Decide On Your Label Concept And Name
The name is the most important identifier of your label. Test ideas out on your friends and give yourself some time to think about it until you have something thats memorable, lasting and represents what youre all about.
You will be selling the strength of your concept to a distributor , so it pays to have a solid idea of your labels concept from the beginning.
4 questions to ask yourself:;
- What is this label all about?
- What style of music will we release?;
- Who will our audience be?;
- Why will our label be important?
Get Your Artists Playing Live
Although the amount of money spent on buying and streaming music is increasing, the amount that we go out and watch our favourite artists has shot right up. Playing live is the most effective form of publicity and will lead to direct to selling units. Be sure to plug your site and even get a friend to set up a stall with your merchandise, CDs, T-Shirts etc. This is a great way of getting your brand out there.
Write A Marketing Plan Packed With Ideas & Strategies
If you run a record label company, in order to generate incomes, you would have to go out there to market your record label known by a lot of people and also search and discover talented musician who need exposure to grow. If your record label brand is a successful one, then recording artistes both aspiring and professionals would want to sign on to your record label.
In essence, there are different marketing strategies and approaches that you are expected to adopt per time at different stages of your business. The bottom line is to ensure that you build your business on professionalism and excellence, and you wouldnt struggle to achieve your market and sales target.
No doubt with the advancement of technology and of course the internet, there has been tremendous increase in file sharing and direct-to-fan digital distribution, combined with music sales plummeting in recent years. Record label companies and organizations have had to change their sales and marketing strategies and the way they work with artistes.
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Define Your Place In The Music Industry
What do you love the most? What music do you know inside and out? The most valuable currency in the music industry is passion.
No matter what kind of label you chose to start, make sure youre choosing something that you support 100%. Trends can come and go.
If youre serious about making it last, pick music;that you can stand behind long into the future.
Picture yourself sitting on your porch when youre retired. Youve got your headphones on.;Youre reflecting on the fullness of your life and all your most cherished memories. What are you listening to? Thats what you should be releasing. Whatever is timeless to you.
Grant Hutchison / CC 2.0
Design Your Label Logo And Release Artwork
If a picture says a thousand words, then your artwork should tell everybody who you are and what youre all about. Sloppy artwork can diminish the perceived quality of your music. Its best to involve somebody with design experience here so you can be sure that you meet a high standard. If you find yourself short on funds for any of these steps, Patreon and Kickstarter are great tools to get your project going whether youre part of a local or online community.
This is your first impression, so make it strong.;Consider all the formats; how will your artwork look on a webpage, social media, a YouTube video, or on a poster?
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Hey, Im Erik a Swedish university student, marketing professional, and life-long learner. Here at BookSummaryClub I summarize my favorite non-fiction books into easily digested posts. Hope you like what youre reading!
Selling Mp3s From A Digital Shop
Small labels may benefit from selling on-line via a third-party shop such as TuneTribe.In addition to social networking, small labels can take advantage of services like TuneTribe, which claims to be a digital music download shop with a difference. On TuneTribe, artists and independent labels get to keep 80 percent of the royalties and set their own download price. A big plus is that sales on TuneTribe are chart eligible, as they get reported to the Offical Chart Company. TuneTribe can take delivery of your catalogue and current releases through established distributors/aggregators, or through FTP sites; alternatively, you can use TuneTribes upload centre. They also offer a free digitisation service, should you need it all you have to do is send them your music on a CD, together with any relevant data, and theyll prepare it for inclusion on the site.
Sites like these tend to favour exclusive and pre-release downloads from labels, enabling them to create special editorial features around a release and attract new fans in the process. On TuneTribe, labels and artists are given their own area to manage and update as they choose, and have access to real-time on-line accounting, a label management service, and editorial support to maximise media exposure. TuneTribe have also partnered with web sites in the US, Japan and Europe enabling new record labels to build a fan base overseas.
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That Was Our Guide On How To Start Your Own Music Distribution Company
There you have it! All you need to know when starting a music distribution company.
It is not an easy task but if done correctly it is incredibly rewarding! We hope that you found this article helpful!
While youre here, why not check out some of recent articles such as, Lossless Audio Formats vs Lossy Audio Formats, A Guide To The Oscars or How To Set Up A Drum Set.
Were also here to offer you opportunities to get;your music in film, TV and more! On top of that, get;cloud storage;for all of your tracks and access to a global music industry community for;collaboration. Try all of this and much more for free!
The New Way To Start A Record Label
So you have a passion for music and the determination you need to make it in the music industry, but need some help getting started. If this describes your situation, then theres a new way to start a record label you should know about its called Record Label in a Box.
Record Label in a Box was created by Ditto Music, one of the worlds top music distributors, and has already helped launch more than 1,000 new record labels all over the world, from the UK and USA, to Australia and beyond.
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Form A Business Entity
A business entity refers to how a business is legally organized to operate. There are four primary business entities to choose from, which include the sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and Limited Liability Company . Each type of entity has its own pros and cons, such as liability exposure, costs, and administrative requirements.
Related:;Comparison of Business Entities
How To Start A Record Label: What Is Needed And How To Be Successful
Aubrey Whitfield
Are you an independent artist who wants to add some credibility to your music? Or are you a music-lover who wants to contribute to the success of unknown artists that you love? Or perhaps you are a music producer who wants to release the records of artists that you have produced? Then knowing how to start a record label is a must.
In this modern digital age, learning how to start a record label business is easier than ever before. It can be done almost instantly! In this article Im going to talk you through the key tasks to get a new shiny record label up and running quickly, efficiently and legally.
Then the rest they say, is up to you.. and great music.
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What Are The Costs To Consider When Starting A Record Label
The following costs should be budgeted for when starting a record label.
Starting a record label is quite affordable, but to gain recognition and thrive in this industry, you will need to nurture a world-class music artist under your record label. If you need funding to start your record label, reach out to our business planning and funding experts at QT Business Solutions to learn more.
Concepts Or Reasons For Starting Your Own Record Label
Starting your own record label is often driven by something quite specific. Many of the successful labels around have an interesting story about why and how they came about.
Maybe there are certain tracks you love or a desire to release your own music, maybe its just something youd like to try. Either way its almost certainly always for the love of something.
Ive put together a few possible concepts you can use for your new record label.
Labels tend to be driven by the owners desire for something, and these are some of the reasons you might want to start curating releases yourself.
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Step : Obtain Necessary Permits And Licenses
Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.
State & Local Business Licensing Requirements
Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a record label. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBAs reference to state licenses and permits.
Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.
For information about local licenses and permits:
- Check with your town, city or county clerks office
- Get assistance from one of the local associations listed in US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources.
Certificate of Occupancy
A record label is generally run out of a storefront. Businesses operating out of a physical location typically require a Certificate of Occupancy . ;A CO confirms that all building codes, zoning laws and government regulations have been met.
- If you plan to purchase or build a location:
- You will be responsible for obtaining a valid CO from a local government authority.
- Review all building codes and zoning requirements for your business location to ensure your record label will be in compliance and able to obtain a CO.
There May Be Trouble Ahead
Of course, it almost goes without saying that any publishing deal or recording contracts you sign will need to be fully checked by a lawyer to protect your rights. As we briefly mentioned earlier, even though you are intending to take the DIY approach to releasing your music, that doesn’t mean you won’t be using a publisher or that you won’t be sub-licensing your records to a larger label to take advantage of their worldwide links. But there are some important issues which you need to consider, not least of which is what happens if one of the companies you have licensed to goes bust .
Mastering and manufacture of your work is something else we will come back to later when looking at the running of your label, but while we’re on the subject of protecting your investments, you may want to be cautious when handing over your precious master or cash deposit to a production plant. “Pressing plants go bust quite frequently.” warns Penny, “so if you can possibly avoid paying a deposit up front, then do. Recently, another artist I was representing was in the process of doing a release, but she couldn’t find out why her CDs hadn’t been delivered and it was because the plant had gone into liquidation. She had to drive up there very fast and extricate her masters. Thankfully, she hadn’t paid the deposit they had first asked her to.”
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Develop Strategies To Boost Brand Awareness And Create A Corporate Identity
Your brand has to do with the way people perceive you to be, which is why it is important to deliberately communicate and promote your brand. In promoting your brand and corporate identity, you should leverage on the various print and electronic media.
As a matter of fact, it is cost effective to use the internet and social media platforms to promote your brands, and besides it is pretty much effective and wide reaching. Lastly, part of what you need to do to promote your brand and corporate identity is to sponsor community musical shows or even organize your own musical talent hunt reality show.
15. Create a Suppliers/Distribution Network
When it comes to the distribution of music albums; the larger the quality of your network the larger the income you will me make. Although most big time music marketers usually would want to become the sole distributors and marketers of any album you entrust in their care, but that does not stop you in generating sales from music downloads via the internet and on smartphones and also from musical tours, concerts and shows.
16. Tips for Running a Record Label Successfully
You have to also be deliberate in hiring members of your team. This means that you have to hire skilled people who will be able to run with your vision and mission. Hiring novices could be tantamount to failure and stagnancy. Lastly, it is very important to ensure that all the members of your team are always on the same page per time.
In Conclusion
Brainstorm Possible Ways To Retain Clients & Customers
It is one thing to get recording artists to sign on your record label; it is yet another thing to retain them for as long as you want. The truth is that once musical artists become successful, the either would want to start their own record label, or they would want to sign with a multinational record label corporation.
One of the strategies that will help you to retain successful artistes under your label is to continue to help them explore new markets. Exploring new markets could mean organization musical tours, concerts or anything that will make artists under your record label release and sell more musical albums et al.
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Run Your Record Label
1
Locate and contact music artists you are interested in dealing with by going online, visiting local live music venues or searching in music industry directories and on artist association and affiliation web sites such as BMI, ASCAP and SESAC.
2
Contact a music business attorney to draft contracts between you and the artist. Record label contracts can be very complex and every situation is different. Contracts include terms concerning payment, sales royalty percentages, copyright ownership, licensing and other contractual obligations and are best left to an attorney.
3
Plan and develop the music product according to your production and manufacturing specifications. This step involves the creation of a written product plan, hiring a graphic artist for packaging and online design, contracting with a local recording studio to produce the recording and using a CD manufacturer to provide the finished product. If you plan to only sell product online, a CD manufacturer will not be necessary.
4
Contact the radio station, music distributors and retailers on your resource list and follow their instructions for music submission.
5
Register music products with Nielson and subscribe to their Broadcast Data Service and SoundScan services. BDS and Soundscan track radio airplay and retail sales of music products and are regularly monitored by radio programmers, charting services, music distributors, retailers and other industry concerns.
References
Bonus For All Students: Free Ebooks2 Lectures 0min
- BONUS#1 THE STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO START a DIGITAL RECORD LABEL – eBOOK72 pages
- BONUS#2 THE STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON TURNING YOUR RECORD LABEL INTO A BRAND – eBOOK32 pages
- 1,203 Students
- 1 Course
Hip-Hop is all about expressing culture, experiences, and life. The only way one can do this successfully in a sea of competition is not just rap or even sing about it, but be passionate about it. Re-living the words and relaying these experiences to an audience is key.
Jae is a new key in the world of Hip Hop today. Jae’s unparalleled perspective brings his heart and soul through the microphone and through his writing to the audience.
His passion comes from a life we can call ‘lost and found.’ Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1986, Hewas compelled to create this course to serve aspiring artist who dream of being in control of their own destiny.
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How To Get Noticed By An A&r
We send our artists music to A&Rs around the world. Every. Single. Week. But besides joining spinnup and creating mind-blowingly good music, there are several other things you need to do to stand out and grab an A&Rs attention .
Know your label
If youre asking how to get a record deal?, remember big labels get hundreds of demos daily. So its important you understand the type of artist they work with. This allows you to approach the ones that are compatible with your music.
Solid branding
You should have a recognisable brand that includes quality photos, artwork and a buzzing social media presence. Make sure your artist profiles are complete, up-to-date and include a bio, artist image and links to your social and contact info. More on promoting yourself in one of our free guides.
Be visible on and off line
Regularly creating fresh content to share on social is a must. But make sure A&Rs can locate your music, social accounts and website easily. Your content and information matter!
Network IRL too
Besides your own gigging also check out local unsigned nights like Sofar Sounds that hosts intimate gigs in small venues around the world.;
Be self-sufficient
Signing with a label is stepping away from being an independent artist. But dont stop doing what got you there in the first place. In fact, labels increasingly look for self-sufficient, music dynamos that can create a buzz and gain dedicated fans using unique branding and marketing.