How To Start Your Own Record Label

Sunday, May 24, 2009

How To Start Your Own Record Label -- Ideas

Some Tips For Starting A Record Label

In the first article I wrote on this subject, I tried to impress how starting a record label is serious business. Well, in this article, I’m going to share with you a few tips on getting that record label of yours started. It is my hope that you’ll find these helpful and springboard you to other ideas.

I can’t stress the importance of coming up with a killer name for your record label. Just like with everything else in the world, a name can be gold or it can be your downfall. Motown Records was a perfect example of the perfect record label. It not only defined the label but the style of music itself. Whenever you think of Motown, you think of The Supremes, Jackson 5 and so on. That’s what you want people to think of when they think of YOUR label. It’s not an easy thing to pull off, but it’s something that’s important and should be kept in mind. Branding is the name of this game.

Next, you want to find the best talent you can to work with. I’m not talking about the artists that you sign. I’m talking about the means to creating the music. You want to make sure you get a good recording studio, good engineers and so on. The quality of your product is going to be critical if you expect to have any chance of beating out the big boys. That means having some samples for people to hear, even if that means you have to hire bands to come in and make recordings for you. Your clients need to have a very good idea of what they can expect from you.

Finally, and this is the part you’re not going to want to hear, say a lot of prayers…if you have ‘em. The recording industry, to say it’s competitive, would be like saying that Tyra Banks has pleasant features. You are going to be going up against some of the biggest names in the business. If you believe that success is just going to fall into your lap, you are living in a dream world that nobody is going to be able to snap you out of. You have a monumental task ahead of you.

Having said that, if you come up with a killer name, have the best resources and ultimately put together a quality product, you have just as good a chance as anybody else of achieving success.

Here, you’ll find a great product that will make the record label creation process go a lot smoother for you.

Start Your Own Record Label

Saturday, May 23, 2009

How To Start Your Own Record Label -- Tips

So, You Want To Start A Record Label? Read This!

Ah, the joys of starting your own business. And make no mistake about it…starting your own record label IS a business…and a very complex one at that. If you get things off on the wrong foot, you could doom yourself to failure before you even get things off the ground. So, in this article, I’m going to alert you to a few things that you might want to know before attempting to take this beast on.

Target market. I can’t stress this enough. You MUST have a target market. What am I talking about? I’m talking about WHO you’re going to put a label together for. The days of the “all kinds of music” labels died a long time ago. Today, everything is specialized because there is just too much money involved. So who are you targeting? Hip hop, rap, country, R&B, rock, what? If you don’t know the answer to this question, sit down until you DO know the answer. Then come back to this article and keep reading.

Marketing. After you figured out who your target market is, how are you going to reach them? In order to answer that, you have to know who they are. For example, rappers don’t hang out in the same places as country western folks. If anything, you probably won’t find them anywhere near each other. Best way to find your market and where they hang out is to look up forums on the Internet that cater to each specific interest.

Your offer. What is your label going to offer these people? I mean after all, why should they sign with you instead of one of your competitors? And don’t think that recording acts are so desperate so sign that they’ll sign with just about anybody. They want to know that they’re going to be taken care of. Most artists don’t want to be locked into long contracts. If you want to get a jump on your competition, you’ll keep this in mind.

Of course I haven’t even touched on expenses, legal issues and all that other stuff. Yes, starting a record label is work and needs to be carefully thought out. Fortunately, in my signature, you’ll find a review of a great resource that will show you everything you need to know about starting your own record label.

Starting Your Own Record Label