DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
* You’re a good musician, and you might have written several songs. But the next steps aren’t clear. You’re not entirely sure what comes after the music has been written.
* After sending in your songs to a record label or two (or two hundred) you keep facing rejection after rejection.
* You’ve got your songs uploaded to a few online music directories, but no one’s listening. You’re starting to realize that just giving your music away doesn’t automatically turn listeners into fans.
* Playing the same dozen clubs in your hometown and neighboring cities is nice, but you crave more. The problem is, no one outside of your region has heard of you. How do you expand your listenership?
If the above issues strike home, you might want to consider how starting your own record label can help. If music is your passion, but you feel in over your head when it comes to the business, contracts, laywers, etc. then it may be a good time to explore such an option. To be a successful independent artist, you must promote your albums, get people to buy, seek wide distribution, tour, and eventually get radio play. Accomplishing these goals without any kind of record label or business abstraction at all will certainly make things more difficult. THE TRADITIONAL PATH
Most artists that send their demos to record labels will never hear back. The fact is, as a musician, it’s next to impossible to get ahead in the music biz by hoping someone at a record label will “discover” your demo and be as passionate about it as you are. By continuing to send your demos to record labels, you’re wasting a lot of time and effort that could be better spent purusing more productive (and lucrative) goals.
It’s key to realize that the communication and relationship between an artist and his or her fans is the most important aspect of success in the music industry. There are dozens of businesses that want a share of that relationship: record labels, distributors, CD pressing agencies, and recording engineers to mention only a handful.
Most musicians lose a lot of money in this industry. Sad but true. Many artists will only see pennies of every $15 CD sold – and those are the “big ticket” names. The little guys end up owing their record label money for the cost of the sound engineering, music videos, and promotion. The little guy doesn’t stand much of a chance.
By sending in music to record labels, you also risk losing your songs. Though rare, having songs stolen by a record label – either in part or in full – does happen. It’s your word against theirs, but they’ve got billions of dollars and a team of bloodthirsty lawyers backing them up. STARTING YOUR OWN RECORD LABEL
The primary reason to start your own record label comes down to money. As the head of your own record label, your share of the profits is much higher. Think dollars instead of cents. While most independent labels can’t match the distributing power of a major record label, you might eventually make just as much money as a signed artist.
Successful independent labels can also produce the music of other artists, or lease equipment to them. This is a great way to generate extra money! And by going down the road of profit sharing, an independent label can make everyone involved wealthy.
By owning your own record label you get to control how your music is sold, to whom, and how much it sells for. You get to determine how much your label get paid, you get to set your own touring schedule.
Even more important is the layer of protection that a record label offers. What if you get sued because you get sick and have to back out of an important gig? If you’re flying solo, then you personally have to absorb all of the costs of dealing with legal issues – you could even face bankruptcy. But if you’re promoting your music through your own a record label, a corporate entity, your label is the one that suffers the concequences – not you. This is an extremely important concept to understand, and one that could save you thousands of dollars in legal fees.
The bottom line is that starting a record label is an idea worth considering for any musician who is serious about success. It’s not easy – nothing worth doing ever is. But it is a great way to take your music, and your career, to the next level.