Label Focus: Audio Antihero

Everyone has a favourite label, even those who call having a favourite musical snobbery can see label’s that stand out a mile ahead of everyone else. Personally, I’m a fan of Dischord, Stones Throw and Smalltown America to name but  a few. One of my more recent discoveries has been one of the newest independents on the block, Audio Antihero.

Self-proclaimed specialists in commercial suicide, Audio Antihero are a label to be taken notice of. Formed after extensive tutelage in and around the British independent scene the label seems to be as fiercely independent as they come. Selling their first CD on October 13th 09 Audio Antihero are still finding their feet in the competitive market that is the music industry.

Just to hinder them some more we thought we’d interrupt the bedroom operation to be nosy and ask a few questions. Luckily enough Audio Antihero were nice enough to answer them for us.

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Your first release was Nosferatu D2’s album which until your intervention was unreleased and largely ignored. Was that the main reason why you set up the label, just to distribute a record you love?

AA: Pretty much! I asked Nosferatu D2 if I could release their record a long time ago, but by the time I was even close to being able to run a label, they’d split up. I almost gave up on the label, it didn’t take me long to realise that I couldn’t run a label and not release their record first. So I did the right thing, for a change.

I knew I was never going to sell many CDs without a tour to support the album, but you can’t start a DIY indie record label purely out of love and then start worrying about commercial viability before you’ve even started.

I wasn’t happy listening to Nosferatu D2 as a collection of mp3s, nor was I happy with Nosferatu D2 being a ‘defunct local band’. I wanted people to discover and remember them, I wanted their legacy to be strong. What we’ve got now is something very special, radio is playing them, journalists are writing about them and people in countless countries have been ordering their CD. I hope people talk about them forever.

Knowing that people who’d never heard of the band before are writing on blogs and forums to say that it’s their ‘favourite album of 2009’ is as much of a pay off as anything else could be.

To me, walking away from Nosferatu D2 would be like having Nirvana’s ‘Bleach’, Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’ or Springsteen’s ‘Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.’ and just saying “no, I won’t sell enough, I won’t bother”. Classics can be big and small.

How much time and effort is put into the label, is it in the indie dream or the opposite?

It’s not my full time job, sadly. I work 9 to 5:30, walk home, and then see what I can do with Audio Antihero. For the first few weeks I barely slept, one of the more supportive US bloggers I was in touch with used to e-mail me from the other side of the globe, telling me I had to go to sleep!

Sometimes I burnout. I’ve got quite painful inflamed tendons too, so I do sometimes have to drag myself away from my screen and lie in a dark room – but really it’s the most fun and fulfilling thing I can do. Every review, friend on myspace/twitter and CD sale makes me feel very proud indeed.

I feel really good at the moment, and really want to spend as much time on it as is possible, I want to help get Benjamin Shaw playing some good gigs, keep people talking, find some stronger distribution and make some new friends. Christmas has been an obstacle though!

Does your label have a particular ethos and/or particular genre you source from?

Never Say DIY!

Ideally, we just want to rock. There’s things I agree and disagree with in the music industry, just as there are things I like and dislike about music fans, I just try to provide people with what I would want myself.

I don’t rip off or tie down my artists, I give them all the control they want. I release records I would buy, I manufacture the albums to the standard I’d want to buy them at. Also, I try to ensure that we’re an accessible and personable label for those who are interested in us. I know small bands/labels that are so insecure about not being signed to Sony or whatever that they feel compelled to dress everything up, and avoid talking to their fans as though it’s beneath them. It’s not necessarily that they’re arrogant people, just they think if you e-mail people back they’ll realise you’re not actually in possession of 80% of the market share. It’s a bit embarrassing.

We’re not quite a genre label, not that I have anything against them; Stax was a wonderful soul/R&B label, Sam Phillips did some invaluable work at Sun Records, shaping rock ‘n’ roll and Sub Pop’s ‘80s & ‘90s ‘primal rock’ focus was the last great period in music history – our primary interest is on ‘alternative music’, but currently my only real requirement is that I can feel it as well as hear it.

The CD vs mp3 debate still rages. Audio Antihero seems to be strictly CD based. Are there any plans to expand this to other formats or is the physical format something you feel strongly about?

I personally hate the mp3 format. MP3s are not a record collection, that’s the whole reason we worked so hard on releasing the Nosferatu D2 record in a physical format. But with that being said, we will be signing up for digital distribution at some point. I don’t understand why people want to buy this stuff digitally instead of on a fairly cheap CD, but apparently they’re out there, and I’m sure they’re very nice too.

It will give us the freedom to release singles/EPs and compilations that we just can’t afford to do physically. I won’t argue that more music can only be a good thing and I can see there’s benefits – but I’m not sure I’ll ever buy an album from iTunes, not as long as I can get it on CD, tape or vinyl.

Are there any record labels you look up to or would one day aspire to be like?

Many. As mentioned before, Stax and Sub-Pop are my heroes. In their early days Southern Records were a really wonderful DIY force, interning with them was definitely an influence on me. Some of my earliest exposure to DIY came from a UK label called Genin (run by Bass of Djevara), who really do ‘stick it to the man’, and look out for their artists. I got a lovely e-mail from Bass telling me how impressed he was with everything and that we were involved in a good thing and doing a good job of it, he’d been one of my punk-rock heroes since I was about 14 and it was one of my proudest moments.

I’ve also been following the lead of I Blame the Parents Records, who’ve been so kind to me, helping me get records into stores and the like.

I love that small labels are willing to help one another out, I’ve started sticking flyers for Genin records in my parcels when I have them and passing on I Blame the Parents review material to press who’ve said nice things about us, we’re all in it for the same thing. I just wish that a ‘DIY spirit of community’ didn’t sound corny and nostalgic now, as we’ve never needed it more.

Of the songs you’ve released which would be the one you’d choose as a flagship for your label? In essence favourite song from your two artists?

A favourite from each would be would be Benjamin Shaw’s “I Got the Pox, the Pox Is What I Got” – ten minutes of disease and beauty – and “Springsteen” from Nosferatu D2, a song so clever and desperate it’s given me the chills every time I’ve heard it since 2006 when I chanced upon them.

Seeing those songs performed live was quite overwhelmingly lovely. I wish I could put those memories on a record and release that too.

And the fantasy question. Your dream artist roster please?

I already have it, but it does need to be expanded.
I suppose if you want some names, this is the best I can think of right now;

A reformed Nosferatu D2
Benjamin Shaw & The E Street Band OR Benjamin Shaw & Crazy Horse
Mudhoney
Superman Revenge Squad
The Owl Service
A reformed At The Drive-In
The reformed Faith No More
Gary Numan
The Melvins
Immortal Technique
Akron/Family
Kieronononononon^onononon (they actually honoured me by offering me their next record, but I couldn’t take it sadly)
Shield Your Eyes
Dinosaur Jr.
Modest Mouse
And maybe Dr.Dre to pay the bills, or something.

The all important question: Any secret future signings you have up your sleeve or any ones to watch for next year?

Next, I want something big and nasty, something that could have supported Mudhoney in 1988, something that truly is an ‘Audio Antihero’! I just need something that excites me and something that’s worth spending all my money on and storing boxes of CDs in my bedroom. I’ll struggle to follow Nosferatu D2 & Benjamin Shaw though.

Regrettably I’ll need to sell some more Nosferatu D2 & Benjamin Shaw CDs first, it’s the pitfall of independence. No money, no room and no resources!

And where can readers catch a slice of Audio Antihero?

We’re all over the place, but people seem to keep missing us. Spread the word!

If you pop along to www.audioantihero.com, you can find links to us on myspace, twitter, blogger (yes, we write things), songkick (see where we’ve been and where we’re going), facebook, youtube, and all of that. There’s free songs to download, music videos to watch, features to read, means to contact us and all the rest.

In terms of buying our records we sell them via mail order from the above website. Actual stores that stock them include Rough Trade (London), Piccadilly Records (Manchester), Norman Records (Leeds) and Spillers Records (Cardiff). However Rough Trade won’t be stocking them for too much longer so get down their sharpish if you want to pick up copies of our records.

Australian folk can pick up Benjamin Shaw’s “I Got the Pox, the Pox Is What I Got” EP from Half a Cow Records which is run by Nic Dalton of The Lemonheads and The Gloomchasers.

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Audio Antihero talk a good game but they also play a good one. As you can see from the answers provided they are a record label which cares for music, and not only that which they provide. It’s refreshing to see that there are people out there who are still in music for the ‘right reasons’ and not just to clean everyone out. Not only all this but they seem like thoroughly nice people to boot and if that doesn’t get you buying their records then I don’t know what will.

Rap music originated by the African Americans in the early 1950’s and 60’s. It was a means of conversing especially while reciting a poem, or while singing. Soon it became a term which denoted a unique musical style which would spread throughout the world. Though rapping is the most important thing in hip hop, both the terms have separate meaning. Rapping is defined as a technique which most artists use, while hip hop refers to a genre of music, which has certain specific characters to it. If you are an artist who is good in rapping and want to showcase your rapping talent to the world, then you must consider getting a deal with a rap record label company.

There are more than 100 record companies in the US alone who are constantly trying to discover the next big rap star.  So as a rap star, you have a big advantage of getting noticed by one of these companies provided your act is tight, and you have killer beats to match your lyrics. As a music artist you should also remember that there is an intense completion in today’s music industry. The fame and money which the music industry offers has made a lot of people flock to these record label companies. However, only few have the required talent to become a singer. This has put a lot of stress on the people working in the record labels, as they have to screen nearly hundreds of demo CDs day in and day out, making them almost impossible to identify a good artist from all the others.

So, if you want to get the attention of the record label you need a new approach. Nowadays, most of the representatives listen to the demos sent by contacts or partners who they trust. It is very important to have a contact in the musical industry that might help you to launch your career.

For more innovative ways on how to approach a rap record label, please visit ‘Reach Fame’.

R & B refers to rhythm and blues, it s a popular genre of music, which originated around 40’s and 50’s. The R&B has evolved since its origination. Now the term R &B is used to cover a wide range of music, which includes electric blues, jazz, funk, soul, gospels so on and so forth. R&B though originated from African Americans and it soon became popular among all ethnic groups of people, mostly due to contribution of great artists like Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Whitney Houston, Ashanti, Beyonce Knowles and so on.  Today R&B is closely associated with the hip hop genre of music.

For all artists who are aspiring to become the next big R&B singer, they should realize that getting a contract from an R&B record label is very important in order to succeed in their musical career. There are many r&b record companies springing up every single day, but as an aspiring artist it is important that you get a contract with well established r&b record label companies, as this will launch your career to new heights in the highly competitive musical industry. As a new artist getting a contract from a renowned label company might look very hard, but it is certainly not an impossible task.

If you really want the contract from a record label, then you’ve got to get your act together. You need to be the top in your field, only then do the doors of the company open up to you.  It is important that you develop your skills not only in music, but also in business negotiations as this is very important for survival in the competitive business world of music.  As an artist, you need to improve your media relationship; the more famous you become the more offers you land up with. You need to start having musical contacts if you want things to be done in the music industry.

Visit ‘Reach Fame’ for detailed instructions on how an aspiring artist can get multiple offers from a renowned r&b record label.

Once, “Made in Japan” was a label that connoted cut-rate craftsmanship. Now it stands for world-class quality.

A Malasian-based record label is looking to do something similar for Chinese pop music, which the company founder saw as “stale” and having gone “downhill.”

Thus, Leslie Loh is setting out to reestablish the quality of the region’s music scene with his Malaysian audiophile record label, pop pop music.

“As the music industry is in the doldrums at the moment, one surviving genre is audiophile music,” he told the Star, Malaysia’s largest English-language newspaper. “People who buy audiophile music don’t mind paying and they are particular about sound quality and high fidelity reproduction.”

Loh cut his teeth on audiophile recordings last year with the first audiophile Chinese pop album recorded in Malaysia, called 2V1G 

(2 Voices 1 Guitar), which has gone on to sell more than 10,000 copies worldwide. 

The label’s latest, “Love’s Tapestry” from guitarist Roger Wang and vocalist Gina Panizales, is set to drop Friday. “We invested heavily on studio hardware and audiophile-grade components such as cables, power line conditioners and microphones,” Loh told the Star. “For the mastering, we engaged Doug Sax of The Mastering Lab, one of the world’s top mastering engineers. The result is a stunning recording that is discernible even on mass-market low-end playback gadgets like IPods or MP3.”

The upshot: quality counts. Audiophilia is catching on — even with independent labels far from the music centers of the West, and even as those same music centers suffer any variety of economic hardships. 

Kudos to Loh for helping save the sound.

WEDNESDAY 16th DECEMBER

Reasons to dislike Christmas: chavs decorating the outside of their houses with an inordinate amount of lights.

My rule of thumb is this… the more lights there are, the lower class the house owner is.

This looks shit

The chavs haven’t thought this through. They’ll have to pay for the electricity out of their benefits. They could’ve spent that money on the usual fags and booze and junk food.

Or maybe they get free or discounted gas and electric from the council.

Some lights are nice; a lot are vile. Just like the owner.

*****
 

So the winner of X Factor this year is a bland nobody, releasing an utter pile of dirge. Why does everyone get so excited about this show?

Let me offer a wager that his album will be in the discount bin in 12 months time, he’ll be dropped by his record label in two years and singing on a cruise ship in the Med in three years.

This guy is not a star and never will be.

*****
 

Good job I didn’t over-react to Leicester City’s back-to-back league defeats. Normal service was resumed with a 3-0 win at the weekend.

*****

More Christmas parties were out and about at Pussycats at the weekend and I guess the same will be true over the next week or so. You get people coming out who probably don’t do much clubbing for the rest of the year and certainly over-indulge to some comic effect!

It's a tough job

Check out the latest photos in the gallery at www.djwanker.com – the official club pictures are at www.telfordnightlife.co.uk – come and see me for a photo, you know where to find me – also get a sticker and a shout out. Just remember your manners…

*****

My services aren’t required on Christmas Eve at Pussycats this year so I’ll probably head into Leicester with my best mate Phil (that’s DJ Phat Phil, who plays funky tunes at Vox Bar every Saturday, by the way) for some liquid refreshments. I can see it getting messy.

It’s what Jesus would’ve wanted. If he ever existed. Which he probably didn’t. But let’s not let the truth stand in the way of an excuse to over-indulge. Quite a few £1 drinks at Walkabout have our names on them. And it would be rude not to partake at that price.

*****

I will be at Cats on New Year’s Eve in charge of the main room as per the last three years.

*****

The International Centre in Telford staged the UK snooker championships last week. One of the competitors was Mark Selby who, like me, is from Leicester. He returned from a match one night to find his room had been ransacked with several items stolen, including his car keys – and then discovered to no great surprise that his fancy motor had been nicked.

There’s a pretty good chance that the thief was from Telford and knew exactly what he was doing and who he was targeting. Selby is probably no stranger to scumbag criminals as he grew up in an area of Leicester called New Parks which is like a larger version of Sutton Hill or Malinslee.

*****

Sometimes a TV show is ideally named for those who watch it. Let me give you an example… a programme mainly viewed by people waiting for death: Countdown.

*****

Some status updates airing dirty washing on Facebook are funny. Some are out of order. Some are random. And some are like this:

“I TELL U WOT MUM U WANT ME TO SLATE U I SHALL !!! u need 2 grow up and wake up to the real world not everything is going 2 go ur way, u cant stamp ur feet just cuz it doesnt. i cnt believe u kicking off bcuz i cnt av 8 ppl in a 2bed flat. ur a spoilt brat and immature thats y every1 ends up fallin out with u in end. u seem to 4get how much stuff u put us ova 3 kids through and 3YRS DNT MAKE UP FOR IT!!

And go on disown me again us lot are used to it we never bin good enough as *****, **** and ***** (names removed) ..obviously….3yrs dnt make up for the rest of missin the rest of our life or wot u put us through wen u did have us…. OUR DAD IS NOT PERFECT BUT HE TOOK US ON AND IF IT WASNT FOR HIM WE DONT NO WHERE WE WUD B !!!”

Come on love, tell us what you REALLY think.

*****

Here’s what I’d write about my mum “I love you more today than I did yesterday and not as much as I will tomorrow.”

And the same goes for my dad.

Anyone thinking I’ve gone all soppy will suffer temporary memory loss and never mention what I’ve just said…

*****

You know you’ve turned into your dad the day you put aside a thin piece of wood specifically to stir paint with.

*****

Groups on Facebook I may avoid joining:

“Anatidaephobia – the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you” This group has nearly 100,000 members!

“I like spoons!” Congratulations to the 16 members who joined.

“I have texted lying down and dropped my phone on my face.” Over 200,000 members… grow up.

*****

From BBC news:

A woman who was given an anti-social behaviour order banning her from making loud noises during sex has admitted breaching the order. Caroline and Steve Cartwright’s love-making was described as “murder” and “unnatural” at Newcastle Crown Court. Neighbour Rachel O’Connor said: ‘The noise sounds like they are both in considerable pain. I have never ever heard anything like it.”

Here are what the sexy people look like…

Keep the noise down

Well, you can see the attraction…

*****
 
Nike sponsor Tiger Woods.

Their advertising slogan is: “Just Do It.”

I think he took brand loyalty a little too far.

*****

One of the women who claims to have had a fling with Tiger Woods told American TV this week that he would text other ladies while in bed with her. “I don’t think he’s an honest man,” she said.

As honest as sleeping with someone you know is married then?

For the record, and to avoid any accusations of throwing stones in a glass house, I must admit that I have slept with a married woman before.

I said to her: “Look Angelina, it’s a secret between us – I won’t tell Brad.”

*****

Why can’t women put on mascara with their mouth closed?

*****

Tesco have withdrawn a light-hearted Christmas card which said: “Santa loves all kids. Even ginger ones.” This follows a complaint from over-sensitive customer Davinia Phillips who has, yes you guessed it, three ginger children as well as way too much time on her hands.

Here is what the humourless bitch looks like…

Not for me, thanks

After looking at that I can imagine you’re thinking the same as me: “Who was the lucky man who shagged her at least three times?”

*****

I can see a day when someone complains about my blog to the police. Someone did actually threaten to do that earlier this year. She committed a criminal offence (but the complainant didn’t report it to the cops) and I berated her for her behaviour. I still have her email somewhere. I read it whenever I need cheering up.

*****

It’s very hard to have sympathy with the burglar in Buckinghamshire who tied up a man and his family in their home and then suffered permanent brain damage after being viciously attacked with a cricket bat as he fled the scene of the crime. I don’t agree with vigilante behaviour but none of this would’ve happened if he hadn’t committed the offence in the first place.

*****

Another joke from Jimmy Carr: “My mum told me the best time to ask my dad for anything was during sex. Not the best advice I’d ever been given. I burst in through the bedroom door saying: “Can I have a new bike?”. He was very upset. His secretary was surprisingly nice about it. I got the bike.”

*****

And finally… I hope plenty of postmen were intending to fly with British Airways this Christmas. See how they like it.
 
 
 
Cheers for now,
Geoff / DJ Wanker

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To add your company here, please get in touch!

For every new artist contacting a&r representative might seem to be a little hard to do. Many artists have lost a lot of money from fake representatives, who promise to get them a record deal with major companies. In this article, I would like to shed some light on how to contact a&r representatives and get yourself a record deal.

A&r stands for Artists and Repertoire, and this is a division in all major record label companies. They are responsible in identifying new talents and getting them signed with the company. The representatives of this division act as middle men between the company and the artist. Every new artist who likes to get a record deal has to contact a&r representatives. As a new artist it is vital to realize that these representatives are very busy people. They need to screen literally hundreds of artists every single day, so it is very important that your approach to these representatives be in a way such that they sit back and take notice of you. The traditional way of sending a demo CD, which contains your best soundtrack to the secretary or some a&r representatives and waiting for them to reply, does not work anymore. Your demo CD will be placed on the pile of 100’s of CD’s received every day. The chances of a representative picking up your CD and actually listening to entire album are almost negligible.

Therefore, in order to get noticed, you need to adopt a new method; you need to be tech savvy. All these representatives are hooked to internet. They constantly check their e-mails as they need to be in touch with the latest buzz around town. If you want to get noticed, try sending them your soundtrack along with a message to their email address. The chances of the representatives hearing your soundtrack from their e-mail is far higher than they actually listen to your demo CD.

For email addresses and contacts of various a&r representatives in US, click here.

All people in the world are aware of the role of major record labels in the music industry. They are the ones behind recognizing an unknown talent and exposing the artist to rest of the world. They have an important and pivotal role to play in the music industry. However, in today’s world, where everything is seen in terms of profit and losses, major record labels have deviated from their main cause of finding new talents, they have become more interested in accumulating as much wealth as possible. As an indie artist, one might find it very hard to sign a contract with any major record label. In this article, we are going to outline few of the basic things needed to draw the attention of the record companies.

As an artist you, should realize that there are millions of people around the world who are trying to get noticed by these companies, so you should not only be a novice, but also very adaptive in your approach to any major record company. You should remember that these record companies are headed by serious businessmen.  They are interested in investing into a promising business opportunity and are not ready to take a risk.  So as an artist, your approach should be very professional. You need to get your act together before presenting yourself to representatives of the record label companies, remember you might get one chance only to make an impression, so if you fail you might as well consider the doors of the record company closed permanently.

If you are very serious about having a contract with the major record deal company, then you should start thinking like a businessman. Your asset is your music, so sharpen your skills, your attitude and your presentation before presenting yourself in front of the company.

For more interesting facts about how a major record label works, you can visit ‘ReachFame’ Company.

As a music artist who is looking for commercial success in the music world, you should be aware of various contracts that are currently used in the music industry. Without the basic knowledge of these contracts, you might actually end up earning nothing at all from the songs that you write. Some contracts are very detailed, and you might actually need the help of a lawyer to understand the various terms and conditions put forth in the contract. As an indie artist, the most important contract to you is the music artist contract; this contract usually deals with the royalty paid to the songs created by and also deals with the record labels copyrights over your song. Though there are many detailed clauses and auxiliaries involved in this contract, we will try to explain the basics of such a contract.

The basic goal of an artist contract is to lay out a deal which lets every party involved to be on the same page. The best contract is the one which satisfies the interest of all the parties involved. However, in the world of business the contracts will usually be biased towards one party, which is more powerful than the others involved. For example, if you are a new artist negotiating an artist contract, then you can be rest assured that such a contract will always be biased towards the interest of the record label companies. However, if you already have some success in the musical world then you can negotiate the contract which favors your needs.

The contract will include the amount of compensation which an artist will receive for the song created by him or her. The compensation could be in the form of a one-time payment where the record company will own the song forever and sell it using the artist’s name; or it can be a split from the profits obtained from the sale of the records, once the album is released to the market.

For more details on various aspects of an artist contract,  feel free to visit ‘Reach Fame’.

Music has become commercialized. If you want to survive in today’s music industry, then you should be a good artist and a good businessman. Everything in music industry is based on legal agreements between two parties involved. All these legal agreements fall under the category of music business contracts. They are legally binding and are made to protect the interest of both the parties involved. The words used in such a contract are very intricate and confusing and it becomes almost impossible to understand without the help of a lawyer.

Music business contracts are usually made to deal with the monetary compensation for each of the parties involved. When money is involved, one can be very sure that each party will try to have a contract to suit their interest.  If you are a musical artist, it is very important for you to understand the various clauses which will be used in such contracts. The main business contracts which are regularly used in the music industry today include but not limited to songwriter contracts, music artist contract, music manager contracts, movie contracts, and so on and so forth.

The songwriter contract mainly deals with the percentage of compensation which the songwriter receives.  The compensation can be given by the company or the artist depending on who purchases the copyright of the song from the writer. Usually, a onetime payment is given to new and upcoming songwriter and complete copyrights are bought by either an artist or the record label companies.  The next important contract is the music manager contract. This is an agreement between the artist and the music manager and deals with the financial compensation for the music manager of the services offered. It is important to understand that the percentage of monetary compensation various from one contract to the other depending on the service offered, and also the influence of either of the party involved.

For more information on various contracts that exist in the music industry, please visit ‘Reach Fame’.

Owning my own record label (SODMG Records) at 19 years old, Smart choice? Or HUGE RISK dealing with the big boys of the Music Industry/Hip-Hop World? I recently inked a huge deal for my artist JBar with Universal Motown/SODMG Records I’m very excited.. but then theres always that question at the back of my head is having my own label at such a young age GOOD or BAD? I always want yall opinions on everything I do professionally ya dig? Lemme know what you think.

BEP Drawing of Soulja Boy

Zimbalam Service Review

Music has not lost its inherent character ever since the times of prehistoric percussion, but recording media is becoming more and more intangible.  MP3 is gradually replacing the CD, record stores are disappearing and giving way to web shops, and search engines are now taking the place of the guy at the record store who used to tell you where to find the record you were looking for and also told you who was hot or not. Even though it’s not the case yet, soon iTunes, Napster and Amazon will surely sell more music than physical stores; and they have a great advantage over “real” shops: there’s no need for a warehouse anymore, the stock stays on a server and it can be replicated endlessly.

These developments affect the key players in the music industry and the role they have in the process of marketing an album. Until now, once the record was mixed and mastered, the artist depended on the financial support of a label to replicate a great number of copies and to dispatch them to the dealers. Both of these tasks are on their way to disappearing thanks to online music sales and service providers like Zimbalam.

Zimbalam.com is the “mass market” version of Believe Digital, a record label with its own artist roster and, at the same time, a special service provider helping traditional labels bring their catalog online. The idea behind Zimbalam is very simple: they put your songs in 20 online shops in 240 countries for a fixed rate under a non-exclusive distribution agreement. Having your demo on Napster, Amazon and iTunes is now possible for only £19.99 (two tracks) or £29.99 (three or more tracks).

One of the best surprises Zimbalam has to offer is that you get 90% of the royalties generated from the retail price, which means real money in the bank for each sale. If you sell two songs at £1.49 each, at the end of that quarter you’ll get around £2.20 from the sale. You can also claim back an additional percentage of the sale as a song-writer’s royalty through the PRS, to further increase you revenues.  Excellent royalties, absurdly low prices and a non-exclusive agreement? It seems too good to be true. That’s why we went to Believe Digital’s offices in Paris (France) to learn more about Zimbalam and to test their services. We met Denis Ladegaillerie, a skilled lawyer who has worked for Universal Music US, eMusic, MP3.com, Rollingstone.com, and is co-founder and CEO of Believe Digital.

He was very straightforward when asked about the reasons for founding Zimbalam:

The record industry is like a pyramid: you’ve got lots of artists starting out their career at the bottom and a few top-selling artists at the top. The pyramidal structure reflects a decrease in the number of artists as you move from one development stage to the next according to your notoriety, and the services you need to go on to the next level. When we started Believe Digital, our digital distribution service wasn’t really at the bottom side of the pyramid (Editor’s note: Believe Digital helped record labels sell their catalogs on the web), and we developed in two different directions: on the one hand, we went to the top of the pyramid by doing the same things as a traditional record label (promotion, web, radio, and TV marketing) and, on the other hand, we expanded downward with Zimbalam. Last year, for example, we received about 50,000 demos at Believe and we signed 200 deals. From those 200 artists we signed, some of them will make it and others won’t. But it’s the same thing with the 49,800 artists we didn’t sign: we can’t really know if they will succeed due to some other reasons. For example, one of them could work for a big communications group like Publicis and manage to license a tune for a Mercedes ad campaign, or another one might know the film editor of a big TV group and get one of their tunes to be the theme song of a new TV show. So an artist we overlooked could become a success for one of these reasons.

Let’s start selling…

As we mentioned in the interview, Zimbalam gives you a player you can embed in your MySpace, or any other website, by copying and pasting a small HTML source code. The player is well conceived, freely customizable (particularly regarding size) and it not only provides access to online stores, but also to the artist’s bio or even to a video clip. A Facebook version is due soon and I couldn’t use it on my WordPress blog (www.nwarmusic.com) because WordPress deactivates Javascript components for security reasons. I did however manage to embed it by installing an open-source WordPress on a Free server: http://nwarmusic.free.fr/.

Still, a well-designed player and an outdated blog due to lack of time aren’t enough to become the new chanson star. Apart from the excitement of reading your name listed on iTunes when you look for it, you’ll surely understand what Denis meant when he said that Zimbalam simply provides a technical service. Even if I convinced my friends and family to buy my album, my sales figures wouldn’t rise much and I still wouldn’t be any more interesting than before when it comes to signing a record deal with a label.

To be successful I would have to improve the ranking of my website, create buzz around my music, find as many listeners as possible, and play gigs. Maybe then would Zimbalam allow me to earn some real money.

But the deal is fair enough: 20 shops for £20. I can’t wait to get my royalties at the end of the quarter. You can be sure I will show you my bank statement when I get paid. I have no way to know if I’ll be able to afford a beer with the money I earn, but I’m positive about the fact that people who promote their songs can get real benefits out of this kind of service, and maybe even more with a bit of luck…

To read the full detailed article and interview see:  Zimbalam Review

If you are a music artist and you have come to this article, then you are looking for a way to get a record label contract. Unlike other articles I won’t be chasing around the bushes, I will get straight down to business and let you know what you came here for.

Record label contract is not an easy thing to get if you are a young artist without any musical contacts or a godfather to launch your career. May be you already realized this, but yet you are here and this means that you are willing to go that extra mile in order to get yourself a deal with the record label. Before you go any further – stop!  Take a minute and try to answer these questions.

First, how good are you, in terms of skills, talents and originality? Can you write your own song, can you sing in your own voice without trying to impersonate any singer? Have you ever performed in front of an audience, what was their reaction? Do you have fans; are they loyal to your music? Lastly but not the least, do you have alternate career other than music?

Once you have answered the above, try to correlate the answer to the rest of the article, this will help you get yourself a record label deal.

All record companies out there are looking to make money, nobody is there to nurture a budding talent and take a risk in releasing an album which will fail in the market. So they are looking for professionals, who write their own songs, and who can sing in their own voice without impersonating another musical artist. All label companies want a certain amount of guarantee that the album which they release in market will not fail miserably. In other words, they will never make a contract with a newbie.

Then, how can you get your contract? Remember man is an animal; he or she has to fight for everything. You need to compete with the local talents and prove that you are the best. Play at every given opportunity and have a group of fans who will be glad to follow you, because of your music. Make the local TV and radio take notice of you; see to that they play your track more often on their channels. Before long, you will be sitting in the office of a record label with people telling details about the contract.

If you want to know the truth on how to get a record label contract then visit reachfame.com. You will certainly get answers to all the above questions.

He was the heartbeat behind the LA sound that shaped and molded many labels to come. A brainchild behind many projects and artists that created the foundation of LA’s music culture for many decades. A giant named Bob Keane has left the building..he will be greatly missed..Rest In Paradise.

read more LA WEEKLY:
http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/la-stories/bob-keane-dead-del-fi/

If music is your passion and you intent to pursue a career in music than it is very important for you to sign a record deal with a major recording label company. With increased competition in the music world it is becoming difficult for young budding musical artists to seek a secure career in the music world. In this article I would like to guide you all through the basic steps of signing a recording contract.

First of all a record contract is a deal which legally binds a record label and an artist. There are many aspects covered in such a legal deal, but as a young music artist you should realize that such a contract will always be biased in the favor of the company.  The deal consists of rights of the record company to publish or sell the song of an artist. It also deals with royalty paid to the song of the artist. There are many clauses which decide key critical factors. To give one such example is – packaging deduction. This is a clever clause which is used in most of recording contracts today. This usually stipulates that the recording company will cover the cost of CD’s, Audio cassettes etc, however they also state that these expenses will be deducted from the royalty paid to the artist. These costs are usually overprized and may not be the actual expenditure of the company itself. There are many such clauses in a recording contract and along with the clauses the recording company still holds the copyright of the song. The worst part of a record contract is that if the sales of a song is low, than the future royalty of the artist will be used to compensate the losses which the company has incurred.

As a young artist it’s important for you not to yield to such false contracts in order to achieve fame but to stick to your own terms and conditions. Remember if your music is of top notch quality, then recording companies will be forced to accept your terms and conditions.

For detailed advice on how to make a legitimate contract deal which is beneficial for you kindly visit www.reachfame.com

As a budding music artist you should know how to approach the big honchos of the record company. Let’s face it if you want your talent to be noticed by the world then the only way is to sign a deal with the record label who can publish your music for listeners all around the world. Though it is true that the people from record label are always son look out for fresh talent, still it is very tuff for a young aspiring musician to contact the right person on the company. The competition in the music world is so high that the genuine people who are interested in finding new talent are busy listening to useless music demo each and every day. So as a musical artist myself and a promoter of young talents in the music world I have outlined how to contact the right person in the musical industry today.

A&R is an important wing in very record label the major job of a&r contacts is to keep their eyes and ears on the street and pick up promising talents to sign up with the record company. So the first important thing to do as a budding artist is to directly contact a & r contacts of a company.  The age old fashion of sending your demo CD to a&r contact office will work no more…..Why? Very simple there office will be filled with hundreds of demo CD every day for an a&r personal to listen too, so your demo CD will just become one more CD in the box waiting to be heard.

The best way is to make use of technology. Emailing them is a better way to get noticed. Mail the representative with an mp3 copy of your track, along with a message which clearly states your information, contact details and your interest in music. All these representatives are tech savvy, they always use their email, this way you are sure to be noticed and depending on your talent  and a bit of luck you might succeed in getting a big break.

For complete information on producers, a&r contact, managers and music publishers come and visit www.reachfame.com

If you are an upcoming artist or a local band looking for a breakthrough then you must consider submitting your music to radio station or a TV a station for placements in movies or a TV series. This way you can practically create a gateway in the music world which will enable you to take your talents higher up.  Though it sounds fairly easy to do you should remember that there are high chances your song might not even reach the correct people in the radio or the TV stations. Here is some basic guide on how to submit music to radio or TV station.

If you are considering radio station then a local radio station which is from your neighbor hood will be happy to play your track, as the radio station like them survive on local flavors and local news. The downside of this is you will have a limited publicity, the chances of major record label discovering you is almost negligible. So if you are planning to get your track on national radio stations then you must understand few things, commercial radios do not exist for playing music. They have always existed and will continue to exist only for advertisement. Their main way of operation is selling time slots for advertisers to advertise their product, the higher the number of people they have listening to their station the higher the price they can charge for advertisement.  The job of a program director in a radio station is to choose songs which the public want to listen so they don’t take a risk of playing track from a new singer. So if you want your track to be chosen by the program director then you need to be the very best and your track has to be of top notch quality which compels a program director to play your track on there station.

If you are considering submitting it to TV station then you can do so two ways, one directly submitting your music to the music supervisor, by this way you get to be your own publisher and get to keep all the royalties that you earn. The downside, you might not even be allowed to meet the music supervisor so unless you have some contact in the music world you would better take help of a music publisher who will present your track to various supervisors and get you a deal. The downside of such an arrangement you will receive probably half the royalties you earn as publishers charge a huge fees.

As a musical artist it is important to know how to get recognized by big companies in the musical industry. Talent is undoubtedly the most important factor which will help you achieve this goal however you should also know there are other things which play key role in deciding the fate of your career. I have tried to outline a few basic principles which most young artist tend to over look resulting in complete failure of their musical talent.  I have provided here with an outlook on how to sign a record deal with a big record label company.

The foremost thing for success in musical industry is quality. It is very important that your skills and talent should be of the top most quality only then will you ever get a chance to prove your worth.  So instead of running around to find a deal with a record label try spending time to improve your skills and before you know you will have many representatives from record label running behind you to get you sign a deal with them.

The next step is to show your talent to the world only by this way does the world can appreciate what you have.  In order to that seize every opportunity you get to showcase your skill it can be just a concert for opening ceremony of a supermall in your locality or a local TV show which showcases your talent, because with every opportunity you are creating a loyal group of followers who love and adore your music.  Soon your name will become famous in the local community once your performances becomes one of the important attraction of any local event the eyes of the big  company will fall on you and you will be offered with a record deal. So do not pass any chance to get up on the stage and show the world what you are made up off.

For every budding music artist their dream is that there talent gets noticed and soon they can sign with a big music label which will lead them the road of success and glory. Well if you are such a musical artist then you should know one very basic thing there is no guaranteed formula or a guaranteed route on how to sign a record label. This does not mean that you need to give up your hope and dreams it only means anything and everything is possible in today’s music industry.

I have tried to outline some of the guidelines here for all you aspiring musical artist which might help you in your way of signing a deal with the record labels.

First of all you should know where you stand in terms of talent and skills, because it is very important that you remember that music industry is very competitive. Only the best of best with a bit of luck can survive while the rest don’t even get noticed. So it is important for you to know how good you are and what makes you the best. IF you are sure that you got the stuff to make it big then you can give it all and test your luck.

Second important thing one should remember is the good old saying “Self help is the best help”. Don’t wait for someone to come along and help you sign a record deal; you should start building contacts, start getting noticed by the players in the music industry. Get yourself as much gigs as possible, try to have your own supporters, try to get your own sales. Remember all the record company only look out for artist who can make them money they are least bothered about getting new talents, so if you have your own sales and support group you have high chances of getting yourself a record deal.

Last but not least thing I want every music artist to be ready for one important thing how to handle rejection. It is important in life to know how to handle failures, because handling success is easier than handling failures. So you should think about every possibility have alternate career planned out, this will make you easy to bounce back in life. Remember no one can stop a true talent from getting noticed by general public so work hard and success will surely be yours.