ok thought i would start a bit of debate
with bands such as forward russia just relaseing stuff of there own DIy label is there a point to signing with a record label when you can start your own the pros to going it on your own are total musical freedom and proffits are all yours
the cons are if your just start out you don`t have the contacts that a label has and you will have to start with very little money (if any at all) for promo and travel.
what do you think
starting your own label is a lot of hard work
and not often rewarding - i imagine if FR had signed to a major a large indie they'd be playing the astoria instead of the garage and having top 10 singles instead of top 30.
there are pros and cos of both. it just depends what you want out of life, i guess.
i'd also say that FR are an anomaly in the DIY route, rather than a rule.
...
I don't think you can my a hard and fast statement either way, and different methods will suit different acts.
for example:
solo singer-songwriter that loves playing live and is happy touring almost permenantly probably stands to gain a lot by doing it DIY, as they can probably earl enough to live on
but a five piece band who all need to pay rent/bills probably couldn't live off money from shows, so need to financial assistance of a label to really make a go of it.
naturally there are always exceptions (e.g. Forward Russia), and either way it's bloody hard work - signing a deal doesn't mean that everyone suddenly does the work for you. but it does get you over a few hurdles.
I'm all for DIY (fuck it, I am DIY!!) but I can see how certain acts need a deal in order to function - if your band members have mortgages to pay, etc they need the guarenteed income from advances/tour support in order to give up their day jobs and focus on the music
remember that
forward russia aren't totally 'DIY'. they have a publishing deal.
and a booking agent
.
It depends on what kind of act you are and what offers are available
I'm about to release an album on a small scale without a label, purely 'cos I then have complete freedom over how it sounds, plus I got the chance to record it free with a good producer and the kind of music I play (essentially UK antifolk) suits a DIY approach anyway. However I'm only releasing 200 copies and I wouldn't rule out releasing more copies on the right label in the future.
You're always going to be more successful on a label (especially a major label) and I think you'd be making a mistake self-releasing in order to keep profits yourself 'cos I think you'd make more money using a record company anyway as they'd have the contacts to promote you and, unless you had both contacts and money, you could not.
I also think it's a mistake to start your own label purely 'cos you can't get signed (as I suspect some bands do). My understanding (which may be wrong) is that Forward Russia are at least partly funded by fans' contributions and, unless there's someone showing belief in what you do, you could just end up losing a lot of money.
But if you're doing something that you feel is very alternative and distinctive and you really feel that you have a personal vision for your work and want to do it yourself without record company intervention then i think it can be worthwhile. But it's important to be sure you are doing it for the right reasons.
fr would have signed
but liturally no-one offered.
i talked to an A&r at the last in the city and he said loads of industry people were impressed but didn't want to take the risk.
if you go DIY its almost impossible to sell enough records to live on. the only people that have ever done have been signed and successful before.
the sad truth
yes but forward russia have a pr company and a booking agent. very important. the label will normally pay for this, if not, you'd better hope the band has got a fair bit of money..
go DIY
surely it's more fun?!
and
fr have a publishing deal with warners..
that helps with the money side too.
the label won't pay for an agent
they take a percentage of live profits. i don't think having a PR company on board makes it any less DIY though...you're still hiring the company yourself to do the work which you instruct them to do. all about delegation!
The two main advantages of signing to a label are that there is money available for recording which, clearly, can be very costly and that a label has, or should have, the no-how to promote your music.
JAMIE!
A-ha!
I was wondering when someone would pick up on the fact that the person who started this thread was none other than resident DiS celebrity, JAMIE SAMPLE!!
yeah I didn't read the thread.
It's all about the marketing
That's the difference. It comes down to money. A larger company can afford to spend more money up front on the promotional campaign and therefore stands a higher chance of selling records. But they're also taking greater financial risk which is why so many interesting bands are left without deals in favour of average bands who sell lots of records.
Distribution
is also a very important factor.