Getting Signed

originally published November 19, 2008

It's a goal on the mind of many striving musicians - the recording contract signed with a record label. Whether with a big name or an upstart indie, a record deal can affix some legitimacy to the entire undertaking, and offer support, encouragement and financial backing. But as most labels will only finance a band's recording process in exchange for a stake in the recordings or sales - and because horror stories of record-label abuses abound - bands should take a hard look at what they could potentially get out of the deal.

And with online promotion possibilities unfolding every day, and the ability to record entire albums on compact laptops, are record labels even necessary for bands operating on the level of most Athens acts? Thing is, no two labels are the same, and no two labels offer artists identical deals. Brian Causey's WARM Electronic Recordings label, home to acts like Phosphorescent, Crooked Fingers and Liz Durrett, is based here in Athens. "A good label offers," says Causey, "at the very least, credibility, some sort of financial backing, stable digital and physical distribution, a solid marketing plan, cross promotion with the label's roster, and clear and consistent accounting of royalties."

If you had legal woes, you'd call a lawyer. If your pipes burst at home, a plumber. And so with a record label, it essentially comes down to this: what, specifically, does your band need? When you've reached the point where you just don't have enough time, knowledge or skill to expand your audience or figure out this shaky, shifting music biz thing, perhaps then it's time to reach out and partner with a label that can help fill in those gaps.

What Do You Need?

"I think I sent off like 30 or more CDs to labels that never in a million years would have even considered us - like Sub Pop, Saddle Creek, etc... so those were probably just wasted," says Patrick Keenan, singer for local rock band The Winter Sounds. His band signed with the Alpharetta-based label Livewire last year to release its album Porcelain Empire; Livewire has since folded. "Since Livewire," he says, "I've realized that local independent labels are all run by people in pretty much the same spot that you are. They love music and want to make it their life, but have no magic answer for finding that path. If there is a label that you really liked, it's probably the best idea to get in touch with their bands and play shows and learn about the label and support the label through their bands. If you are qualified to play with the label's bands, then you might be good enough to be on the label, and the bands would vouch for you and the whole process would happen naturally."

Dark Meat signed a deal with tastemaking hipster label Vice Records earlier this year to re-release the band's debut album Universal Indians. Bandleader Jim McHugh says that Dark Meat found Vice to be an ideal partner at the time because what the band was looking for was promotion to a national audience. "That's their job. I give them tons of credit for giving us complete room that we need, y'know, like 'do what the fuck you want,'" he says. He also says the bandmembers signed up with Vice because their sensibilities about the changing music business gibed. "The advantage of Vice is how visible they are… They realize that concrete recorded music is basically worthless, so what people want to invest themselves in is the experience and the culture and personalities of the band. And we had that, with our personality and our show, and our history with Athens and all." And though nothing has been announced, unofficial word is that the band's relationship with Vice may not last as long as originally stated - through next year and another album - testament to the fact that relationships between label and artist can be tenuous.

Help on the Road?

Local pop outfit Modern Skirts is the type of band that exemplifies the need to partner up with a label; the guys have charted a slow rise to regional acclaim and have achieved a commendable amount of local coverage, but are eager to push towards the next level with the release of their second album All of Us in Our Night. Whereas Dark Meat was looking for modes of distribution in order to pull attention to its album, the members of Modern Skirts have their publicity and management handled independently, and what they're looking for in a label is help touring.

"Artistic control is for me one of the most important things, and that exists to different degrees on the indie level," says guitarist/vocalist Jay Gulley, "but we've already recorded this album, so we need help on the road."

"I think there's a risk of being pigeonholed as a regional band, and a label or a booking agent is a good way of breaking out of that," says guitarist/bassist/vocalist Phillip Brantley. "What we're really looking for is a label that can offer us tour support. We've got promotion covered on our end, we have someone doing that well, but it's important to get paired up with a label that has artists where we can tour with them... they already have a built-in audience, and hopefully, will be turned on to what we're doing."

Getting a Spotlight?

For Liz Durrett, who recently released her third album Outside Our Gates to the highest quality and quantity of media attention yet, promotion was the main concern. "I’m just not very good at it. I’m a horrible promoter, the worst. I just can’t do it," she says. Outside Our Gates, like Durrett's two prior albums, was released on Causey's WARM label.

That established relationship appealed to Durrett, and she says that building a relationship with WARM over several years allowed her to feel more comfortable stretching her wings on this newest album, which has paid off in positive reviews and an increased profile.

Dead Confederate is another local band that signed with a fledging label, The Artists Organization, although this one was run by industry veteran Gary Gersh, who signed Nirvana and Sonic Youth back in the '90s. "It was a way for us to basically get attention that we weren't getting," says Dead Confederate guitarist/vocalist Hardy Morris. "It made people pay a little more attention and take us a little more seriously." That attention came in the form of profiles in Rolling Stone, among others, and spots on late-night television.

Why Not Online & Solo?

And with all the online resources, is a record label even needed? "It's definitely not completely necessary," says Keenan. "However, a label, technically, is a team of people with connections and distro, etc. and newsletters and in-house publicity, etc... So, if you want all that, then you either find a label or do it yourself. I don't fully understand the process, but I have noticed that the best up-and-coming new bands out there have learned the business side to preserve for themselves their artistic control. In time, you can 'hire' on your own independent publicity, your own management, legal, publishing, licensing, etc... You can book your own shows, too. We book all our shows. It's hard but eventually you have all the qualifications of a label without surrendering your art in the process. The point of it all is that when you write a song it's yours; you can give it away to whomever. If a CD sells, it's your money. And in the process, you create something that labels really really want, which is a band that can exist independently and isn't reliant on the label to do everything for them, but the band and the label would mutually benefit from their networks and their work ethic."

Brian Causey also thinks that while the online model can work to get things going, a label may end up being necessary. "It's an outdated philosophy to think that you just have to make a great record and then sit back and wait for your record to hit it big," says Causey. "The market is so saturated that you really need to do something besides making an album yourself and releasing it online. Digital music and online marketing can be a great way to get started, but to achieve a widespread success you really need a team of some sort behind you - be it a label, manager, and/or booking agent. I'd say a good barometer to gauge your chances of any solo success is to go ahead and submit your work to those kinds of companies in the industry. If you get some call-backs, then you can make the choice of whether you want to DIY or not. However, if you don't get any interest, save your time and your money and modify what you are doing, or find a new line of work."

Partners in Crime

When considering a label, Keenan has this advice for young bands: "Get to know other bands on the label and see if they are happy with the label. See if they feel like they get support, that they trust the people at the label. See if they have friends there or if it's strictly business or whatever. But talk to the bands."

If nothing else, once a band has partnered with a label it thinks will best suit its individual needs, it's wise to remember that most independent labels, particularly local ones like Athens' own WARM, Orange Twin or Happy Happy Birthday to Me, are run by actual people - flawed, excited, passionate, overworked, creative, messy - and that it's only once a band makes it to the big time that the corporate business hierarchy gets more rigid. "Running a label is a multi-dimensional job, and working relationships vary depending on each artist's abilities and sensibilities," says Causey. "I try to gauge the skills (aside from the music) of the people I work with to help define what WARM can offer them. Over the past 10 years I've worn the hats of a business partner, manager, advisor, therapist, producer, postal worker, editor, credit card company, fireman, bail bondsman, farmer and sometimes convenient scapegoat… all with varying degrees of success!"

Chris Hassiotis

Making It is a recurring column that provides helpful direction for our many aspiring local musicians.