Friday, October 25, 2013

What Were We Thinking

I suppose the question that we get asked the most is "why does the world need another record label?' And the answer is an easy one- it doesn't. What it does need however are people who are willing to be partners to important artists of our time in this era where the entire business model for music is broken. And that is what Re-Vinyl Records is here to do.
We chose to refer to this little undertaking as a co-operative for a reason. I have tried my hand and making music and it was really hard. I squandered money at every turn simply because I did not know what I was doing. I relied on  the generosity of friends who were willing to commit more money and time than they should have just to see a pal get a leg up. In some cases, people paid over one hundred dollars to my crowd funded projects. In return they received a middle of the road record, my gratitude and probably some pretty tough looks from spouses who were dubious of these "investments". I came to see crowd funding as a very temporary solution. Like any sort of generosity, it is bound to reach a limit. While Amanda Palmer's fans may be willing to rally and come up with a million dollars, most artists are asking their friends and fans to subsidize their art in hopes that the final product will produce more fans. Most of the time though, it seemed like  that same small group of fans paying much more than retail to get the record that they by all rights should be able to have paid market value for. Add in the fact that many of these projects fail to even meet the rewards obligations and I predict a short life for this form of art production.
The other options are not much better. You can tour half of the year in hopes of saving enough in the band kitty to pay for the next project but even that is limited to those who can tour full time and with travel costs getting worse weekly, even that most tried and true method seems to narrow the access of music creation to a small group of bands. It is unlikely that some fantastic music that we have grown to love would ever have seen the light of day if that was the only way to do it. Would the world have ever gotten to hear Charles Bradley or John Dee Graham if this were their only route? And what albums would we have never heard from people like John Prine, David Berman or Sharon Jones if their only options had been to give up their day jobs with the hope that Wednesday night gigs in Omaha would reward them sufficiently enough to get studio time?
So, while recording a record has become easier than ever, the actual mass production and release has in many ways become harder. It is a double edged sword. The sheer volume of records being made in bedrooms across the world and then posted to e-purchase locations has made the hunt for quality music akin to panning for gold. It is tough to separate the wheat from the.....other stuff.
Re-Vinyl Records intends to fill the gap. We seek artists with strong fan bases who want to hear their music in the finest medium available. We underwrite the pressing and release of the records and every penny of profit that comes from the record is divided with the artist seeing anywhere from 8-11 dollars profit on each unit. Every critical decision- pricing, vinyl weight, artwork etc- is controlled by the artist without label interference. Bands- you make the record that you want to make. We see to it that it gets into the hands of those who want it and everyone wins.
Time will tell if our model will work but it stands a much greater chance at making a change than railing on services like Spotify etc. So, if we sound like the sort of label that you would want to work with, contact us. And if you are a music fan, like we are, take the time to view our catalog and support the amazing artists that we have the pleasure to work with.

Re-Vinyl Records

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