Two Indie Music Bloggers Form Record Label
The d.i.y. music mantra, "Who needs a record label PR machine, when cool blogs will help you spread the word for free?" has taken an interesting twist lately as select music bloggers start their very own record labels. And as music lovers and writers who have found an audience that trusts them, isn't it really a logical next step?
This week, two more popular indie music bloggers Gorilla vs. Bear and Weekly Tape Deck joined forces to form Forest Family Records. Limited runs of 7”, 10” and 12” vinyl plus cassettes by some brand new artists are in planning stages, and a Cults 7" is already for sale.
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That is so aswesome, Im really surprised that more blogs dont band together in this way…they are the trusted curators. It just makes so much sense.
Is it just me or is there a credibility issue at stake here with bloggers and their audiences? If they have monetary gain by blogging about particular bands and artists, does the audience lose faith in their trusted new music sources?
Jeff- you bring up a good point, but I think it depends on the post (if it’s a review, how it’s written). Also, if you know they own the label, you can take that into consideration when reading.
If they are transparent and honest about it, I don’t see a problem, and I think we need more music lovers getting into the game.
def the future. congrats to these guys and best of luck.
I agree that if the reader is respected and it is made clear that the blog runs the label, then there is nothing wrong with continuing to push music to their readership. It’s a bit like saying, “here’s my music and other related music that I like”.
Also worth mentioning… 7″, 12″ and CASSETTES! There’s definitely the niches there and I hope they can exploit them. Good luck!
Will they be giving all the music away for free on the blogs and paying advances, marketing, promotion, touring, studio and pressing costs out of their own pockets 🙂
At http://routenote.com we would be more than happy to help them distribute their music
I’m kind of amazed that they’re giving away both sides of the 7″ for download.
Guess that means their customers will really like the stuff on offer.
The limited run 7″ labels in the UK continue to give away the MP3s of each track and I haven’t heard of them not selling the 500 copies they had made.
Blog labels seem to work quite well as they already do a lot of curating, gig organising and other tasks that labels would previously have had a hand in. We’ve been thinking about launching one ourselves, but lack of enough spare time for the project has been the main issue.
If they need some beats they can always show up at http://www.beatzforsale.com and check out the selection.
On another note, this seems like a very tough mountain to climb. Do they expect to be a major record label or are they content with just being an indie label? Would like to see where these guys are at in 5 years.
Step 1) post advertisement
Step 2) Make half-hearted attempt at contributing to debate
Jeff, I agree that there’s a credibility issue here.
Personally, I have (and will continue) to blog about bands that I have a pre-existing relationship with. And, to that point, I’m careful to disclose that. Now, additionally, if I didn’t think the band was up-to-par for inclusion on my site, they wouldn’t be there.
I’m also careful to NOT take any compensation for posting a “good review”. I think that all of my reviews could be construed as “good”, but if a band is not that great, I simply choose not to feature them.
I think that GVB and WTD have the potential to sell a lot of vinyl, but call a spade a spade. This is a distribution label. They aren’t doing artist development or real feet-on-the-ground promotion. And, for them and most of the bands, that’s probably all they need or want. But, don’t try to masquerade as something that you don’t intend to be. People (especially industry folks) see right through that and label you as an amateur.
It’s nothing personal, just calling it like I see it.
This is awesome to hear, and I wouldn’t be too worried about a bias going forward. As a small label, they will only have a select few artists in the first place. If they only write about them, they will immediately lose their audience.
The sustainability of their blogs going forward will depend entirely about their ability to continue posting good content unrelated to their label. By maintaining credibility for their blog, they will only continue to build a name for their label among artists that might be interested in signing with them. As others said above, bloggers are already the tastemakers and curators of our generation!