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 Are record labels evil?

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Monkzum
Overlord of Pain
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Are record labels evil? Vide
PostSubject: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 9:05 am

So it begins again!

We came to the conclusion that the smaller record labels were fine and the bigger ones weren't. That's fair enough right? You can have your say. I mostly started this just to show the E-mail that I just received from the owner of Grindethic. Here it is.

"Alright mate, sorry for the delay in replying but I was busy rolling around in my amassed riches ;-)

I can't really speak for labels in general but small underground labels run by people like myself certainly don't make much of a profit. Certainly for brutal death metal the vast majority of independant labels are run by members of bands that want to get involved in the scene more deeply. I tried and failed to make a living from the label and now have to take on other jobs to support myself while at the same time putting a lot of time and effort (and sometimes my own money) into the label to keep things running. I'm sure a lot of the bigger labels like Earache, Relapse, etc make a pretty big profit and I would hazard a guess that their motives have tended to switch from a passion in music more towards signing bands that will make them some money but I guess thats just the nature of growing into a bigger organisation. I prefer not to go into actual figures regarding my financial situation but suffice to say for the hours I put into the label I take a lot less wages than I would make from even a minimum wage job and most of the money goes straight back into the next release.

Hope that satisfies your curiosity!

Cheers,
Tom"

Seems pretty accurate.
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Nautilus
Mantooth
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 9:26 am

No. In and of themselves actually they're fantastic for bands. It's just the ones that have certain business practices...
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Rosalind
Caretaker of Chaos
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Are record labels evil? Vide
PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 11:10 am

Monkzum wrote:
So it begins again!

We came to the conclusion that the smaller record labels were fine and the bigger ones weren't. That's fair enough right? You can have your say. I mostly started this just to show the E-mail that I just received from the owner of Grindethic. Here it is.

"Alright mate, sorry for the delay in replying but I was busy rolling around in my amassed riches ;-)

I can't really speak for labels in general but small underground labels run by people like myself certainly don't make much of a profit. Certainly for brutal death metal the vast majority of independant labels are run by members of bands that want to get involved in the scene more deeply. I tried and failed to make a living from the label and now have to take on other jobs to support myself while at the same time putting a lot of time and effort (and sometimes my own money) into the label to keep things running. I'm sure a lot of the bigger labels like Earache, Relapse, etc make a pretty big profit and I would hazard a guess that their motives have tended to switch from a passion in music more towards signing bands that will make them some money but I guess thats just the nature of growing into a bigger organisation. I prefer not to go into actual figures regarding my financial situation but suffice to say for the hours I put into the label I take a lot less wages than I would make from even a minimum wage job and most of the money goes straight back into the next release.

Hope that satisfies your curiosity!

Cheers,
Tom"

Seems pretty accurate.

So more or less what people said on the FB boards? tongue The majority of bigger labels rip off the artist and the smaller ones have difficulty with advertising contacts.
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bleghman
Overlord of Pain
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Are record labels evil? Vide
PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 11:23 am

Victory's evil
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Nautilus
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 12:43 pm

^ BUY INDIE. BUY VICTORY.
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 1:26 pm

No. I think that some of it is on the bands as well. Bands with "purer" motives find certain types of labels, and bands that want to make "cash" tend towards business driven labels. Regardless of the type of label, bands and labels will have conflicts about where the bands image/sound should go, but that is bound to happen in any creative endeavour that involves so many people.

On the other hand labels do help to make the music accesible to fans, maybe they are dwindling in importance because of the internet but they are were none the less fairly important in the early days of the genre. Especially the ones who stood behind Black and Death metal bands (read any fringe genre), before the following was really there. They do deserve some credit for the risks they took with their own money to try and get the music to the fans.
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bleghman
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 2:57 pm

Nautilus wrote:
^ BUY INDIE. BUY VICTORY.

you know they spend bands' royalties on more advertising? and then they pretend to be all DIY and shit with their "Destroy Corporate Rock" campaign
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Nautilus
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 3:57 pm

Well if it's advertising for the band itself, I don't see why not. But if it's just their general stupid advertising, that's bullshit.

And on top of that, all of their bands suck.
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bleghman
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 9:09 pm

Nautilus wrote:
Well if it's advertising for the band itself, I don't see why not. But if it's just their general stupid advertising, that's bullshit.

And on top of that, all of their bands suck.

and by spending royalties, I mean spending as much as they can and giving the bands nothing


Streetlight Manifesto's on Victory. Anyone who says Streetlight sucks is an asshole.
but true, most of the bands suck
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LegionOvDoom
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Are record labels evil? Vide
PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptySun Sep 13, 2009 9:13 pm

Nautilus wrote:
And on top of that, all of their bands suck.

I remember a time when this wasn't true.
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Bright_Eyed
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptyThu Sep 17, 2009 11:39 am

Record labels are no more evil then the rest of capitalism.

Not everything fits neatly into the whole 'good vs. evil' spectrum.

In fact, the only thing that comes to mind as inherently evil is idea of everything fitting into the 'good vs. evil' spectrum.
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son_ov_hades
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptyThu Sep 17, 2009 1:15 pm

Bright_Eyed wrote:
Record labels are no more evil then the rest of capitalism.

Not everything fits neatly into the whole 'good vs. evil' spectrum.

In fact, the only thing that comes to mind as inherently evil is idea of everything fitting into the 'good vs. evil' spectrum.

O hai thurr psuedo-philosophizer
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Bright_Eyed
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptyThu Sep 17, 2009 1:22 pm

son_ov_hades wrote:
Bright_Eyed wrote:
Record labels are no more evil then the rest of capitalism.

Not everything fits neatly into the whole 'good vs. evil' spectrum.

In fact, the only thing that comes to mind as inherently evil is idea of everything fitting into the 'good vs. evil' spectrum.

O hai thurr psuedo-philosophizer

Did you miss the display pic? Razz
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Mantooth901
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptyMon Oct 19, 2009 2:02 pm

IMO, it obviously depends on who your record label are.
I mean lets point out the pros and cons
Pros: You can get plenty more shows (right?), better quality on albums, more money, better reputation (depending on the label).
Cons: They can sometimes be just DBs..... thats all the problems I see with them
Although I do think it might be easier without them....but not as successful.
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Rosalind
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PostSubject: Re: Are record labels evil?   Are record labels evil? EmptyTue Dec 29, 2009 9:50 am

I know this is an old thread, but I found an old article by Albini about large record companies and precisely how they fuck people over (in case people don't know who Albini is, he was a prominent noise rock figure noted for being outspoken about the industry. Think modern Zappa).

http://www.negativland.com/albini.html
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