contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Hey guys! My best friend and I are seriously looking into starting our own record label meant specifically for pressing vinyl, both new and represses. We are drawing our inspiration from the new founded Bad Timing Records. We want to make our releases special whether it be through exclusive artwork or unique color variants. It's in the early stages now, but we're slowly gathering as much information as we can in order to do this thing properly. The goal is to have something up and running by the end of summer or fall. The only real issue we have yet to work out is the process and costs for acquiring the rights to anything we look to press, but hey that's what email is for. Mainly posting, just to see if anyone has looked into similar idea? Maybe has some insight? On top of that, are there any records (realistic) you think need to see the light of day or be repressed? Keep in mind, we are relatively small, so we not looking to repress Deja Entendu or anything (hahaha!) I've joined VC recently, already met some great people, and look to be a contributing member, so even just a reply for some support would be awesome! Thanks everyone! danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museummouth Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 You should look more towards labels like Topshelf or Deathwish for inspiration.... Duff, castaway and smailtronic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejesseb Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 You should look more towards labels like Topshelf or Deathwish for inspiration....Yup. Focus more on customer service and good bands. sacredheart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emo Revival Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Keep things cheap. If I can afford to sell a 12" of a new band from <$9 so can you Duff, sacredheart and smailtronic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Keep things cheap. If I can afford to sell a 12" of a new band from <$9 so can you That's the goal! After the first run through of potential costs I ended up at $12, but that's just an estimate. Hey do you mind if I PM'd you a few questions? danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Family Friendly Rap God Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Yup. Focus more on customer service and good bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 You should look more towards labels like Topshelf or Deathwish for inspiration.... I said BTR because they are similar in the sense that they're two good friends and I love their work, but we are looking into a lot of labels for inspiration. danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Yup. Focus more on customer service and good bands. Nothing worse than shitty customer service. This has been a dream of mine, I would never let it fail because of something like that. danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexH. Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Pretty bummed that acquiring rights and paying for licensing is synonymous with being a label in some peoples' minds. The world doesn't need another dumb label that just puts out vinyl versions of pop rock albums from 2000-2009. Personally, the only reason I would try to start a label/put out a record is if I personally knew a band that was sooooo good that they should have a physical document of their work, but no one else was making it happen. Make actual personal connections with musicians in your community and they'll work with you to put out their music without having to throw away a couple hundred/thousand dollars to some major/giant quasi-indie label for the privilege of putting something out that they were too lazy to do themselves. topshelfsquad, Duff, GradedOnACurve and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emo Revival Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 That's the goal! After the first run through of potential costs I ended up at $12, but that's just an estimate. Hey do you mind if I PM'd you a few questions? Feel free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Pretty bummed that acquiring rights and paying for licensing is synonymous with being a label in some peoples' minds. The world doesn't need another dumb label that just puts out vinyl versions of pop rock albums from 2000-2009. Personally, the only reason I would try to start a label/put out a record is if I personally knew a band that was sooooo good that they should have a physical document of their work, but no one else was making it happen. Make actual personal connections with musicians in your community and they'll work with you to put out their music without having to throw away a couple hundred/thousand dollars to some major/giant quasi-indie label for the privilege of putting something out that they were too lazy to do themselves. The goal is to release albums that are personal favorites of ours and albums that we know others would appreciate seeing on vinyl. It's not to release records that we expect to sell a ton of copies and make us money. It's to have our name permanently put on a piece of work that means the world to us. I do understand where your coming from, but that's our vision. danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 It's to have our name permanently put on a piece of work that means the world to us No offense but what accomplishment would you really get by having your logo stamped on the back of an album you didn't help originally write/record/release? I don't hate these re-releases, and if you're putting stuff like that out to be able to fund original releases then do it up! Just don't bite off more than you can chew with reissues/re-releases and get your products out in a realistic time frame. I'd even suggest not posting 'pre-orders' until you have the records in hand. You'll front more money out of pocket initially, but it's worth it to give your customers a good experience. dreamover, Duff and smailtronic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadDonut Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Just don't bite off more than you can chew with reissues/re-releases and get your products out in a realistic time frame. I'd even suggest not posting 'pre-orders' until you have the records in hand. You'll front more money out of pocket initially, but it's worth it to give your customers a good experience. This. There is nothing more frustrating than a delay. Yes it does happen and that is okay every now and again but when you've waited 2 or 3 months after the original release date to get an album you preordered it makes the product a little less enjoyable. A fellow VCer and I are trying to put out a 7" from a local post-rock band that he knows and it's going to be a whole lot cheaper for us because we know the dudes and we won't have to acquire any rights. I definitely understand what you mean by having your name on something that is important to you. If it's really something that means a lot to you, don't take any short cuts. Do it the right and the best way you know how and hopefully the rest will work itself out. Good luck to you and your buddy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniquemel0dy Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 What kind of runs are you aiming for (/100,/250,/500,/1000). I would suggest putting out small projects first to see how everything works and then build up to your bigger bands. There will be mistakes to be made, and you sure don't want that to happen on a highly anticipated release. If I remember it correctly someone on this board pressed something and had a shit ton of records arriving with split-seams and all sorts of mess. In the end I remember the member lost a huge amount of capital because of it. For reference: http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/94152-you-me-and-everyone-we-know-some-things-dont-wash-out-mahogany-records/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundrstruckk Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 This. There is nothing more frustrating than a delay. Yes it does happen and that is okay every now and again but when you've waited 2 or 3 months after the original release date to get an album you preordered it makes the product a little less enjoyable. A fellow VCer and I are trying to put out a 7" from a local post-rock band that he knows and it's going to be a whole lot cheaper for us because we know the dudes and we won't have to acquire any rights. I definitely understand what you mean by having your name on something that is important to you. If it's really something that means a lot to you, don't take any short cuts. Do it the right and the best way you know how and hopefully the rest will work itself out. Good luck to you and your buddy! Let me know when this happens. I'm interested. RadDonut 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock N Roll Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 If you say you're going to ship priority....god damn it, then ship priority RadDonut, GradedOnACurve, Duff and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadDonut Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 If you say you're going to ship priority....god damn it, then ship priority Lol. Upvote! Upvote! Upvote! Brock N Roll 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadDonut Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Let me know when this happens. I'm interested. Will do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrewest Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 If you can press the last two Wess Meets West albums then I'll love you forever. Thundrstruckk and topshelfsquad 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 What kind of runs are you aiming for (/100,/250,/500,/1000). I would suggest putting out small projects first to see how everything works and then build up to your bigger bands. There will be mistakes to be made, and you sure don't want that to happen on a highly anticipated release. If I remember it correctly someone on this board pressed something and had a shit ton of records arriving with split-seams and all sorts of mess. In the end I remember the member lost a huge amount of capital because of it. For reference: http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/94152-you-me-and-everyone-we-know-some-things-dont-wash-out-mahogany-records/ Ouch that's rough! Our first project is going to be relatively small, probably going do /250. I've been doing a lot of research to make sure things happen as we would like them to. danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 If you say you're going to ship priority....god damn it, then ship priority Big pet peeve of mine too! danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 This. There is nothing more frustrating than a delay. Yes it does happen and that is okay every now and again but when you've waited 2 or 3 months after the original release date to get an album you preordered it makes the product a little less enjoyable. A fellow VCer and I are trying to put out a 7" from a local post-rock band that he knows and it's going to be a whole lot cheaper for us because we know the dudes and we won't have to acquire any rights. I definitely understand what you mean by having your name on something that is important to you. If it's really something that means a lot to you, don't take any short cuts. Do it the right and the best way you know how and hopefully the rest will work itself out. Good luck to you and your buddy! Our first project is looking to be similar. The band isn't local, but they aren't signed or anything. The goal is to jump around the "acquiring rights" and get use the saved money to make the release special. danionly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 No offense but what accomplishment would you really get by having your logo stamped on the back of an album you didn't help originally write/record/release? I don't hate these re-releases, and if you're putting stuff like that out to be able to fund original releases then do it up! Just don't bite off more than you can chew with reissues/re-releases and get your products out in a realistic time frame. I'd even suggest not posting 'pre-orders' until you have the records in hand. You'll front more money out of pocket initially, but it's worth it to give your customers a good experience. Oh yeah for sure! I would definitely have the records in hand before I even announced the release. Nothing is better than hearing about a release and then having it in your hands a week later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themean Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 We want to make our releases special whether it be through exclusive artwork or unique color variants. If you think this is what makes releases "special" you should find something else to spend your money on. Duff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contiinstereo Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 If you think this is what makes releases "special" you should find something else to spend your money on. I guess "special" was the wrong choice of word there. The point was that if a project was a re-release, our intent wouldn't be to just duplicate the previous release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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