Dubstepforum.com

boomnoise wrote: i think there are 2 distinct types of label in dubstep. those with vision and those without. those with really craft something unique. those that don't just bosh stuff out.

i think having a strong label identity is as important as having strong tunes. this is something which is crafted through consistent quality output which fits into the label's ideals. think hotflush, think deep medi, think hyperdub.

What if your vision for the label is not to have a specific identity attached to your label, but to put out consistenly good releases across all sounds and styles?

could somebody name some of these rubbish labels?

boomnoise wrote:

Paulie wrote:There should be some kind of Soviet-style committee that has to approve your release before you're allowed to put it in the shops.

dubstepforum?


i only half jest. this place is probably the best place to gauge how your tune will do. as ken says if 50 dont dig it, 500 wont.
.

ok, well what if 50 people on the forum DO dig your stuff, and maybe 100 have asked for it, but you don't really have the contacts to get it out, and no one big or small from a record label has asked about it?... is that the 'ignition' most would use to start a label?...

i'm just curious!

skrewface wrote:

gaston_UK wrote:labels are just run by groups of friends, and only seem to release stuff from their friends.[/b]

thats one thing that bugs me.

Radio stations, compilations etc. Thats what Dubstep is, a selfish elitistic crowd. Thats why people actually start their own shit lol

STFU

no one wants you here

unlikely wrote:im not so sure about the whole "only releasing tunes by people you know" thing being that much of a problem in dubstep, it seems to me that at the moment when someone comes with something different and quality it gets snapped up pretty sharpish. I've signed things from people i have never met after one listen before when its grabbed me, and i know a lot of the big labels have too

exactly.


if your music is good enough then you shouldn't have to "know people" to have it signed.

gaston_UK wrote:

boomnoise wrote:

Paulie wrote:There should be some kind of Soviet-style committee that has to approve your release before you're allowed to put it in the shops.

dubstepforum?


i only half jest. this place is probably the best place to gauge how your tune will do. as ken says if 50 dont dig it, 500 wont.
.

ok, well what if 50 people on the forum DO dig your stuff, and maybe 100 have asked for it, but you don't really have the contacts to get it out, and no one big or small from a record label has asked about it?... is that the 'ignition' most would use to start a label?...

i'm just curious!

Yeah why not?

some of the artists starting up 'vanity labels' are the ones with a particular style and sound the status quo havent bought into. i rather like this proactive approach to getting your music out.

hwat has skrewface done? Well i can kind of guess but, please do enlighyen me. Has he beeen knicking people's tracks from p2p's.

metalboxproducts wrote:hwat has skrewface done? Well i can kind of guess but, please do enlighyen me. Has he beeen knicking people's tracks from p2p's.

yeah i wanted to ask that too. i haven't been on the forum for loads years like some

gaston_UK wrote:

metalboxproducts wrote:hwat has skrewface done? Well i can kind of guess but, please do enlighyen me. Has he beeen knicking people's tracks from p2p's.

yeah i wanted to ask that too. i haven't been on the forum for loads years like some

yes. and its only just happened recently

hera wrote:some of the artists starting up 'vanity labels' are the ones with a particular style and sound the status quo havent bought into. i rather like this proactive approach to getting your music out.

Yes, yes. Many good things have come from this approach. Artists taking the matter into their own hands. That is good.

incyde wrote:

unlikely wrote:im not so sure about the whole "only releasing tunes by people you know" thing being that much of a problem in dubstep, it seems to me that at the moment when someone comes with something different and quality it gets snapped up pretty sharpish. I've signed things from people i have never met after one listen before when its grabbed me, and i know a lot of the big labels have too

exactly.


if your music is good enough then you shouldn't have to "know people" to have it signed.

who listens to tunes they get sent though?
who plays new tunes by new people?
not many - if any.

hera wrote:some of the artists starting up 'vanity labels' are the ones with a particular style and sound the status quo havent bought into. i rather like this proactive approach to getting your music out.

exactly. the world of labels in dubstep is very, very small. tempa's got their artists, as does DMZ... Pinch's techtonic has new artists, planet mu keeps getting new artists and kode9's hyperdub as well. beyond that it's nearly all tiny, tiny, TINY labels. It's absolutely 100% the way to go in any underground genre. If people believe in your tunes, GET THEM OUT THERE.

the amount of labor involved to start a label is not monumental; you do need $ to do it and anyone who says you're in it for a quick buck is absolutely 100% bona fide crazy. i'm not gonna put companies' costs up here but for a beginning label, after you've gotten your tracks mastered and pressed, labels printed, all shipped to the distributor, you're looking at barely-- like, withing $50 or so-- breaking even.

There's no quick buck to be had in the short term. You do this to get tracks out, to grow, to ideally build something that's got value, from the scene to the label to the artist.

really i can't believe that anyone is thinking there's TOO many offerings out there. There's always gonna be a question of quality control but ultimately:

this is still underground music, right? people still do get excited walking into record shops and hearing tunes they haven't heard before, from new artists on new labels, right?

more is not always more. I'd prefer there were, say, 25 labels with real identity, vision and passion, rather than 250 similar labels putting out so so music that i'm indifferent to. after all, when i walk into a shop, realistically i'm likely to buy 5 records from 25 labels, but not 25 from 250...

Wil Blaze wrote:

boomnoise wrote: i think there are 2 distinct types of label in dubstep. those with vision and those without. those with really craft something unique. those that don't just bosh stuff out.

i think having a strong label identity is as important as having strong tunes. this is something which is crafted through consistent quality output which fits into the label's ideals. think hotflush, think deep medi, think hyperdub.

What if your vision for the label is not to have a specific identity attached to your label, but to put out consistenly good releases across all sounds and styles?

i don't think it has to be a sonic thing. you can still have an aesthetic identity which works across different styles and sounds.

this is just a ramshackle of thoughts based on what's been said in the thread thus far >

the proliferation of new labels without a profile only serves to reinforce the quality and vision of the established labels.

There was a time when i went to the record store and i could listen to every new release. Now i have to make conscious descions based on what i "think' something is gonna sound like, which goes back to label identity.
But having said that, im probably more likely to pick up a white label out of curiosity than a branded new label/artist that im not aware of. Now that is food for thought.

Label Identity????? I could not think of 3 more different but equally talented producers as Mala, Coki & Loefah. How does their disparate sounds merge to create the singular vision that is DMZ???

Branding and Identity is exactly that, a pretty picture to represent the commodity.
Like any commodity the consumer has to look past that!

If Distro's are picking up new labels left, right & centre, the stuff is selling.
THat means people are buying, who?...DJ's...not home listners!...what do Dj's want? To suggest that it's the distributors at fault is the wrong view.

El Sudor wrote:

incyde wrote:

unlikely wrote:im not so sure about the whole "only releasing tunes by people you know" thing being that much of a problem in dubstep, it seems to me that at the moment when someone comes with something different and quality it gets snapped up pretty sharpish. I've signed things from people i have never met after one listen before when its grabbed me, and i know a lot of the big labels have too

exactly.


if your music is good enough then you shouldn't have to "know people" to have it signed.

who listens to tunes they get sent though?
who plays new tunes by new people?
not many - if any.

word of mouth


if something's good it will eventually be discovered. unless of course you don't have a virb or myspace page and live under a rock.


also i cant speak for other labels but at hotflush we listen to everything that's sent.

boomnoise wrote:

Wil Blaze wrote:

boomnoise wrote: i think there are 2 distinct types of label in dubstep. those with vision and those without. those with really craft something unique. those that don't just bosh stuff out.

i think having a strong label identity is as important as having strong tunes. this is something which is crafted through consistent quality output which fits into the label's ideals. think hotflush, think deep medi, think hyperdub.

What if your vision for the label is not to have a specific identity attached to your label, but to put out consistenly good releases across all sounds and styles?

i don't think it has to be a sonic thing. you can still have an aesthetic identity which works across different styles and sounds.

yeah.

i mean listen to hyperdub's catalogue, its diverse as fuck. Burial, Kode 9 + Spaceape, L.V., Quarta, The Bug..... all different styles.

i think something which hasn't really been stressed enough yet is the art of trawling through for new producers. don't let stuff come to you. stray away from the dubs section of this forum and dig deep and don't be affraid to go out on a limb for something you believe in but always keep in the back of your mind having boxes and boxes of 12' frisbees laying around your flat.

to be trite: it's not just who you know, but how you know

once you've crafted your label identity then tunes will come to you because producers will see a fit with their work and your label. or at least aspire to be on your label because they respect it.

i know the successful labels do their 'a&r' very well. you might just happen across the next burial or skream. if you're a label who signs an artist of sufficient potential they will help your label grow.

look at hotflush. a few core artists established the label and they continue to release those artists whilst simultaneously signing fresh new talent. i think for any label today hotflush is a pretty good roll model.

and of all the new labels (and no offense to anyone as there is a lot of great music coming out on some of the start ups) i think the hessle boys are getting things dead right.

but this said i guess it depends on your goals. if it's simply to put out the tunes you like, then crack on. but if you want to build something special the work needs to go in on every level.

and let's be real, all dubstep labels are still very much in the underground model, some are trying to operate bigger than they are but they are failing and letting down artists and the music. all that dubstep labels do is put out your records, there is very little investment in their artists and trying to build them. alot of this work in dubstep has been done by booking agents rather than the labels.

Blackdown wrote:more is not always more. I'd prefer there were, say, 25 labels with real identity, vision and passion, rather than 250 similar labels putting out so so music that i'm indifferent to.

Couldn't agree with this more.

Same goes for producers IMO...but that's a different story for a different thread.