zachobbs Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 So, I have been running this really small label called Alaska Records for a little over two years. But I have officially decided to throw in the fucking towel There is this band from around here called the Felon Wind that has had a killer record recorded for a while and have just been sitting on it. After talking to them for a while, I asked them if I could press the CD, under the pretext that they were going to be touring all summer. So, we get the wheels moving, but then their tour falls through, but, then they said they are rescheduling for the fall. We had the release show on June 3rd, exactly two weeks later, they fucking break up. So after the about 50 we sold at the show, I am left with 950 CDs and huge fucking hole in my wallet. What sucks even more is that because they wanted to get it out as soon as possible, I fronted half of the cash from my own personal savings, as opposed to using the money from the label (I was pressing the Benard/Worn in Red 7” and haven’t made all of that back yet). So, not only did I bust my ass on my label, but I pretty much busted my ass personally. So, I am officially out of the record business. The only way I will be involved again is pressing LP versions of albums already on CD. It just really sucks that my last release is such a shitty one. I guess if you want to check out some of our stuff, you can hear some MP3s on our myspace (http://www.myspace.com/alaskarecordsatl) and on all the bands myspace (they are all in our Top 8). I guess if you hear something you like and would like to pick something up and help me out a little, our store is: http://www.alaskarecords.net Music sucks. Seriously looks like I just went to my toilette and took all that cash and flushed it down the toilette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Sucks man, I'll check out the myspace see if anything is my style. The cover art for that Fox Trotsky / Die Benny split is pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabepunktony Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Ah man, that hurts. =\ When did the Benard/Worn In Red 7" come out and what's the press run for the red and black colors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monk0nuggets Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I'm really sorry to hear that man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlovecolouredx Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I'm really sorry to hear that man! i think you can send some in 950 cds left for revhq or robotic empire or deadformat.com (the other store of virgil). i will check their music and looking for a chance for support you.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperinactive Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 +1 for releasing fox trotsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachobbs Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Ah man, that hurts. =\When did the Benard/Worn In Red 7" come out and what's the press run for the red and black colors? It doesnt really have a release date because everything got stalled so many times and it took so long to get it all together...it was available at the end of April though, and the pressing was as follows: 20 Red with heavy black smoke 130 on clear red (some with very light black smoke) 350 on Black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjustinxschwierx Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 sorry to hear that, but I totally understand. I have a lot of CDs sitting around from bands doing shitty things like that. total bummer...but bands are ignorant to massive details like pressing costs and the work that goes into running a label. It's so much leg work, and it totally sucks when bands do shit like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vittywatt Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 hey you have two different store fronts: one here:http://www.alaskarecords.net/newsite/store.html and one here:http://www.alaskarecords.net which one should i use? that wrister band sounds pretty rad but it's only available on the first URL? plus what about shipping? one says the prices include and the other doesn't! i'm so confused:( thanks - joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachobbs Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 hey you have two different store fronts:one here:http://www.alaskarecords.net/newsite/store.html and one here:http://www.alaskarecords.net which one should i use? that wrister band sounds pretty rad but it's only available on the first URL? plus what about shipping? one says the prices include and the other doesn't! i'm so confused:( thanks - joshua hey man, for the Wrister record, just use the www.alaskarecords.net/newsite/store.html...i am in the process of getting everything switched over to the Big Cartel store, but havent got everything on there yet. But the price of the CD through that storefront includes shipping. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachobbs Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 sorry to hear that, but I totally understand. I have a lot of CDs sitting around from bands doing shitty things like that. total bummer...but bands are ignorant to massive details like pressing costs and the work that goes into running a label. It's so much leg work, and it totally sucks when bands do shit like that. Whats kind of funny (in a funny pathetic way) is that something similar happened to me about a year ago. i was pressing a 7" for this band called Histories, and paid the $350 non-refundable deposit from Musicol, and we got the test presses the day before I went on tour, so I left them with the band and told them to make sure everything was cool, and when I got back we would finish it out. Gone for 10 days, when I got home, they had broken up. Played one last show. So basically I paid $350 for 5 test pressings. They said they were going to pay me back....ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flood Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 yeah as a small label you have to be able to roll with the punches on crap like this... i have a worse story... one of our bands got on warped tour, ended up being AM!'s horn section for all of warped, and was selling hundreds of cds a day on the tour... so we kept pressing and repressing to keep them stocked... well the van explodes, and they have to get a uhaul...who charges out the ass for one way rentals... so bye bye all the money... band breaks up for stupid reasons upon their return.. we end up way in the hole, and with cases of cds.. blech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faith Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 what band what band? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 High School Football Heroes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisisahiijack Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 every band i ever released anything for on my old label is broken up now. except ANS. i guess i should clarify, most of them broke up within a month or two of the release coming out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddieruckus Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 flood, you should make jason or dave pay you back in blowjobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachobbs Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 if anyone is still interested, I have the eStore back up and working now over at www.alaskarecords.net with all of our still in print releases and etc etc. thanks to everyone who has helped me out! http://www.alaskarecords.net - Zac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aarondanger Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I'm putting out a CD for my friends band that is basically only going to be a parttime band. One guy is moving 3 hours away another one moving to ohio. They are touring this summer so hopefully I don't lose my ass. Sometimes breaking even on a friends band instead of making money on another band your not so close to is the right thing to do P.s. Alaska records rules and so does benard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flood Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 breaking even is fine.... my first 15 or so releases were breaking even on friends bands (or hopefully breaking even) its just when friends bands then fuck you over because they dont want to be left holding the bag... then its time to worry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kouka Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 a good and wise friend (who has released many records) told me that if you put out a record expecting to make money, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. sure, you hope to at least break even, but the fuel should be pure love of that music/record/band. anything else is icing. (p.s. I'll be doing just this by year's end, and of course I hope I am not left with a closet-full of 500 lps!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgeagain Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 So you're quitting the record label because you got screwed by the band on ONE release? Shit, if you've put out 12 records and this is the first time this has happened, consider yourself lucky. Also, a tip: if you want to sell any of these CDs you're stuck with, you might want to put an MP3 of that band on the MySpace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drunkenthird Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 yeah as a small label you have to be able to roll with the punches on crap like this... i have a worse story... one of our bands got on warped tour, ended up being AM!'s horn section for all of warped, and was selling hundreds of cds a day on the tour... so we kept pressing and repressing to keep them stocked... well the van explodes, and they have to get a uhaul...who charges out the ass for one way rentals... so bye bye all the money... band breaks up for stupid reasons upon their return.. we end up way in the hole, and with cases of cds..blech there is a way to beat uhaul. it involves disabling the speedometer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachobbs Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 So you're quitting the record label because you got screwed by the band on ONE release? Shit, if you've put out 12 records and this is the first time this has happened, consider yourself lucky. Also, a tip: if you want to sell any of these CDs you're stuck with, you might want to put an MP3 of that band on the MySpace. I'm not bailing because I got screwed once. I've been keeping things afloat for three years and breaking even, but this time it caused me to dip into my own personal money, so not only is my label in the red, but so am I. This is has always been a really really small label, and I dont really have the flex room or extra cash to have the flex room to deal to deal with unfortunate circumstances twice. i never cared about making any money, I just wanted to put out records for my friends for as long as I can. And now I can't, so I'm not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aarondanger Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 All ive ever done is use my personal money. did u just save for a long time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachobbs Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 All ive ever done is use my personal money.did u just save for a long time? Basically. I got a lot of cash from my family when I graduated highschool, and when I was in college the first year I was living real cheaply, so I basically saved enough to put out our first two records (they were both Short Run CD-Rs). Those sold enough to get a nice full blown CD pressed, and form there on out been selling enough to keep things afloat without having to dip into my personal savings. I mean, sometimes I would front some cash from my savings, but it would be for a band that would be playing shows and pay back what i fronted myself. But with the Felon Wind, now that they are calling it quits, I dont really see being able to make back that cash and enough to press something else. eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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