How Would One Go About Starting A Record Label??????!

[Built 4 cuban linx]

Yeezus is a God and he's a college dropout

 

[Weazel]

Ask TECH9NE

 

[5 Grand]

Well good luck trying to start a record label without a college degree

 

[LOLCL]

It depends. You can technically start an LLC at almost any time, and then register your home as the business address/identify with the business bureaus of your state that you're selling cd's out of your home. You can register a LLC for $500 in my state.

This gives people a reason to legally come to your house for a small amount of time, relatively often.

You can get loans but there's no comparison to hard work invested and artists also connected with your brand. You can put on events then try to bank a little, then just keep investing/reinvesting. But you have to be smart about it. You can sub-contract out the recording early if you don't want to buy your own studio (studios are a big investment and then you gotta pay rent on a building unless you wanna just do it out your house and have your kid play with toys around your artists like some places i've been).

Once you have a catalogue you're proud about, that's when you can start pushing it. You can press CD's relatively cheap (order them offline in bulk) and if you do the art yourself it's even cheaper, then if you're in a city area, start pushing those CD's out to local corner stores/places who sell mixtapes for cost value so you cover the initial investment then every show you have in the future sell those CD's for all profit. Let's say it costs you $30 for 500 cd's, if you sell them at stores for $1 each and make your profit back relatively quickly if you can sell them in packs, even of 5. Then sell the rest at $5-$10 each. That's at least an extra $400 once you eventually run out - the pace that you run out is up to your own individual hustle though. There are so many different ways to sell your music and cd's other than just directly to the audience. It is all about not losing money and always getting it back no matter what.



You don't want to be indebted to anyone when you're still building your brand/team. Networking is more important than anything else at this point, and identifying ways you can make your product stand out from the rest of the crowd but still align with the value of the buyer at that time. Don't listen to people trying to sell you services, anything. Do EVERYTHING yourself, or use your friends.

You need to start an event that identifies the most with your brand and have that event go on almost regularly, with uniqueness to it each time. Once you can get a normal crowd out, just market to that crowd and grow it. Network at all times and be professional, don't go starting fights and drama for no reason.

Music is all about levels.

 

[LOLCL]

1. Get an Associate's degree

2. Write a business proposal

????

3. Make a hit song, not a good song, but a radio smash hit (Hot In Here, In Da Club, Hard Knock Life, Juicy, Dear Mama)

I respect you a lot cause it's always good to get old head opinions on anything but this is a big leap man. I think these should either be switched or more explained - writing a business proposal is a big in depth thing explaining each step. You're telling me Lil Pump should write a business plan about how he flexes like oou?

Independent labels are killing this model thankfully. Remember if you make under $12000 a year in petty cash from an income source you don't have to pay taxes on it/report it to the IRS.

 

[5 Grand]

1. Get an Associate's degree

2. Write a business proposal

????

3. Make a hit song, not a good song, but a radio smash hit (Hot In Here, In Da Club, Hard Knock Life, Juicy, Dear Mama)

I respect you a lot cause it's always good to get old head opinions on anything but this is a big leap man. I think these should either be switched or more explained - writing a business proposal is a big in depth thing explaining each step. You're telling me Lil Pump should write a business plan about how he flexes like oou?

Independent labels are killing this model thankfully. Remember if you make under $12000 a year in petty cash from an income source you don't have to pay taxes on it/report it to the IRS.

Well if you're making $12,000 per year, you're living in poverty and you'd make more money working at McDonalds.

I thought the T/S was talking about running a record label that generates enough profit to live comfortably. To do this you'll need a hit song that you can tour with on the strength of that song. If you don't have a hit song, you can't tour because nobody's heard of you. Club promoters and radio stations across the US aren't going to book your shows if they haven't heard of you, especially if nobody in that region has heard of you.

As much time as posters spend on this message board debating Pac vs Big or Jay vs Nas, you could spend a few days writing a business proposal and putting together a Powerpoint presentation. With a written proposal and a Powerpoint presentation you can stand in front of investors that have MBAs and sell your idea. With no written plan investors won't take you seriously.

Its been said that some rappers started their own labels with drug money, so they didn't need a business plan or a Powerpoint presentation. But for every Hip Hop mogul that started a record label with drug money there's 10,000 people in prison serving lengthy sentences because they got caught up in the drug game. I wonder how that happened?

 

[HafBayked]

you didnt hear it from me but you wanna rob your favorite KFC....lay the smack down but let lil homie in the window make it, then wait bout 20 years for him to bring his son to your spot

in the meantime think big sample clearances....Janet Jackson type shit....things like this take time to lock down so start working on that

 

[5 Grand]

Another thing;

Independents will never, ever take over the corporations. It's impossible.

Back in the 1920s there were three major labels; RCA Victor, Columbia and Edison (Thomas Edison's label). Edison folded in the market crash of 1929. From that point forward there were two major labels.

When Rock N Roll came out, RCA and Columbia thought it was just a fad, so by the mid 1950s there were scores, if not 100s of independent labels. Slowly but surely the major corporations began buying out the independent labels. By the 1980s independent labels still existed but major labels had an oligopoly. History repeated itself, the major labels thought rap/Hip Hop was a fad so they didn't TAKEOVER the Hip Hop industry until the early to mid 90s.

By the mid 1990s, there were 5 major labels (BMG, Sony, EMI, Universal, Seagrams) that controlled 80% of the record industry with independent labels controlling 20%. But as soon as any one of those labels started making serious money they would get bought out by a major label (Def Jam, Cash Money, Rocafella, Rawkus).

Basically the major corporations have so much money and power they can force you to sell your company when it gets to a size where you're competing against them.

Think about it; if you owned a $500 billion corporation, would you let an independent label make $100 Million without giving you a cut? Serious question.

If I owned a $500 Billion corporation I'd let a label make $100 Million as long as they gave me 60% of the profit.

 

[LOLCL]

Another thing;

Independents will never, ever take over the corporations. It's impossible.

Back in the 1920s there were three major labels; RCA Victor, Columbia and Edison (Thomas Edison's label). Edison folded in the market crash of 1929. From that point forward there were two major labels.

When Rock N Roll came out, RCA and Columbia thought it was just a fad, so by the mid 1950s there were scores, if not 100s of independent labels. Slowly but surely the major corporations began buying out the independent labels. By the 1980s independent labels still existed but major labels had an oligopoly. History repeated itself, the major labels thought rap/Hip Hop was a fad so they didn't TAKEOVER the Hip Hop industry until the early to mid 90s.

By the mid 1990s, there were 5 major labels (BMG, Sony, EMI, Universal, Seagrams) that controlled 80% of the record industry with independent labels controlling 20%. But as soon as any one of those labels started making serious money they would get bought out by a major label (Def Jam, Cash Money, Rocafella, Rawkus).

Basically the major corporations have so much money and power they can force you to sell your company when it gets to a size where you're competing against them.

Think about it; if you owned a $500 billion corporation, would you let an independent label make $100 Million without giving you a cut? Serious question.

If I owned a $500 Billion corporation I'd let a label make $100 Million as long as they gave me 60% of the profit.

The question wasn't the longevity of it, it was how to start one. Ultimately I think your goal should be to sell the brand that you create for yourself, not yourself as an artist, but at least the label behind you. Having that label power distribution and marketing wise can never hurt. I believe we are entering an age where independent labels will have stronger power over the major labels, but of course that'll go away in a few years.

 

[Soloman_The_Wise]

Create a Tunecore account...http://www.tunecore.com/

 

[5 Grand]

Another thing;

Independents will never, ever take over the corporations. It's impossible.

Back in the 1920s there were three major labels; RCA Victor, Columbia and Edison (Thomas Edison's label). Edison folded in the market crash of 1929. From that point forward there were two major labels.

When Rock N Roll came out, RCA and Columbia thought it was just a fad, so by the mid 1950s there were scores, if not 100s of independent labels. Slowly but surely the major corporations began buying out the independent labels. By the 1980s independent labels still existed but major labels had an oligopoly. History repeated itself, the major labels thought rap/Hip Hop was a fad so they didn't TAKEOVER the Hip Hop industry until the early to mid 90s.

By the mid 1990s, there were 5 major labels (BMG, Sony, EMI, Universal, Seagrams) that controlled 80% of the record industry with independent labels controlling 20%. But as soon as any one of those labels started making serious money they would get bought out by a major label (Def Jam, Cash Money, Rocafella, Rawkus).

Basically the major corporations have so much money and power they can force you to sell your company when it gets to a size where you're competing against them.

Think about it; if you owned a $500 billion corporation, would you let an independent label make $100 Million without giving you a cut? Serious question.

If I owned a $500 Billion corporation I'd let a label make $100 Million as long as they gave me 60% of the profit.

The question wasn't the longevity of it, it was how to start one. Ultimately I think your goal should be to sell the brand that you create for yourself, not yourself as an artist, but at least the label behind you. Having that label power distribution and marketing wise can never hurt. I believe we are entering an age where independent labels will have stronger power over the major labels, but of course that'll go away in a few years.

Well nowadays it seems to be about streaming. Tidal, Spotify, Youtube, Pandora, IHeart Radio, etc. But you can best believe that those streaming sites are owned by major corporations and any independent streaming site that starts making money is going to be bought out by a major corporation (Big Bank take little bank).

But back to the question of starting a label. I can't believe I forgot this most important detail, you need a good lawyer and you need to sign your artists to a contract so they can't record for any other label/entity. It doesn't make any sense to put money behind an artist if he's free to record elsewhere. You'd be competing against other labels with the same artist. Look at any successful label. They have artists that are signed exclusively to that label, they can't record elsewhere without permission. Or if they do record elsewhere the recording belongs to the label, not the person that recorded it (i.e. a mixtape DJ).

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

Well good luck trying to start a record label without a college degree

You truly are fuckn stupid.

Puff

Jay/Dame/Biggs

Irv Gotti

Dr. Dre

Barry Gordy

All folks who started a label w/o a degree.

 

[5 Grand]

Well good luck trying to start a record label without a college degree

You truly are fuckn stupid.

Puff

Jay/Dame/Biggs

Irv Gotti

Dr. Dre

Barry Gordy

All folks who started a label w/o a degree.

Again, good luck

 

[Idiopathic Joker]

Great advice guys

 

[Beta]

Great advice guys

First dude you gonna sign will be NBA youngboy

 

[Idiopathic Joker]

Great advice guys

First dude you gonna sign will be NBA youngboy

Who?

 

[LOLCL]

A lot of people get held back from having expectations that are much to high, you can study contract law yourself & literally draft that, then get it notarized or whatever, all without a lawyer. You don't want to be paying someone's salary when you have no money coming in, just doesn't work out for a successful business.

When there's money to spend and give out, that's when you do it.

 

[nawledge_god]

1. Get an Associate's degree

2. Write a business proposal

3. Make a hit song, not a good song, but a radio smash hit (Hot In Here, In Da Club, Hard Knock Life, Juicy, Dear Mama)

4. Contact the Small Business Administration and other government funded lenders and get investors to fund the label (you'll need at least $1 Million to get started)

5. Send the HIT song to all of the Hip Hop and R&B radio stations in the U.S. (It has to be a hit!!! If its not a hit you're wasting your time!)

6. Make a PROFESSIONAL VIDEO (maybe 2 or 3 videos) and do a social media blitz.

7. Once you've created a buzz you can tour and the radio stations will promote your shows for a % of the door receipts.

7. You'll need to rent a tour bus for a 40-City tour.

8. A 40-City tour takes about 60 Days.

Good Luck!!!

You Really Aiming For The Sky Hujh

 

[5 Grand]

1. Get an Associate's degree

2. Write a business proposal

3. Make a hit song, not a good song, but a radio smash hit (Hot In Here, In Da Club, Hard Knock Life, Juicy, Dear Mama)

4. Contact the Small Business Administration and other government funded lenders and get investors to fund the label (you'll need at least $1 Million to get started)

5. Send the HIT song to all of the Hip Hop and R&B radio stations in the U.S. (It has to be a hit!!! If its not a hit you're wasting your time!)

6. Make a PROFESSIONAL VIDEO (maybe 2 or 3 videos) and do a social media blitz.

7. Once you've created a buzz you can tour and the radio stations will promote your shows for a % of the door receipts.

7. You'll need to rent a tour bus for a 40-City tour.

8. A 40-City tour takes about 60 Days.

Good Luck!!!

You Really Aiming For The Sky Hujh

Well it depends on how sharp you are from the start. Some people can get by with an Associate's Degree. Other people need a Bachelor's Degree or a Masters and they still can't get anywhere in life because they're natural born followers and don't have any entrepreneurial spirit.

I know guys who have MBAs but they don't have the heart to quit their job and start their own business.

 

[Cabana_Da_Don]

Get legit artists.That includes producers and legit cash cows.Every great label got couple cash cows.Couple hits.People look just for one hit but nah you gotta have couple hits.Get money from shows,internet free songs and get it on clothe at concerts and festivals.Tv promotion.Invest in serious propaganda.Payola.