Setting up your own record label

[analog tactic]

So Gimme some Information guys. A friend of mine is going to launch a new record label and i wanted to get as much help for him as i could.

[dan the acid man]

im not experienced or anything, but from what i can remember some wise people saying is,........ make sure you have enough material for a good few releases, so you can release one after another pretty quickly, to keep the interest high.
maybe get an established artist to do a remix on one side.

make sure the material really is good enough to be released.

apart from that, i aint got a clue :lol: :oops:

[Si the Sigh]

I'm sure the Kick The Drum crew can give you some info.

[dan the acid man]

new off shoot label called slap the bass (copyright of dan the acid man 2006)

[Si the Sigh]

And the sub label of that is "Tickle The Top End" (Copyright of Si the Sigh 2006) :lol:

[dan the acid man]

we've got this locked down si :lol:

[Si the Sigh]

We own this shit man!! :lol:

[fresh_an_funky_design]

So Gimme some Information guys. A friend of mine is going to launch a new record label and i wanted to get as much help for him as i could.

get him to slap himself then say "do i have a thousand punds minimum to throw away", repeat process 10x

if answer is yes then go for it


also it take up a lot of time and effort, and sales r shit at the moment not, and it could be very difficult to get going, then keep it going

[dirty_bass]

First and formaost, look at the current market of the genre you are heading for.
There are hundreds of techno labels, send your stuff to them first, another label on the saturated market won`t do much.

No success?, ok, could be for a number of reasons.
1. You just don`t have good enough contacts for people to really bother listening to your stuff properly to give it time of day (a bummer, but common)
2. Your stuff might not fit the sound of the labels you sent it to (try to pick labels that fit your sound)
3. You`re a little ahead of the game, and people just don`t get what you are doing yet. (can be a good or bad thing)
4. Your music is just rubbish.

Right so the above may be applicable.

you then decided, for whatever reason, to start a label.
Be aware, it`s not glamourous, the market is saturated, you might lose sleep over it, vinyl as a saleable medium is becoming less and less viable, you probably won`t make any money, but if you are lucky you may just break even.

If you then are still one of the crazies who wants to start a label (and yes, I consider myself a crazy for doing it)

Decide on the tracks for the first few releases.
then send these tracks to some distributers to see if they will handle the record.
No distribution = no point making vinyl.

Next get about 850 quid together (would do you for 500 vinyl plus 2 colour labels, roughly)
Cut and press the records.

Promote like mad. Send promo`s to DJ`s and magazines, radio if possible.

Some additions you might consider.

Magazine adverts (if you have the money)
Record giveaways at promotion parties
There is always the tried and tested route of paying a well respected name to provide or remix a track for your label, but be aware any sales (fanbase) increase due to the addition of this big name, may well not carry over to your next release, that doesn`t have said big name.

P&D deals
Publishing and distribution.
You can talk to distributers and publishing companies who may be offering these deals.
Essentially, as with any music biz stuff with the word "deal" in it. It essentially involves offering your ass up to people you don`t really know, in return for getting your record out.
Basically, they will incurr all the risk by paying for manufacturing etc, all you need to do is provide the music and promote the music.
You will probably not make any money at all this way (not that money means everything, however, what you will be doing is essentially paying someone else for your hard work). I don`t really recommend this unless you get a really good deal.

There you go.
My main advice is talk to as many people who have labels as possible about it. Get a good broad idea of what to do and expect.
And in this process of communication you may well get contacts that might take your music, and thus shoulder the burden of releasing your music.

[analog tactic]

get him to slap himself then say "do i have a thousand punds minimum to throw away", repeat process 10x

if answer is yes then go for it


also it take up a lot of time and effort, and sales r shit at the moment not, and it could be very difficult to get going, then keep it going

Well luckly for him he can answer this and say "i have 15000 to play with"

[analog tactic]

The plan is to put on a club night to launch the label. Its going to be a 303 based label. I think to help things running smoothly he plans to lauch a house label for times when the techno isnt selling so well.

[fatcollective]

The plan is to put on a club night to launch the label. Its going to be a 303 based label. I think to help things running smoothly he plans to lauch a house label for times when the techno isnt selling so well.

just go for it, not sure about releasing house if techno aint doing well though...i mean would this be 2 seperate labels? or a techy house label, techno one side, housey grooves on the other...would this work......?

its not an easy business to be in, but its good fun if you dont soley rely on the income of the label to support your well-being!! but if you have 15000 to play with and you've got the the passion and patience for producing tunes, then give it ago.

[fresh_an_funky_design]

if he's got 15,000 to play with, he'd prob be much better off investing 10,000 of that in some shares or a high interest bank account then keeping the £5,000 for the label and club night. Then at lesast he might make some money from his money

[fatcollective]

if he's got 15,000 to play with, he'd prob be much better off investing 10,000 of that in some shares or a high interest bank account then keeping the £5,000 for the label and club night. Then at lesast he might make some money from his money

yeah that sounds like a wise move....

@ Fresh n Funky ...so you know about shares n stuff?

[fresh_an_funky_design]

shares... not really, know they can make you money if you get it right. give your money to an investor and they invest it in the right places.

You don't really need £15,000 to get a label going, £2-3000 would be plenty

[analog tactic]

Two seperate labels, but the idea is the succsessful house tunes could be reworked into techno tunes.

[dirty_bass]

With 15 grand you could probably get a very successful label running.
Spend loads on promotion, mastering, get in some guests.
If you can`t make a label or 2 work with that kind of money you need to shoot yourself.
Esepcially within house, spend loads on promotion, and get yourself a nice six pack for the photo`s for the vinyl sleeves.