Friday, 16 July 2010
Friday, 4 June 2010
Diary of an independent label - setting up
So it June 2010, we've been up and running with the website www.g4dz.com since March 2010 with the label registered with companies house since August 2009
The 1st thing I did was...get help!
I hired my regular accountants CC Young & Co. to register the company name Groove4dayz Records Ltd and sort out all the forms etc for me. We opened a business bank account with personal capital using the certificate of corporation you need to set up an account for a limited company and had logos designed by onespace creative. We were already registered with ppl/catco, this is necessary for getting those isrc codes for your releases. (An ISRC code is encoded into your track and identifies it as belonging to you, it makes the job of logging radio plays and royalty collection much easier for all concerned. You'll get your royalties quicker and you'll also be able to prove that you own the recording). The process took quite a while, but PPL were very helpful throughout, you just have fill out the many forms and wait for them to let you know when all is done. Upon request they then send you a login & password for the catco database ( now called PPL Repertoire Database ) so you can register your releases. This also allows you to credit all the musicians; necessary if you want the musicians who played on the tracks to get performance royalties. (each musician only needs to be logged once, even if they played multiple instruments on the track, it doesn't affect the amount of money they receive although you may want it officially noted exactly what they played on the record).
Next we got our website organised. This involved content content content. Writing the biogs, sorting through pictures, video, all the audio for the shop etc. Although in May we changed the download section of our shop to bandcamp. It's made the whole download thing so much easier for the music buyer and accounting everything is easier for you as a label, also it allows choice of download quality and all sorts of cool stuff - take a look at the faqs.
Getting a team to help..... again key to this whole process....even though you may be able to do all of this stuff yourself, to have support and people to bounce ideas off and to tell you when you're being unrealistic, too adventurous/safe - I've found invaluable. There are a lot of setbacks when starting a new business, having support is important.
Fil Jones designed the website and worked closely with me on changes, tweeks and ideas, not just a guy hired to do a job, but someone who is a creative consultant and designer. Badly designed websites/layouts etc. that are hard to navigate lose you potential fans/purchasers.
Label manager Sharmin Jones concentrated on the release we had going on at the time (more on this later). They were invaluable - thanks guys. Getting people involved who believe in the music and whom you enjoy working with is imperative for overcoming the sheer amount of work running a label takes.
Of course there's loads of detail left out here and I'm writing this in June instead of when the process happened, so we're happy to answer any questions about any of the stuff raised in this post.
- Managing Director Yolanda Charles
The 1st thing I did was...get help!
I hired my regular accountants CC Young & Co. to register the company name Groove4dayz Records Ltd and sort out all the forms etc for me. We opened a business bank account with personal capital using the certificate of corporation you need to set up an account for a limited company and had logos designed by onespace creative. We were already registered with ppl/catco, this is necessary for getting those isrc codes for your releases. (An ISRC code is encoded into your track and identifies it as belonging to you, it makes the job of logging radio plays and royalty collection much easier for all concerned. You'll get your royalties quicker and you'll also be able to prove that you own the recording). The process took quite a while, but PPL were very helpful throughout, you just have fill out the many forms and wait for them to let you know when all is done. Upon request they then send you a login & password for the catco database ( now called PPL Repertoire Database ) so you can register your releases. This also allows you to credit all the musicians; necessary if you want the musicians who played on the tracks to get performance royalties. (each musician only needs to be logged once, even if they played multiple instruments on the track, it doesn't affect the amount of money they receive although you may want it officially noted exactly what they played on the record).
Next we got our website organised. This involved content content content. Writing the biogs, sorting through pictures, video, all the audio for the shop etc. Although in May we changed the download section of our shop to bandcamp. It's made the whole download thing so much easier for the music buyer and accounting everything is easier for you as a label, also it allows choice of download quality and all sorts of cool stuff - take a look at the faqs.
Getting a team to help..... again key to this whole process....even though you may be able to do all of this stuff yourself, to have support and people to bounce ideas off and to tell you when you're being unrealistic, too adventurous/safe - I've found invaluable. There are a lot of setbacks when starting a new business, having support is important.
Fil Jones designed the website and worked closely with me on changes, tweeks and ideas, not just a guy hired to do a job, but someone who is a creative consultant and designer. Badly designed websites/layouts etc. that are hard to navigate lose you potential fans/purchasers.
Label manager Sharmin Jones concentrated on the release we had going on at the time (more on this later). They were invaluable - thanks guys. Getting people involved who believe in the music and whom you enjoy working with is imperative for overcoming the sheer amount of work running a label takes.
Of course there's loads of detail left out here and I'm writing this in June instead of when the process happened, so we're happy to answer any questions about any of the stuff raised in this post.
- Managing Director Yolanda Charles
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Where has the groove gone?
Where has the groove gone from the mainstream charts. RnB has morphed into light-weight pop. Rap is no longer Hip-Hop. Where has the groove gone from the rhymes and the feel gone from this generation's rnb?
This electro-pop-rap mash-up leaves me cold. Are they all chasing a buck cause that's the style of music that will get most sales. Yes I'm talking to you Beyonce, Kayne West, Dizzee. What is their sound.....? Just all sounds the same to me, same production ideas, synths and rhythms.
Yeah you could say any genre has similarities, but these artists appear to have become this new kinda genre called "will get me into the top 40" in some kind of calculated money move. And they're big enough to do what they damn well please, so we could be getting something fresh, instead we get rihanna, lady gaga lite in everybody's tunes. Where's the funk?
You know Beyonce ain't putting on those records to chill out to at home or to get things moving at a jam at her house, I just know her heart lies in RnB and music that grooves.
Stop selling out and making bad records, someone's gotta represent!
This electro-pop-rap mash-up leaves me cold. Are they all chasing a buck cause that's the style of music that will get most sales. Yes I'm talking to you Beyonce, Kayne West, Dizzee. What is their sound.....? Just all sounds the same to me, same production ideas, synths and rhythms.
Yeah you could say any genre has similarities, but these artists appear to have become this new kinda genre called "will get me into the top 40" in some kind of calculated money move. And they're big enough to do what they damn well please, so we could be getting something fresh, instead we get rihanna, lady gaga lite in everybody's tunes. Where's the funk?
You know Beyonce ain't putting on those records to chill out to at home or to get things moving at a jam at her house, I just know her heart lies in RnB and music that grooves.
Stop selling out and making bad records, someone's gotta represent!
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
A musical hegemony
So what do I think about the Syco/Xfactor/Sony dominance? Well I wonder about the abuse factor. If during x factor season most top 5 acts receive their coveted positions after appearing on the live show, what on earth is going on behind the scenes for artists to receive their invitation to play. This process should be monitored by an independent body of some kind....and i wonder why the monopolies and mergers commission aren't interested in the music business in general as the individual companies become swallowed up by the bigger fish and we get less and less choice.
There is no best in music
I'm trying to be a bit more thoughtful, or less analytical....ha! How do you do that? Every time I hear something I don't like, it's so easy to damn it and with a few remarks reduce it to a bite of a sandwich you didn't like so you threw it away.
Now not everything we sample whether it be music or food, is made with love and should therefore be appreciated for that, sometimes people are trying to make you eat shit (literally), but when it comes to the creative process within music, which is an artform after all, should I even say anything about it at all? I listen to and appreciate certain records I could never justify to others, yet in my mind that particular song is an inspiration for getting out of bed in the morning.
Just the term guilty pleasure shows that taste transcends fashions and fans of songs may hide their preferences to avoid criticisms.
Don't follow your heart, follow your ears! If you like it..you like it.
Now not everything we sample whether it be music or food, is made with love and should therefore be appreciated for that, sometimes people are trying to make you eat shit (literally), but when it comes to the creative process within music, which is an artform after all, should I even say anything about it at all? I listen to and appreciate certain records I could never justify to others, yet in my mind that particular song is an inspiration for getting out of bed in the morning.
Just the term guilty pleasure shows that taste transcends fashions and fans of songs may hide their preferences to avoid criticisms.
Don't follow your heart, follow your ears! If you like it..you like it.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Why go independent?
Too many people still think the way forward for their careers is to "get a record deal" with a major. 2 problems with that. No-one's getting signed unless they've completely set everything up themselves already, with a huge fan-base and a certain amount of "guaranteed" sales in advance or they've suffered the humiliation of talent shows and become "lucky" enough to win or get into the televised bit, or they are one of the smaller and smaller percentage getting signed through being 'spotted' like winning the lottery or something and your problems only really start once you're signed...potential for "getting dropped" extremely high after 1-2 singles and def. after 1 album if the sales aren't considered enough...
Why go independent? If you've got the true drive to work hard at your own career 'stead of waiting for others to make it happen for you, then it is for you.
You should be able to have a much closer relationship with an independent label actually getting to know the boss and the staff who all should actually genuinely believe in your music as every signing must count or they'll not last too long.
Go Independent but only if you must.. if you're prepared to work even harder, start your own label and the rewards will be so much greater, in other words...if you really have music, writing talent and some resources, some way of financing yourself (small to begin with, no need to re-mortgage the house) and you really are unafraid of seriously hard work, don't wait around...get on with it!
Why go independent? If you've got the true drive to work hard at your own career 'stead of waiting for others to make it happen for you, then it is for you.
You should be able to have a much closer relationship with an independent label actually getting to know the boss and the staff who all should actually genuinely believe in your music as every signing must count or they'll not last too long.
Go Independent but only if you must.. if you're prepared to work even harder, start your own label and the rewards will be so much greater, in other words...if you really have music, writing talent and some resources, some way of financing yourself (small to begin with, no need to re-mortgage the house) and you really are unafraid of seriously hard work, don't wait around...get on with it!
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