why be signed to a record company?

[hieishin]

I never understood why dubatep artists are signed to record comapnies. If they make their own tracks and everything then why need a record company? Couldnt they just upload their own tracks and sell them?

[-[2]DAY_-]

sell them to who? Promotion costs money.

[LA_Boxers]

Distrubuting costs money.

[NRHc]

Distrubuting costs money.

you really think he's going for vinyl??
I'm pretty sure he talks uploading bad quality 320's to itunes LOL

[-[2]DAY_-]

Distro is free.
Promo isnt, and in this oversaturated landscape you gotta go harder than everyone else just to squeeze into a few listeners' heads and get a millisecond of their attention

[LA_Boxers]

Distro is free.
Promo isnt, and in this oversaturated landscape you gotta go harder than everyone else just to squeeze into a few listeners' heads and get a millisecond of their attention

I guess I was thinking of vinyl rather than digital.

[hendramarshall]

surely anyone who understands the concept of pressing a release can grasp that it costs alot of money to do this and that its hard to just up and press 500 copies of your tunes on your own dime... right?

record labels are essential to music. dont dispute.

[-[2]DAY_-]

See the OP:

Couldnt they just upload their own tracks and sell them?

However,

record labels are essential to music. dont dispute.

This is completely false, at least when you word it that way. I mean there are countless ways one could dispute that statement, hah. But I think i get what you're saying, and I'm apt to agree with the sentiment. Labels not only make the investment on an artist, they provide their custees with a brand/identity to look for. Like a Medi release vs. a Circus release

[hendramarshall]

Labels not only make the investment on an artist, they provide their custees with a brand/identity to look for. Like a Medi release vs. a Circus release

this is exactly what i meant haha, i really didnt mean to put it so bluntly... just if it wasn't for the ability to trust a name and look to certain labels for quality time and time again i dont know what i would listen to right now...

[reprisal]

I never understood why dubatep artists are signed to record comapnies. If they make their own tracks and everything then why need a record company? Couldnt they just upload their own tracks and sell them?

drugs, women, money.

[gen_]

I never understood why dubatep artists are signed to record comapnies. If they make their own tracks and everything then why need a record company? Couldnt they just upload their own tracks and sell them?

drugs, women, money.

Spot on, do you really think people like 16bit and Flux would be internationally recognised without labels like Circus to spend dough on them.

Not to mention expertise. Sure the two producers i mentioned make great beats, but i doubt they have a degree in marketing, and 14 clones of themselves that work round the clock getting them gigs, merch, distro, more merch, logistics, and all that other crap someone with almost 20 bookings a month needs.

[test_recordings]

The punk band Fugazi used to have a DIY approach to everything musical and did well out of it plus kept their fans really happy, their wiki page lists some points you might want to start with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi

[Promise One]

The punk band Fugazi used to have a DIY approach to everything musical and did well out of it plus kept their fans really happy, their wiki page lists some points you might want to start with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi

The DIY approach is good I agree but I think that was a reaction to major labels, most dubstep labels are smaller indies and generally care about the music rather than profit / image etc. Having your tracks on a label looks better than someone who doesn't as it means other people have faith in the track in order to sign it, not just yourself if that makes sense.

[test_recordings]

The punk band Fugazi used to have a DIY approach to everything musical and did well out of it plus kept their fans really happy, their wiki page lists some points you might want to start with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi

The DIY approach is good I agree but I think that was a reaction to major labels, most dubstep labels are smaller indies and generally care about the music rather than profit / image etc. Having your tracks on a label looks better than someone who doesn't as it means other people have faith in the track in order to sign it, not just yourself if that makes sense.

To get over the prejudice that people have over self-releases you could refer to yourself as a label? You could also make it a private limited company so that if it fails it doesn't pull your bank balance in to a black hole

The DIY approach doesn't necessarily have to be on an anti-label agenda since there's more rewards for yourself rather than having to split it down a chain?

[Promise One]

The punk band Fugazi used to have a DIY approach to everything musical and did well out of it plus kept their fans really happy, their wiki page lists some points you might want to start with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi

The DIY approach is good I agree but I think that was a reaction to major labels, most dubstep labels are smaller indies and generally care about the music rather than profit / image etc. Having your tracks on a label looks better than someone who doesn't as it means other people have faith in the track in order to sign it, not just yourself if that makes sense.

To get over the prejudice that people have over self-releases you could refer to yourself as a label? You could also make it a private limited company so that if it fails it doesn't pull your bank balance in to a black hole

The DIY approach doesn't necessarily have to be on an anti-label agenda since there's more rewards for yourself rather than having to split it down a chain?

I'm not saying its a total prejudice people have over self releases. I don't mind either way myself but if you were a blog/DJ or whatever and you were going through loads of tracks to pick out the best in your option, your more likely to be interested and take more notice of the tracks on a label before the rest. I forgot people self release under a self name label, gets past what I mentioned earlier. Some artists actually love the "unsigned" tag. I agree, DIY approaches don't have to be anti label but I thought the punk scene version generally was, anticonsumerism with DIY ethics and all.

[test_recordings]

The punk band Fugazi used to have a DIY approach to everything musical and did well out of it plus kept their fans really happy, their wiki page lists some points you might want to start with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi

The DIY approach is good I agree but I think that was a reaction to major labels, most dubstep labels are smaller indies and generally care about the music rather than profit / image etc. Having your tracks on a label looks better than someone who doesn't as it means other people have faith in the track in order to sign it, not just yourself if that makes sense.

To get over the prejudice that people have over self-releases you could refer to yourself as a label? You could also make it a private limited company so that if it fails it doesn't pull your bank balance in to a black hole

The DIY approach doesn't necessarily have to be on an anti-label agenda since there's more rewards for yourself rather than having to split it down a chain?

I'm not saying its a total prejudice people have over self releases. I don't mind either way myself but if you were a blog/DJ or whatever and you were going through loads of tracks to pick out the best in your option, your more likely to be interested and take more notice of the tracks on a label before the rest. I forgot people self release under a self name label, gets past what I mentioned earlier. Some artists actually love the "unsigned" tag. I agree, DIY approaches don't have to be anti label but I thought the punk scene version generally was, anticonsumerism with DIY ethics and all.

Do you know bloggers and DJ's that think like this? Benga doesn't care, he lets anyone pay £1 to send him tracks Rightly so though, you never know what's going to come through (the charge is his own choice, of course). Most DJ's I know don't select on label since they're the ones spinning the next banger before it's released (I don't know any big DJs though I'm sure the majority of them just spin un-signed dubplates or white labels). I don't know any bloggers but they all seem to either rep any track that takes their fancy but I bet there's a few that stick to big names for reason unknown only to them