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Start
a Label and Build and Empire
Part
One.
by Mike Grebb.
This article first appeared
in The
Musician's Atlas' December 2005 Atlas Plugged Newsletter
and is used by permission. The
Musician's Atlas is a fantastic
resource for musicians, containing
over 30,000 music
business contacts.
Back to The
Academy
The traditional goal for many aspiring artists has always boiled down to
two words: Get signed. These magical words conjured visions of stretch limos,
screaming fans, endless bags of money… and most importantly seemed to guarantee
that all of those earthly worries (the crappy day-job, running errands, worrying
about where to mooch the next free meal, etc.) would fade into the ether and you
could finally concentrate 100-percent on music. Getting signed meant
freedom.
Of course, today's artists are a lot
smarter. They now know that "getting signed" seldom equals eternal bliss and
security. In fact, having a label behind you (big or small) can even be
detrimental to a career. Just ask any number of artists who have found
themselves held "hostage" by a label that refuses to promote them or release
them from their contracts. So much for freedom, eh?
That’s not to say labels are bad. The
majors still can catapult an unknown into superstardom (and are uniquely suited
to do so). And some small indie labels are great at spotting talent and
nurturing it along to the next level. But artists have gradually realized in
recent years that the do-it-yourself model of putting out records and managing a
career from the grassroots can yield certain advantages. And in many cases,
creating your own label can give you much more control over your musical
destiny—all without the pressure to sell millions of records.
Ani DiFranco, the poster child for the
successful artist-run label, is a major underground force with a multitude of
adoring fans and the admiration of mainstream press and industry analysts. In
addition to creating music that resonates, her success as an artist/entrepreneur
and CEO of her own label Righteous Babe Records, is supported by her tenacity,
perseverance and goal-oriented approach to her career.
Not all of us will be so blessed, but
her success has inspired countless musicians to shift their goals. Following
DiFranco's example, many unsigned artists now focus on starting their own labels
and growing their own fan bases, which is really the only thing that attracts
interest from larger labels these days anyway. Like most things in life, once
you start making things happen for yourself, the offers will usually start
coming your way. Whether your goal is to eventually get signed or build your own
empire, a successful artist-run label could expand your options if other labels
ever do come sniffing around.
For emerging artists, establishing your
own label is often the first psychological step toward thinking of your music as
a career. "If someone wants to make money from their music, they have to think
in terms of themselves as a business," says Daylle Deanna Schwartz, a
self-improvement guru and author of several music-business books, including
Start and Run Your Own Record Label and her latest title, I Don’t Need
A Record Deal.
And, you don’t need to spend a lot of
money or even get incorporated. Simply registering yourself as a business with
the county clerk’s office will suffice. Once you have officially established
yourself/your record label as a recognized entity, you can open a separate bank
account for all your music business.
Of course, once you become official,
you must act like a real business and follow certain protocols such as budgeting
and keeping track of your expenses (as a business you get taxed and tax
write-offs). Software such as Quicken can help you keep track of these pesky
details. And, it may sound dopey, but the truth is that bookers, clubs,
managers, and even music journalists are more apt to give your stuff a listen if
it looks like you’re organized and professional. "When they see a CD that looks
like it came from a label, they take you more seriously," says Schwartz. So a
professional looking logo, CD, merch and press kit are even more important for
Indies.
Unlike the majors, which are often
creatively stymied by their corporate bean counters, artist-run labels are
usually much freer to explore and experiment. While some operate solely to
support the artist’s own artistic expressions and releases, others like DiFranco
and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, use their experience and clout to achieve an
even grander goal. DiFranco's empire supports artists such as Andrew Bird, Utah
Phillips, and Sara Lee. Ray's "nonprofit label", Daemon Records, nurtures
diverse talent such as the 1990’s darlings, "The Ellen James Society" and 2004
Independent Music Award winners, "Girlyman."
Troy Johnson, a former Motown and
Word/Epic recording artist, just released a self-titled CD in 2005 on Sought
After Entertainment, a record label that he co-owns with business veteran David
Turner. The label is fast expanding "to develop artists with powerful music and
a positive message," Johnson says. He calls the label’s promotion of the group
Chica "a great proof point. We’re already getting an amazing response from BET,
LATV, SiTV, R&R and members of the print media."
The truth is that you never know where
an artist-run label will lead. Musician and singer/songwriter Aaron Cohen,
founded Instatone Brand Records in the early 1990s so he could put out records
by his own band, Paint, as well as other Indie bands that needed some help. Over
time, the label evolved into more of an Internet radio station for
"do-it-yourself," or DIY, artists, who can upload their songs to the site for
free. Cohen’s new site will be re-launching in a couple of months complete with
podcasts and a rating system that Cohen says "will enable listeners to let
unknown musicians rise to the top based on our star-rating system," and will
soon launch a service that will sell MP3s directly to the musician's fan
base."
One of my best friends is Ben
Dixon, a Philadelphia artist with whom I played a lot of open mics in
the Washington, D.C., way back in the 1990s. Ben began his Edgimo record label during that period but soon found
himself using it to help out other artists with promotions and
booking.
"In the beginning it was no more than
just a name, a logo, a mailing address and a point of contact for all the
business related matters such as press, online sales, etc.," he says. "But as
time went on, it evolved into a brand and attracted other artists who wanted to
take advantage of the systems I'd established and my experience."
Eventually, Ben used the entity as an
umbrella for his other ventures, including his growing freelance Web-design
business. "While it has evolved into a different company than I originally
intended, the direction it took is mainly due to my changing interests and
better understanding of what the business requires," Dixon says.
The bottom line is that running your
own label can take many forms and take you many places, but if you start a
label, you must be prepared to run a business. If your goal is to showcase and
monetize your own recordings, Schwartz suggests a simple test to determine
whether you’re ready. "You have to be good enough where your song and
performance can shut people up at a bar," she says. And let’s face it: If you
can do that, sky’s the limit.
- (Mike Grebb
is a writer, journalist and singer/songwriter based in Washington, D.C. He just
completed his debut solo record, Resolution, which is available at www.mikegrebb.com,
as well as digitally on iTunes, MSN Music, Musicmatch, Yahoo! Music Unlimited
and other sites. You can also be his friend on MySpace! www.myspace.com/mikegrebb).
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