For many, it is common knowledge the “music industry” is “evil”, cares as much for artists as a lion does a dying gazelle, and that record labels, especially the majors, are synonymous with the four horsemen – or may even be a direct machination of the unspoken one himself. Exploitative, manipulative, conniving, devious, deceiving – they are not to be trusted. And Record Contracts, well, if Record Labels embody the devil – then Record Contracts are that which chains an artists immortal soul to the netherworld. This is clearly an exaggeration, they can´t be that bad – I mean, they at least make artists rich and famous. Well, famous maybe – but rich? Is this another common sublimation which needs evaluation?
The above one sided polemic finds support in an excellent article written by a rather well respected and renowned veteran of the music industry. Except he, Steve Albini, likens the process of signing a major Record Deal, with “a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit”. On one side of the trench is a “faceless industry lackey holding a fountain pen” and the other, a collection of eager artists wanting to sign the contract. The lackey shouts “go” and the in they plunge, scrambling and fighting to reach the other side.
Now think what you will about the Label structure, but before you make up your mind, read this article!
This article will give new insights into the traditional A&R structure, the Deal Signing process as well as factual evidence proving how many Record Deals just dont pay out. Read it! Espcially if you are one of those who measures success as synonymous with being signed by a major label.
It is easy to forget that even before an artists music has been able to describe itself, people must hear about it. This is Derek Sivers (founder of CD baby) talking about the importance of artists being able to talk about their music. Before your music is able to do the talking, you have to use words in order to invoke curisostiy about your art - and these words better be invocative, titilating and well thought out. Bear this in mind when you are asked: “so, what kind of music do YOU do?”.
Today we thought we would post a great shred that a member of the Record Union team found recently on YouTube. We have enjoying it all week. Hope you like it as much as we do!
Greetings ladies, gentlemen, comrades and fellow humans. Just a quick post today to say that there is now a new “page” on the Record Union blog. This page is entitled “online promotion directory” and features a list of services which we think are useful for aspiring independent and unsigned artists which are looking to use the online environment to their advantage. We hope that this will help artists find out about new services which can help them expand their fan base and generate exposure for their music. It contains links to blogging services, podcasting services, tools to make your life easier, online marketing tools and links to online promotion advice. The directory will be updated whenever we find new service to add, and if you would like to recommend services to add to this directory, or think we have missed something out, please contact the Blog Team at dogblog@recordunion.com. We will also be writing more articles dealing with online promotion advice here on the Dog Blog, which you can find by clicking on the “promotion advice” categories section (on the right of your screen). Happy time!
The BBC technology page wrote an interesting article recently entitled “the net helps music sing new songs”. It is a great article outlining the many ways which the internet is changing music, and how musicians are utilizing the internet to empower themselves. Discussing the continuing role of major labels, the article points out that “Some would argue that with an international reach and incredibly low entry costs, that the internet itself is the newest “major” label”. This arguement is in fact quite strong, for the many of the key roles that a major record label performs (recording, distribution and marketing) the internet also performs, and with a greater volume of music. Technological developments within music recording and production, coupled with the international reach of the internet has made it easier for musicians to record and “release” their music globally. The internet can be seen as the new “major label” for it enables far more music than ever before to be shared on a global platform, while simultaneously putting this music in a close proximity to listeners who can discover and enjoy it.
Hello people! Two and a half weeks after our “trial run” we are happy to say that you can now purchase the music of Motherpearl on iTunes, Amazon, Peoples Music Store, Rhapsody and soon many others. The Gothenberg based band are, as you can imagine, really happy about the news, as is Record Union. Time for champagne perhaps? Not QUITE yet…there is still much to be done! We are eagerly awating the beta launch of our distribution platform, which will be up and running shortly. However, this news is still a call for celebration!
Music bloggers are the opinion formers of the digital age. They are individuals passionate about music who dedicate some of their time to writing reviews and articles about artists they like in order to reccomend them to their readership. Some, called MP3 boggers, focus on posting music for download and free circulation, while others are more journalistic. They are one of the great promotion channels available to aspiring indie musicians, as they are open to recieving music from anywhere. A good article written by a respected blogger has the potential to generate great exposure for you, and it has been proven that blog articles written about an album release can significantly increase the amount it is downloaded.This post should help you to understand how you can contact bloggers and hopfully to get an article posted about you.
Firstly: more on bloggers
• Bloggers generally group around specific genres and sometimes affiliate themselves with certain scenes. So do your research! Take time to get to know which bloggers are keen on the kind of music you play.
• Many blogs may want to post free samples of your music. So prepare a few promo tracks in MP3 format which you are happy to give away for free.
Yes, it can! If your goal as an artist or band is to sign with a Record Label, then having a good online sales record will definitely increase your chances of securing a deal. Many Record Labels, especially the majors, are prone to calculating the risk involved with investing their resources into making an artist or band successful, which makes sense. Most labels aren’t going to throw money at a band which they don´t think has a chance of succeeding (i.e. making money). With this in mind, showing potential labels that you have been able to achieve a good amount of online sales will make you a more attractive prospect. In addition, having a good online following and a large mailing list will earn you brownie points too, as it shows that you have an existing fan base to build on.
The possibilities which have beeen ushered in by the digital music revolution has led many to believe that it is now possible to enjoy a successful career in music without signing to a Record Label, and this may well be true. But the online environment can just as well help artists looking to sign to a Record Label by giving them a platform from which they can develop their music.
Record Union has distributed our first album! But before you start rushing to the website to upload your own music, you should know that this was just a trial run! We needed to test that all the technical stuff is working, which it is! Wohoo!
So who was chosen for this journey into the previously unchartered realm of Record Union distribution? The band in question was none other than Motherpearl, a great rock outfit playing out of Gothenburg (Sweden). They have been creating quite a stir on their local circuit with their powerfull live performances and quality delivery. These guys are seriously talented, combining well thought out catchy rock riffs and energetic vocals with what can only be described as a groovy, funk vibe. Their new album, “Long Time Comin” is already available on a few music shops (find them on Amazon here), and will be available for purchase on all partners, and all over the world, in about 4-6 weeks time. We caught up with bass player of the band, Daniel Sjöstrand, to see how he feels about their new online release. We post the Q&A here for your reading pleasure.
Kind of cliché I know, but “Motherpearl” is an awesome name! what inspired it?
“Good question actually, and cliché indeed! (laugher)”
To be perfectly honest the name is a re-writing of the seashell-stuff ‘mother of pearl’. When the band got started we had just got our eyes on a guitar brand called “Warrior” that used exclusive materials, like mother of pearl, in their instruments. To us, mother of pearl was a sweet material and a little luxurious in a cool way
The term “unsigned” has historically been used by the music business as an almost derogatory remark to denote artists and bands who haven’t yet signed to a label, be the label independent or major. Almost as if to say that the band isn’t “good enough” to be offered a record deal or that since they haven’t signed a deal, they have not yet reached “success”. There are a number of things wrong with this.
Firstly, there are many great bands and artists without record deals playing superb music on local scenes and circuits around the world. Playing smaller and more intimate gigs, they are the lifeblood of local scenes and perform a important cultural role. Moreover, the internet has served to make a lot more music open to discover by a lot more people, and we realise there is a wealth of talent out there untapped by record labels. Being signed to a label is by no means a necessary measure of an artist’s talent or their capacity to create great music.
Secondly, there are a number significant benefits to the independence associated with being unsigned, and it is possible to enjoy a successful career in music without signing to a Record Label.
For many, it is common knowledge the “music industry” is “evil”, cares as much for artists as a lion does a dying gazelle, and that record labels, especially the majors, are synonymous with the four horsemen – or may even be a direct machination of the unspoken one himself. Exploitative, manipulative, conniving, devious, deceiving – they are not to be trusted. And Record Contracts, well, if Record Labels embody the devil – then Record Contracts are that which chains an artists immortal soul to the netherworld. This is clearly an exaggeration, they can´t be that bad – I mean, they at least make artists rich and famous. Well, famous maybe – but rich? Is this another common sublimation which needs evaluation?
