Article :: Musician Marketing - Start a Record Label ?
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By: Larry Karl - Editor
Start your own Record Label or find a Label to market your Music?
The way the music market changes along with technology, may mean you could be able to market your music yourself. With other words, you could become your own label.
If this is advisable is a different cattle of fish, all depending on your music and where you want to go with it.
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Finally, you have played some gigs, got some fans, handed out plenty of your demo CD's and just have finished your first real CD, and because you are an optimist or a good business person, you ordered 1000 CD to get a better price. Now you are selling your CD, guess what, you more or less have become your own record label. If you extend that to your own web-site, along with some myspace exposure, you are well underway of doing everything yourself.
Now the question, is that what you want to do, or do yopu want to concentrate on your music and get someone else to get you ion touch with oyur market, which would be a "Record Label"
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A "Record Label" is a business that owns and licenses the ‘copyright’ in the recordings on behalf of signed artists.
In simple words, the record label is selling your Music in the hope to to make money for their Music Label..
So far you have been doing it yourself, therefore, at least theoretically, you have become your own label. Obviously, you may not have the right connections and don't know the right people to sell enough of your CD's, and you end up storing 900 CD's under your bed.
That may be the point where you decide to find a recordlabel who will promote you and your music. But even more obviously, they don't do that for free, they have to earn money too.
In essence, a label needs to take a big cut to earn income via exploitation of the copyright in the recording, such as sale of CDs, digital sales, synchronization into to film, tv, and soundtracks, broadcast royalties, and publishing deals.
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In order to do that, they may take you as you are, or they tell you to go by their specification.
This could mean, you have to record your music where tehy tell you, they will use their own music producer to mold the music to their market, or to where they thing your music sells best, and they may tell you af ew other things, like performing in shopping centres. Obviously, all this is a case by case situation, depending on music genre or if you are a solo performer or a band.
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All this may sound a bit negative, but in fact, it is neutral, as it depends of what you want.
Depending soley on you, it will mean you either love it, hate the idea or are somewhere inbetween, in which case you may aim for specifc label presentation, like a distribution deal.
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A label is like any other business, it depends on the parties involved, the product (your Music copyright) , how much you are investing, and the envisaged returns.
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An independent label is sometimes created when members of a band wish to keep the
business of the label (sale and marketing of releases) separate to the act’s business structure (live performances, bookings, tours).
The ‘band’ would sign over control of the title / release to the ‘label’, which, as described, would be managed as a separate business entity, and may have different partners and a different tax structure.
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If you are looking for a label to sign you up, you should be aware of the different deals,
all depending of how much work you want to do yourself.
Marketing Distribution Deal:
The label will distribute and market your owned ‘master’ for a percentage split.
Recording Deal: The label will pay for the recording of your album and own the master and
sound recording. The label will exploit these masters and earn income from them, with a percentage returned to the artist.
Licensing Deal: The act (or label of a foreign owned release) will retain ownership of the master, however the label will distribute, market and exploit the copyright in the recording at a percentage split
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Other factors in wanting to get signed up without selling your soul, is the type of Label you go for.
If you try one of the big companies, you may not have much bargening power. But if you like just a bit of help, somecontacts some radio play, more exposure to gigs and muisc festivale, than you may be better off with a small independent label who may be local and represents music like yours. Those labels may have only a few acts in hteir books, which is a good thing, as everything becomes a bit more personal and with a grass root feel...
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What do you do now ?
Simple, you figure out first what you want, make sure you know that.
Do you want to be a pub-band, having some local gigs for fun, or do you want to conquere the world... and everything inbetween.
Having the answer to that, will give you the answer of what label or what deal or form of self marketing you want...... and remember technology advances will change self-marketing your original music more possible...
Looking for a recording studio to support you in your goals? Need a demo, EP or full CD?
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