Thinking of starting a cassette label

[dailyhifi]

I'm thinking of starting a cassette label to help some friends put out some stuff they currently only have on bandcamp. I've collected tapes for a long time and I have no illusions about making any kind of money on this. I am viewing more as i like this music and want to support it and I could have some fun and learn a lot.

 

I'd love to hear from any of you who have run or are currently running a label that does cassette releases. I'd also love to hear from any bands who have put out a cassette release.

 

I own a working tape duplicator and have contacts with a number shops locally and in the region to get the tapes out. I also plan to do small runs that 100 or fewer.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Sidney Crosley]

Tip: release anything Brand New so much as farted on and you will get people who don't even own cassette players buying in bulk.

[Fowty Dollaz]

Tip: release anything Brand New so much as farted on and you will get people who don't even own cassette players buying in bulk.

This is true. Would buy.

In all seriousness, I don't operate a label, but I buy from a lot of labels. I don't think it's a bad idea to help people out. Rambo can probably tell you how much money you aren't going to make and time you'll devote to it. I still think it's worth it. I like cassettes of music I enjoy. I've been recording some vinyl to cassette in order to make listening to albums a little more convenient for when I'm not actively sitting by the turntable. Bonus: if it helps your friends out, they will be ever appreciative.

[erikness]

• Start small at first. Probably smaller than 100, unless it's an album that you know 100 people who buy cassettes will want.

• Dub tapes yourself. It's a lot cheaper than getting a minimum of 100 tapes professionally manufactured that you're probably not going to move quickly enough initially.

• Individually number things. People like that.

• Anything you can do to make the tapes visually stand out, do it: alternate art, cool looking tapes, colored cases, nice j-cards, etc.

[andy.]

• Individually number things. People like that.

• Anything you can do to make the tapes visually stand out, do it: alternate art, cool looking tapes, colored cases, nice j-cards, etc.

 

If there's two things I love about tapes it's hand-numbered and cool looking artwork/shells

[batman]

something else that nobody else touched on--I like getting download codes for tape exclusive releases. that way I can still have a physical copy, support the band, and listen to the release digitally in my car or on my ipod at work.

[Sidney Crosley]

In all seriousness, I don't have a cassette label, but I did make copies of my album on cassette to have something physical to release at a show last month.

 

I used a company called duplication.ca, and the customer service was phenomenal. Super-fast turnaround on dubbing tapes, and depending where you are, you can definitely benefit from the weak Canadian dollar. 

 

You can have them do everything from dubbing to artwork, or get them to dub (as few as 10), and then print off labels and J-cards yourself (or via any printer).  https://www.duplication.ca/quotes/canada/english/cassette-packages.php 

 

They sell printable J-cards and cassette labels for relatively cheap too: http://www.duplication.ca/shop/Audio-Cassettes/

[andy.]

duplication.ca

nationalaudiocompany.com

tapes.com

deltamedia.com

[dkrtz]

I recommend starting a label if you are fond of

• crying
• losing lots of money
• being broke
• realizing 100 is way more than you thought
• realizing 50 is way more than you thought
• not having any money
• having endless stacks of cardboard boxes 
• and bubblewrap strewn across the house
• bankruptcy 
• okay so there's bubblewrap and that sounds fun but
• tears

[dailyhifi]

Thanks so to everyone for the info. I do plan to start really small. I plan to give the bands involved the choice of a professional dub form either National or duplication.ca. I really want to put band I work with in the driver seat on the quality and quantity as long as they are reasonable.

 

The plan is for everything to be limited runs under a 100, hand numbered and when they are gone they are gone in that variation. If we repress the casing or art or both will be different. Because many of the bands I'm working with already have stuff up or will have it up on bandcamp, doing a download will be easy and I plan to include it.

 

A question:

 

where is the best place to buy tapes if I want to dup them myself?

 

what else am i missing?

[dvv]

give us some links to your friends bands

[Sidney Crosley]

Thanks so to everyone for the info. I do plan to start really small. I plan to give the bands involved the choice of a professional dub form either National or duplication.ca. I really want to put band I work with in the driver seat on the quality and quantity as long as they are reasonable.

 

The plan is for everything to be limited runs under a 100, hand numbered and when they are gone they are gone in that variation. If we repress the casing or art or both will be different. Because many of the bands I'm working with already have stuff up or will have it up on bandcamp, doing a download will be easy and I plan to include it.

 

A question:

 

where is the best place to buy tapes if I want to dup them myself?

 

what else am i missing?

Do you have a decent machine for duplicating? The unending patience to dub one at a time? The good news is that you can probably find a very decent tape deck without breaking the bank. 

 

One thing to think about, especially if you're working with independent bands, is the sound level in relation to line level. Getting even a basic EQ/mastering will be really important so that the songs aren't too loud/distorted or too quiet. This will often be up to the band, but it might be a good idea to look at how the songs directly downloaded via Bandcamp compare to professionally mastered songs in your digital library. I got my own album professionally mastered this summer, and got to sit in on the sessions. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences as far as being a music maker and listener. The mastering technician did everything in relation to frequencies, and had the kind of ear that totally amazed me, especially when he said he wasn't listening at all to the content of the music, but to the highs, mids, and lows, at different frequencies. He studied as an apprentice for a year before mastering on his own.  All of this to say that while cassette sound quality may not be that of FLAC or vinyl, it's still pretty important to get a decent line level output that won't distort or need to be cranked.  I briefly thought about learning how to use some free downloadable mastering plugins and programs, but I'm about to have a second child, so I don't know that I will have that kind of time.

 

 

Are you going to host the songs on a record label bandcamp or simply link to the respective band's own? How will ordering/selling work? Make sure you have clear conversations with bands about this.

[andy.]

Better idea: bootleg popular bands albums and pray you don't get sued.

[Shitty Rambo]

<p>

I recommend starting a label if you are fond of

• crying
• losing lots of money
• being broke
• realizing 100 is way more than you thought
• realizing 50 is way more than you thought
• not having any money
• having endless stacks of cardboard boxes
• and bubblewrap strewn across the house
• bankruptcy
• okay so there's bubblewrap and that sounds fun but
• tears

All of this. The only advice I could give you is to try and keep all your projects one-to-one with the artist/band. Doing everything yourself takes a lot of time, but it's nice not having to rely on anyone else (duplication services, companies who assemble the entire cassette for you and take all the fun out of this).

[dkrtz]

Serious advice:

• dupliaction.ca doesn't have a 50-100 custom-length blank limit like most of the american sites and they're who I usually use (though shipping to US is killer and can take a bit).
• Don't forget to factor in cases and J-cards into your financial planning--100 cases will be around $30.
• Personally I love using professional photo prints for j-cards. You can create a template yourself and print on either 4x7" for a full-page inner panel or the standard 4x6" for a half-page inner panel, my new favorite format. If you order them online or have them done in a store 100 will cost you around $20+ (some stores have a discount one you reach 100 prints though). That way you can still design and hand fold them without having home inkjet printer quality.
• However inkjet printers can still print out some awesome cassette label stickers if you don't wanna go the professional pad-printing route.
• if you do wanna get ink printed directly on the cassette shells the price will vary from store to store; some stores can do a run of 100 pad printed for $30-50 but you have to keep in mind strength of opacity, ink-color choice and ability to resist fade will factor in to cost (if you want to get high-quality, long lasting red ink, for instance, the price may teeter closer between 50-100 for the printing). There is the option of paint pens though and I think a lotta people over look them but they have an awesome hand-made feel and you can do anything with them that you can imagine, so that's always fun.
• If you wanna get professional dubbing the price will again vary but usually be prepared to spend an additional $40-80, depending on high-speed options and whatnot (which you will wanna avoid if sound quality is of concern).
• Really the best option is to find a tapedeck you're comfortable with online or at goodwill and give it a through cleaning then get to know it's quirks. You'll be surprised with how good you can get a secondhand deck to make tapes sound.
• Once you find a deck you're comfortable with you can buy an identical model, maybe even two more, and daisy chain them all together so that you can dub two or even three or more tapes at once instead of a single tape at a time. But you still hafta be comfortable and content with the continual process of dubbing dozens and dozens and dozens of tapes. 

 

it's fun tho i promise it's great these are tears of joy 

[Sidney Crosley]

Also, mad respect to all of you who are already or are planning on setting up a cassette label. I put together cassettes just for my own music, and even that took a lot of time and effort (plus some sneaky maneuvering at work to print J-cards and labels with the office copier). So much passion, love, and tears to help musicians find broader audiences. Be confident that you are making the musical universe a better place by helping small artists get their music heard.

[dailyhifi]

Do you have a decent machine for duplicating? The unending patience to dub one at a time? The good news is that you can probably find a very decent tape deck without breaking the bank. 

 

One thing to think about, especially if you're working with independent bands, is the sound level in relation to line level. Getting even a basic EQ/mastering will be really important so that the songs aren't too loud/distorted or too quiet. This will often be up to the band, but it might be a good idea to look at how the songs directly downloaded via Bandcamp compare to professionally mastered songs in your digital library. I got my own album professionally mastered this summer, and got to sit in on the sessions. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences as far as being a music maker and listener. The mastering technician did everything in relation to frequencies, and had the kind of ear that totally amazed me, especially when he said he wasn't listening at all to the content of the music, but to the highs, mids, and lows, at different frequencies. He studied as an apprentice for a year before mastering on his own.  All of this to say that while cassette sound quality may not be that of FLAC or vinyl, it's still pretty important to get a decent line level output that won't distort or need to be cranked.  I briefly thought about learning how to use some free downloadable mastering plugins and programs, but I'm about to have a second child, so I don't know that I will have that kind of time.

 

 

Are you going to host the songs on a record label bandcamp or simply link to the respective band's own? How will ordering/selling work? Make sure you have clear conversations with bands about this.

 

Thanks for your response it has given me some more stuff to consider and map out.

 

I have a Sony CCP-130 duplicator that is in good working order along with a collection of decks for creating a solid master tape.  The EQ is something I hadn’t thought a ton about but the more I talk with people her locally, with people nationally at labels I respect and here, I’m seeing how important it is. what is that program?

 

In regard to sales, I was planning on having mirrored sales of the cassette on BOTH the label bandcamp and the band's bandcamp. Thoughts on this model?

 

I also currently sell records locally in a shop as part of a CO-OP (double nickels collective in Tempe AZ) and have good relationship with all of the other local record shops so i'll have some opportunities to sell the tapes in a brick and mortar retail space as well as online. 

[dailyhifi]

All of this. The only advice I could give you is to try and keep all your projects one-to-one with the artist/band. Doing everything yourself takes a lot of time, but it's nice not having to rely on anyone else (duplication services, companies who assemble the entire cassette for you and take all the fun out of this).

 

I couldn't agree more. I'm very DIY and want to do as much of in house with the band as I can.

[dailyhifi]

 

I recommend starting a label if you are fond of

• crying
• losing lots of money
• being broke
• realizing 100 is way more than you thought
• realizing 50 is way more than you thought
• not having any money
• having endless stacks of cardboard boxes 
• and bubblewrap strewn across the house
• bankruptcy 
• okay so there's bubblewrap and that sounds fun but
• tears

 

 

 

totally, I already do a ton of ebay and discogs sales so the bubble wrapped living room is a struggle I already know.

 

in all seriousness, realizing 50 is too maby is solid advice.

[Sidney Crosley]

For mastering, first and foremost, you need to do some reading as to what it's all about, how it works, what it does, etc. At the bottom of my post, I am linking to an unmastered version of one of my songs, and then the mastered cut. Huge difference.

 

 

I've explored a couple of the programs/software here: http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2013/06/26/free-mastering-software/but be warned, it makes you realize how complex mastering can be. I played around with a few of the mastering 'suites' (near the bottom of the list), as I wanted a bit of a catch-all. I think I'd need more time than the few minutes I spent, but I could see there was potential.

Another good thing to do is do some waveform analysis - you should be able to see the dynamics in waveforms, rather than it looking like it's all distorted, or really quiet. Audacity is a great free program to download to help you with this, but I know that there are tons of waveform analyzers, sometimes as plugins for non iTunes music players.

 

There's a website/software/app called Landr that has caused some controversy recently. It's basically a (paid) website where you upload a digital file and their algorithms master a track for you. I've read some really positive reviews, plus some less positive ones, but it seems that it could do the trick if you're looking for something quick and easy (though not free).

 

Check out these three tracks of mine. One is an unmastered track. One is a track mastered by Warren Hildebrand of Orchid Tapes/Foxes in Fiction (I was in conversation with him about him mastering my album, but ultimately went with someone local at a mastering studio), and the third is mastered by Milan Schramek at Lacquer Channel in Toronto. Hopefully you can play them directly from my Google Drive - otherwise PM me for better access.

 

Edit: I think you can access, but you may need to download to listen - they're uncompressed so they're pretty big files.

[nostalgicbummer]

 

I recommend starting a label if you are fond of

• crying
• losing lots of money
• being broke
• realizing 100 is way more than you thought
• realizing 50 is way more than you thought
• not having any money
• having endless stacks of cardboard boxes 
• and bubblewrap strewn across the house
• bankruptcy 
• okay so there's bubblewrap and that sounds fun but
• tears

 

haha i love this response, i really need to order some stuff from ya!

as far as the original post i have no advice to give since i dont run a label but i wish you luck and hope you keep us posted!

[dkrtz]

haha i love this response, i really need to order some stuff from ya!

thanks for the kindness man! If you ever do i'll try my best to make it a cool package for ya somehow

 

 

More advice for op: 80% of the time people may dig what you do but don't dig spending money on tapes like

[andy.]

but don't dig spending money on tapes like

[dkrtz]

 

but don't dig spending money on tapes like

 

haha so true! We all love spending money on tapes we just hate spending money. And really though i joke but if people wanna get physicals they're more likely to buy a cheap tape than a cd. Best of luck in your endeavors, op!

[dailyhifi]

Thanks for all the advice and wisdom. The band and I decided to do to a run of 50 tapes using duplication.ca. We have access to professional mastering and will get a good mixdown for a mastertape. Again, thanks for all the advice. When it drops I'll link to the bandcamp.