why are distributions keep going broke?

[Evil G]

on the subject of importing records to countries with high import taxes, has anyone investigated the possibility of doing local manufacture in those countries? instead of pressing 2500 copies at one plant and trying to distribute them to the whole world, press 500 copies each in 5 countries? i know you would lose out on your volume discount for pressing, but would the reduced import tax and shipping costs make up for it or not?

and re: what dirty bass said about teaching the kids that techno has that rebelious counter culture thing going for it, i wonder about the negative impact of hippies. when i first got into the scene, i did so because of the counter culture, temporary autonomous zone, yadda yadd, more so than the music. at first it was being preached by solid people who knew what they were talking about. but eventually, those people got jaded and tired, and now the ones doing the preaching are unrealistic hippies who make fools of themsevles every time they open their mouths. (that's how it went were i live at least). so people hearing about rave culture for the first time are turned off and think it's stupid and childish. maybe we need to take control of our own PR more?

[fatcollective]

i think you have great idea there, pressing tunes in other countries is something that could easily be done. :clap:

[Jimfish]

I cant see how that would save money though.. the first 500 copies are by far the most expensive.. let alone the hassle factor and cost in time.

That is, if you are selling 2500 copies.. you'll be lucky to do half that right now..

[xfive]

I think you'd have to worry about the integrity of the final product varying from pressing plant to pressing plant... thus US or UK records will more than likely end up higher quality than the couterparts..

Do labels and artists want to risk this quality loss for more exposure?

[Evil G]

i dunno. if you are currently selling zero copies in brazil, pressing a few hundred there and having them shipped directly to a distributor there might be worth it, even if the margin is low.

[Jimfish]

unofrtunatly i think the margin on a couple of hundred copies is 0 :(
plus i doubt you would sell that many there anyway..

[Craig McW]

I see what you mean Jim (about the previous page post) and my comments weren't directed totally to you.....

It's just fecking tough to get label recognition, I'm sure you know what I mean. Sometimes doing your own is the only way. But I do see what you're saying.....

[Internal Error Records]

i know at least one label on this forum that presses vinyl in both US and in England :-)

[Komplex]

In my oppinion you shouldn't be starting a label for your own music just because labels knock you back. It should be because you want total control and complete freedom of expression...

[gunjack]

In my oppinion you shouldn't be starting a label for your own music just because labels knock you back. It should be because you want total control and complete freedom of expression...

WORD.

[Ritzi Lee]

In my oppinion you shouldn't be starting a label for your own music just because labels knock you back. It should be because you want total control and complete freedom of expression...

great words,
but try to manage this in the real world.
(I don't want to sound negative)

[TiagoTechnoHead]

Hey Dirty Bass .... I would appreciate your releases here in Brazil .... I would buy almost all ... I´m here cause I love Techno music :love: and whatever I can do help your distributions here , surely I will ...... Techno is going on all over the country .... Every month more and more djs are comming and more and more people are getting interested in Techno music ...... There aren´t many stores , we can count it in hand ...... The labels and the independent could use that !!!!!!!!!!

[gunjack]

In my oppinion you shouldn't be starting a label for your own music just because labels knock you back. It should be because you want total control and complete freedom of expression...

great words,
but try to manage this in the real world.
(I don't want to sound negative)

talk about the real world? ok! TECHNO AIN'T SHIT man, making records WILL NOT get you fat paid. jumping through hoops and licking ass might get you gigs, then you might get paid, but making little techno records ain't gonna bring home the bacon anymore. being a good producer is only 30 percent of the battle. i learned that the hard way. f*ck man, i wish i could do it all over, but i cant so i try to take it day by day... techno will never be the industry it should, and the countries where techno is the at forefront of popularity, like in eastern europe etc, cant even pay flights for gigs most of the time. whats left? the UK?? yeah right if your dave clark. spain? i suppose so, if you got the balls to get away with it. tokyo? if you still play user records and have tons of connects. the germans cant keep up and the usa is a joke for techno, so what the f*ck are we supposed to do?????? why do distributers keep going broke? because techno is a slapstick and the artists are the butt of the jokes.

[Tony]

not sure who can answer this but is it only the techno scene that is feeling the effects or is it trance, hardhouse..pop even...or just the more underground market? .... i mean are the big trance labels and hardhouse labels going under aswel :?: :?: :?: :?:

from talking to peoplein more scenes than just even dance or electronic music, it seems all music is suffering regurgatation. shame really.

[Tony]

i liked someones idea of a website where all distributors advertise what out and it becomes a focal point for fans to see what is really out there. it would be nice to say that the site wouldnt have to run a profit, but it could sell copies of the tracks to survive.
but isnt that what shops are supposed to do anyway, if not stock everything, then at least advertise it and give people chance to see the full spectrum.

also, downloading IS KILLING MUSIC SALES.!!!!!!! to say its not is to say 'i didnt kill that guy, he was stabbed a hundred times, i only stabbed him once'. britney and kylie can afford to loose a percentage of their sales, but your average electronic music producer cannot survive that dent to their sales. you are literally taking food out of their mouths.

[gunjack]

yea man, but what the f*ck can we do about downloading? the question is making the music more accessable, commercially. folks need to be able to go down to the shop and pick up our shit, in every spot.

but, as an artist, without cross marketing like afx twin or richie, no one stands a chance of breaking away from the pack. where is the power to get the music to all of the folks who actually buy it? money, big label contracts like luke slater or ken ishii, shit like this? where the f*ck is the money in techno?


regurgitation indeed.
in many senses of the word!

[gunjack]

the music more accessable, commercially.

and i am not talking about compromising the music i am talking about making the paper to back your shit up and expand. it's like a constant bug out because you gotta be like walking the line all the time and there is nobody to believe in you. **** it what did jay say? the whole industry could hate me i'll thug my way through.

[Mucky Beats]

As a label owner this is a mad time we live in ..... one of the main problems i can see is local record shops are on there last legs! its always been a realy hard thing to keep a shop going... but now with internet shoping people tend to search the net spending there cash at only a few of the big name online stores who tend to have the cash and high number of sales to aford getting all many many diffrent labels ... unlike you local store who find it hard to get a tune in in less they know for shure it aint gonna sit on the shelf for 10 years! Also how many of us put a bag of tunes aside to buy later and then dont get um for ages! thats normaly in small shops cash they are needing to pay the distributors. SO buy ya bags on time .
I hear you say "yeh but if there still buying the tunes online why are distributors going under?" well I got into dance music years ago and the the local record shop was the place that help point me in the right direction and show me new labels and kept me buying tunes. and they helped push local nights and keep djs networking in there local area.
I know this is just one factor that is hurting sales. but if we start by sorting out one thing at a time then the scene will get bigger!

kinda whent off on one there and i hope i made some kind of sense?

[Jimfish]

and they helped push local nights and keep djs networking in there local area.

thats a good point actually..

[Tony]

yea man, but what the f*ck can we do about downloading?

this'll be a very unpopular thing to say, though you all know it makes sense.
BAN SOULSEEK!

it doesnt seem like its a malevolent entity. i'm sure it doesnt mean the artists harm, and i'm sure the people who run it are very much into their music. but when stuff just hits promo, but then its straight onto soulseek, thats undeniably got to hurt sales. if anything this attitude of 'i d/l a track to see if i like it' makes people so much more blase about their music. if it was on vinyl on a platter in a shop i think you would have a different perspective on it, but skipping through an mp3 is such a disposable way of treating something that took time and effort on someone elses part to create (not allowing for shit music here). and then you'll prob keep the mp3s anyway, go on, admit it!

i know something else would appear to replace soulseek, but for right now i do think soulseek is heftily kicking every electronic music scene, and many other aspects of media based information, squarely in the nuts.