribution without some money and some industry names that are selling records behind it?
I would love it if you could prove me wrong about any of this!!! Its just what I've personally come up with in the past 6 months after dreaming about it for many many years and finally doing my research. Please by all means make me eat my words.
Also... since your in dublin. Give Donnacha Costello a ring. I'm sure if you developed some rapport with him. You could hit the pub for some Guiness and you could get some info about his experience with minimise (Although, this is not a currently very active label (AFIK))
Good luck man!
You and the rest of them. Take Brians advice and really figure out what you have more than just this passion! Understand what your label is about and why your label is setup a certain way and how it markets itself. Brand it.tbag wrote:I have a very strong passion for music and I also have a group of close friends who share the same passion
But really... Setting up a label just so you can release your own music?! seriously? All that work and effort!?
If your so passionate about music why not just spend your time making it? If your passionate about the business of music, this is what the label is for. And you'll be spending a lot of time doing it if you want any sort of success. even paying for itself.
Be sure you are setting up a label more so than just to promote yourself. Otherwise your not really much of a label. Just a personal distribution site.
I'm glad you aren't in it for the money, I don't think any of us here are for it(Maybe with the exception of one dream that it would pick up enough so I could pay for rent and eat well). And this is even more reason to do the math like just like brian mentioned. And even more of a reason to have another label do the same for you.tbag wrote:I would be looking for is to invest a certain amount of money into it so each release can pay for the next.
This is also really difficult during these times, most people I know running self made labels are not doing so good. Their music is incredible, if not better than some of these top tier labels and releases, but just can't compete with the flooded market and all of the free downloading. Many can't even afford mastering for each release!! because profits are so low per release.
So beyond that in order for this to work, I felt a new label has to be fully active with a solid business plan to sustain itself over a couple years, grow and build a fan base. The label won't be sustainable unless you design it to be profitable.
Sorry if this came across discouraging. It was to me when I was really woken up from my pipe dream when I did my research, spoke with people of successful, partially successful, unsuccessful labels both digital and vinyls(Measured by popularity/self sustainability/income) and decided this was not a great direction to take my music.
I decided it was better for me to network with other artists of like minds that already have stuff going, along with building up a real fan base of my own(Not just 10000 myspace fans) without a need for a record label. When things start moving and it looks sustainable and I have people begging me to put out their music... I may start up a label.
Anyways... back to your plan...
It seems like you are far along with the first couple of releases + remixers. Much further than I was... I hope these guys are pushing vinyls in the market place because those remixers are going to be the ones lubing the deals for everything, Distribution, record sales, connections. (Unless you've already got some records out and a big name for yourself and your already selling tons of plastic).
And yes get your sh!t mastered before sending it to anyone outside your circle of friends. Get at least 3 - 6 releases complete, with remixes, mastering and everything. Again, Have a solid plan. Market yourself and this label concept to these distribution business's. Be prepared to pay for PR so your label doesn't fall through the cracks. Are you really gonna score a P&D deal or distribution without some money and some industry names that are selling records behind it?
I would love it if you could prove me wrong about any of this!!! Its just what I've personally come up with in the past 6 months after dreaming about it for many many years and finally doing my research. Please by all means make me eat my words.
Also... since your in dublin. Give Donnacha Costello a ring. I'm sure if you developed some rapport with him. You could hit the pub for some Guiness and you could get some info about his experience with minimise (Although, this is not a currently very active label (AFIK))
Good luck man!
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http://soundcloud.com/kirkwoodwest
http://soundcloud.com/kirkwoodwest
^^^^
this is all very sound advice.
its definitly better to launch a record off the back of a well known club night or an artist thats generating good interest, or if you've got the money, some big remixes.
if you wanna release you and your mates music, wait until they all have records out already. its probably the difference between a business and a vanity project.
minimise is a difficult model for you to work off unless you have a load of releases already and, as was the case with donnacha, you are getting hyped by loads of detroit guys and playing loads of gigs and had the tracks to back it up and get it started. i think minimise is over now, and he has a new label thats had a couple of tracks out already. (those new tracks are really worth checking out also, really melodic)
i hope you do set it up though. just do it. make it work, do limited pressings, know you gonna lose money or whatever but just put out the tracks that you'd like to hear and if it doesnt work out, so what? your down a few bones but you took a risk.
this is all very sound advice.
its definitly better to launch a record off the back of a well known club night or an artist thats generating good interest, or if you've got the money, some big remixes.
if you wanna release you and your mates music, wait until they all have records out already. its probably the difference between a business and a vanity project.
minimise is a difficult model for you to work off unless you have a load of releases already and, as was the case with donnacha, you are getting hyped by loads of detroit guys and playing loads of gigs and had the tracks to back it up and get it started. i think minimise is over now, and he has a new label thats had a couple of tracks out already. (those new tracks are really worth checking out also, really melodic)
i hope you do set it up though. just do it. make it work, do limited pressings, know you gonna lose money or whatever but just put out the tracks that you'd like to hear and if it doesnt work out, so what? your down a few bones but you took a risk.
Hydrogen: Thanks for your input, yes I would be setting up the label to release my music, my friends music and put out music and remixers by my favourite artists, alot of whom I already have a good relationship with.
Can i ask from people with experience that when your tracks are ready to be mastered, do you send the single track to the mastering company or would they take each individual audio file incase things need to be EQ'd etc?
I've had music mastered before but the mastering engineer got me to put a limiter at -3 dB on the master channel and bounce the track down.
Can i ask from people with experience that when your tracks are ready to be mastered, do you send the single track to the mastering company or would they take each individual audio file incase things need to be EQ'd etc?
I've had music mastered before but the mastering engineer got me to put a limiter at -3 dB on the master channel and bounce the track down.