Starting Indie Record Label

Hey, Sup Forumstants!

I am gonna tell you my faggy little story, and then I am going to ask for advice.

>Love music
>Want to help advance music scene in my somewhat small town/region
>Contact state business office and discover there isn't a single record label in the lower-half of my state
>Start approaching friends to bounce ideas
>"Nah, you should start a music magazine."
>"No, you need to become an entertainment promoter for shit like magicians and bands"
>"Go back to school and teach music"
>Decide to press on despite lack of support
>Doing constant research
>Have everything set up to open a humble little studio
>Getting ready to pull the trigger on a bunch of equipment
>Suddenly get nervous
>mfw

Have I lost my mind?

Is there a single user on here who happens to run an independent record label?

Would helping local bands improve/release content actually help our decent music scene?

>inb4 neck yourself faggot

I am well aware of my faggotry. I just want to live a dream, goddammit.

What bands/musicians do you have on your label?

Right now, I just have one band interested, which is a local punk rock band I adore.

I am trying to move slowly and somewhat smoothly so I don't drown myself in debt/failure.

I would piss my pants in your position, user. You are very brave and I am very happy for you.

Will you upload your band's releases to bandcamp?

I do like their "pay what you want" system. Why do you ask about Bandcamp?

That's cool as shit, user. I would gladly support your catalog.

Good luck man, don't forget to promote yourself on every music e-outlet and hope you sign the next Oasis

follow your dream! take fate by the hand!

Wow, sounds interesting.

if you have the means to really get a studio space going then i don't see what could go wrong. do you have any production knowledge yourself? that would help. if you'll be the only local label just get all the bands u can and do yr best to make their shit good. good luck wish i could do what you're doing.

always remember that you're running a small business, so all the same rules apply, chiefly: never invest so much of your own money that you can't afford to have it fail

Sounds like a pretty cool idea. Tbh I might pursue it one day after my passion for music goes away, and I become realistic

If you have the space and money, do it. I mean, make sure you can still eat and shit.

A label and a studio alone probably won't cut it I guess, try to find a venue / basement where you could book some shows semi-regularly. Or do gigs get booked easily in your area?

Also, find a smaller but active internet community (like some subreddits) that your label can cater too with other active interested souls, for instance the emo subreddit has some record label owners posting there (not that much) and people get hyped on their stuff. Like, the punk subreddit would be horseshite for doing the same thing since they just post the same fucking songs every week and aren't really a community so to speak.

Giving your local scene an actual label would help, yes. Independently releasing your own shit is a pain in the ass + it allows there to be one uniting label for all the artists so that outsiders can have a better idea of the scene

So the band's can get some exsposure online

where are you from?


kick ass dude

Despite a solid music scene and tons of venues, no one has undertaken this. It is definitely weird.

I do have a solid amount of production knowledge, and I enjoy audio engineering theory.

A city you have likely never heard of called "Beckley, West Virginia."

The southern part of the state is obsessed with the arts and growing our image to something other than being supposed cousin-fuckers.

The state's largest engineering college put a satellite campus in town this year and financial projections are good. I see it as a positive since it might help with our graying-population.

To be honest, as hopeless and angry as people in my state feel, it is more likely that I could find some angst-filled band who sings about the opioid crisis, old people being close-minded, and ecomic despair.

Like, how many bands could you sign like straight of the bat? How familiar are you with those persons? I've read lots about record label owners getting fucked over by like one scumlord from a band they signed. Also, be aware about pedo rumours and that kinda shit: if you know the band JANK, these guys had a smallish label behind them if I remember. They didn't really tour that far if I'm correct but like right before they could break through, a boy/girl speaked out about being abused by their singer. The band made a public statement and broke up, but I think their music was stil pretty popular and people probably bought some merch and shit. This year, 2 days after the singer made a new album about bettering yourself, word came out that he abused another girl while she was underage. This kinda forced the labels hand to stop selling JANK stuff. I think everyone was betting on them becoming really big in the summer of last year, so their label owner probably lost some money on promotion, touring and recording/pressing.

I think it's a really admirable idea to start a label, but in today's climate you'll definitely have to be prepared to spend a ton of time trying to maintain and promote artist catalogs across all e-stores and streaming services. It will also be a challenge to make a living with just one band signed so far... do you have a backup gig to supplement income while your label revs itself up?

I do have a main job until things pick up. It pays the bills, and I am interviewing this week for a higher-paying position in my employer's company. My salary would double and I would have better hours to work on a side project.

Damn. Spooky stuff. I will definitely keep that in mind, user.

Go for it, user. We need more active scenes in the US. I'm personally toying with the idea of trying to get something started where I live but it's definitely a big task. Do what the rest of us are too scared/sensible to do!