Well, its been a busy time for us at the Label. Things have come on leaps and bounds and with so much happening, its hard to know where to start. Since the label launch in March, we've all been pretty busy, digging and scouring our way through all the stuff you need to learn about being a new label. Its been great fun and many a days have passed where its been very hard work, recently, 18/19 hour days with no weekends or time to just chill for 5, its been rewarding and fulfilment comes with every new day. I've been working on the new promotion or USONIC and the new album release at the end of July as well as trying to get the label into the memories of not only the artists but also the people who come and visit us, the ones that buy our albums. Times flown by and there's some much we have compressed into getting the label working for it's self and to the point we can now plan ahead over a year and know where we will be in 6 months, 12 months and even 18 months time. The collective efforts of Yolanda, Phil, Miles and of course me, have all put into a pot an interesting mix of unique ideas, from setting up a members only area where we can offer something special. The members area seems to be working well and everyday, we have an idea that will make it better and more user orientated than we could have imagined. The new Bandcamp pages were a stroke of genius where we took the pressure of the label and made available the sale and promotion of all the artists via a friendly and coherent way of buying not only high quality almost HD type MP3's but also all the albums from the various artists via their own pages. We also went down the route of setting up Reverb Nation and Sound Cloud pages and these seem to pulling in people who are genuinely interested in the artists and the music that's created. I've also been working on getting more live dates for the artists and even though my primary objective is to get USONIC out there in the big wide world, my other passion is to get The Deep MO out there playing more dates. I think we have achieved that, there are dates happening from our support slot with 2 of the UK's best bands, Incognito and The Brand New Heavies but also the phenomenal result of being offered a support slot with legends, Level 42. I have a sneaky feeling that TDM will be received very well and I can see the ripples already casting outwards and ears being propped up in anticipation and excitement which brings me onto tour management. My duties as A&R and the responsibility of being the Label Manager also makes me responsible for the day to day tour management of the artists. This is where the creativity of the artists comes into its own. I have to make things happen for them in a way that is imaginable and all to time lines that frankly one minute can put a who tour out of sink.
My work on the live dates is only starting but I'm finding that juggling a lot of stuff is not only exciting but really rewarding. Budgets, logistics, promotion, accommodation and the well being of everyone involved is just mind boggling to those who look inwards at the job at the best of times but the feeling of standing stage right, looking in and hearing the first click of the 'one' on the sticks is where it all begins to make sense, its that moment you can step back and realise that all of the long hours, travelling, mishaps etc are worth that one click. Its going to be fun but by no means easy and seeing The Deep MO finally making a stand in their own right, is just belly churningly exciting. Creativity - well, this brings me onto all the team and what they have been up to. Yolanda has had plenty of time behind her Mac screen trawling through making connections that are paying of both on a creative level but also business level. Yo's determination to whip this tall ship into a sleek and smooth yacht is paying of and we're sailing along on calm waters. We're in the middle of sealing some important deals in the coming weeks and taking the label to another level where it will start to make those crucial waves to make things happen and turn the yacht into a speed boat. Yo's also been hard at work with her bass in hand, writing and outlining the new MO album to the point we now know when we will have it released. Phil (FIL) has been busy giving us the best web presence for all our projects from new logos and graphic art to represent the label brand to new websites. He's been a busy boy and has earned the name 'Bangers' not only because he has big fingers, but also because he bangs away at his keyboard making things happen when we ask him to. As you can see, being a label has its many advantages and for this we're grateful but we are well grounded to know that taking the right direction is key in making it a success and the many tiers you can achieve are endless. If every artist decided to work to the same model we have, the music industry would change for the better with independence at the core of making and releasing good music and I think we have achieved this in the time we've been live with Groove4Dayz. The times coming when we'll be doing more and more and its the team that makes this happen, not just the label manager or creative guy, its the artists. Hopefully my insight will help others achieve dreams that they thought they could not live up to, it can happen, it happened for me, Yolanda, Miles and Phil so never give up and advice is the first step to making things happen...ask away...
Well, its been a busy time for us at the Label.
ReplyDeleteThings have come on leaps and bounds and with so much happening, its hard to know where to start.
Since the label launch in March, we've all been pretty busy, digging and scouring our way through all the stuff you need to learn about being a new label.
Its been great fun and many a days have passed where its been very hard work, recently, 18/19 hour days with no weekends or time to just chill for 5, its been rewarding and fulfilment comes with every new day.
I've been working on the new promotion or USONIC and the new album release at the end of July as well as trying to get the label into the memories of not only the artists but also the people who come and visit us, the ones that buy our albums.
Times flown by and there's some much we have compressed into getting the label working for it's self and to the point we can now plan ahead over a year and know where we will be in 6 months, 12 months and even 18 months time.
The collective efforts of Yolanda, Phil, Miles and of course me, have all put into a pot an interesting mix of unique ideas, from setting up a members only area where we can offer something special. The members area seems to be working well and everyday, we have an idea that will make it better and more user orientated than we could have imagined.
The new Bandcamp pages were a stroke of genius where we took the pressure of the label and made available the sale and promotion of all the artists via a friendly and coherent way of buying not only high quality almost HD type MP3's but also all the albums from the various artists via their own pages.
We also went down the route of setting up Reverb Nation and Sound Cloud pages and these seem to pulling in people who are genuinely interested in the artists and the music that's created.
I've also been working on getting more live dates for the artists and even though my primary objective is to get USONIC out there in the big wide world, my other passion is to get The Deep MO out there playing more dates.
I think we have achieved that, there are dates happening from our support slot with 2 of the UK's best bands, Incognito and The Brand New Heavies but also the phenomenal result of being
offered a support slot with legends, Level 42.
I have a sneaky feeling that TDM will be received very well and I can see the ripples already casting outwards and ears being propped up in anticipation and excitement which brings me onto tour management.
My duties as A&R and the responsibility of being the Label Manager also makes me responsible for the day to day tour management of the artists. This is where the creativity of the artists comes into its own.
I have to make things happen for them in a way that is imaginable and all to time lines that frankly one minute can put a who tour out of sink.
more to follow....
Pt2
ReplyDeleteMy work on the live dates is only starting but I'm finding that juggling a lot of stuff is not only exciting but really rewarding.
Budgets, logistics, promotion, accommodation and the well being of everyone involved is just mind boggling to those who look inwards at the job at the best of times but the feeling of standing stage right, looking in and hearing the first click of the 'one' on the sticks is where it all begins to make sense, its that moment you can step back and realise that all of the long hours, travelling, mishaps etc are worth that one click.
Its going to be fun but by no means easy and seeing The Deep MO finally making a stand in their own right, is just belly churningly exciting.
Creativity - well, this brings me onto all the team and what they have been up to.
Yolanda has had plenty of time behind her Mac screen trawling through making connections that are paying of both on a creative level but also business level. Yo's determination to whip this tall ship into a sleek and smooth yacht is paying of and we're sailing along on calm waters.
We're in the middle of sealing some important deals in the coming weeks and taking the label to another level where it will start to make those crucial waves to make things happen and turn the yacht into a speed boat.
Yo's also been hard at work with her bass in hand, writing and outlining the new MO album to the point we now know when we will have it released.
Phil (FIL) has been busy giving us the best web presence for all our projects from new logos and graphic art to represent the label brand to new websites. He's been a busy boy and has earned the name 'Bangers' not only because he has big fingers, but also because he bangs away at his keyboard making things happen when we ask him to. As you can see, being a label has its many advantages and for this we're grateful but we are well grounded to know that taking the right direction is key in making it a success and the many tiers you can achieve are endless.
If every artist decided to work to the same model we have, the music industry would change for the better with independence at the core of making and releasing good music and I think we have achieved this in the time we've been live with Groove4Dayz.
The times coming when we'll be doing more and more and its the team that makes this happen, not just the label manager or creative guy, its the artists. Hopefully my insight will help others achieve dreams that they thought they could not live up to, it can happen, it happened for me, Yolanda, Miles and Phil so never give up and advice is the first step to making things happen...ask away...
BB - Sharmin