The Vandor Music Group, an organization dedicated to giving real competition to the virtually exclusive general licensors, make the observation that there’s no such thing as a major or an independent label, only distributed and non-distributed labels that vary in size. [check out the Vandor Music manifesto at vmgworldwide.com/fullsite.htm ; also, the Music Industry News Network at www.mi2n.com .]
For a label, a solid distribution deal is pretty much what makes or breaks it. Once you press 2000 copies of a record and you have to go down to the manufacturer and pick up all the goddamned boxes and load them into a van and unload them and keep them stored somewhere, you can’t help but agree. The only trouble is, what constitutes a “solid” deal? Well, first off, all distribution means is that a given company is adding your product to their catalogue. Literally. I mean a big book filled with a ton of boring small print. They are still counting on you, the artist, to get people interested enough in your band to make that name jump off the page. Of course, they have distribution reps whose job it is to carry that damned book and get into meeting with buyers at stores all over the place and open the book up. The question is, with most distributors adding thousands of bands per month to that big-ass book, what guarantee do you have that their rep is going to steer the buyer your way?
Of course, being a skeptic leads one to think, “Oh YEAH??? Well screw you all, I’ve gone DIY this far, I’m going all the way baby!” We tried this with Querin Records for a while. It’s very tiring. Not that it doesn’t work, it’s just that you’ve already got so many obstacles to overcome on a daily basis, so many competitors to outshine, and very little budget, experience, or contacts to help you, that the last thing you need is to worry about filing consignment slips and jotting down call-back dates to follow up on sales, only to have to drive out to fucking Windsor or God knows where just for a little cash and to restock the store. People rarely BUY from independents– they do consignment, a little piece of paper that says you get money when I get money. And they won’t call you if they sell all four copies and need a couple more. I guess there’s no rules on distro, save for one: know thy band. Whether yours or one you’re representing, understand that a distribution company has expectations as well, and if they’re stocking you in Moose Jaw, best make sure you start a buzz there, preferably even play a few shows there.
Aside from that, internet promo is a godsend to indie labels because it’s cost-effective and wide-ranging. While it’s not quite down to a science yet, here are some tips I was given. Use message boards, chat-rooms that chatter to the assumed fan base of your band. Don’t concuss them with senseless, spammy self-promotion that insults their intelligence; rather, talk to them like people. See what they like, recommend the band, toss in a link, see what they say. This is hit and miss, but it’s like word-of-mouth-hype on steroids. Also, internet radio is being considered more and more seriously these days, but it hasn’t been thoroughly commercialized yet, so you’re more likely to get someone to actually listen to a submission. Mailing lists are also great; we watched ours double and triple a few times, and though at times we felt it wasn’t doing quite what we hoped, if there was a stretch with no letter, people always asked.
Hitting up the college radio market is as simple as mailing out CDs and promo kits and doing follow-ups. The thing is, knowing all of this and doing it, you then find you haven’t quite reached the level you’re looking for. The fact is, there are just so many facets to pulling off a music career that big labels have an easy time keeping down anyone with talent and no contacts. Think about it: there are labels, licensors, manufacturers, distributors, publicists, agents, promoters, managers, all playing some part in the big picture for any one act.
To sum up, it looks for the most part like the only reason to actively pursue a career making music- or pretty much any art form -is a desire for some kind of masochistic punishment. A twist on Darwinism: survival of the craziest. Still, for those with a killer sound or catchy tune burning the back of their brains, there really isn’t much they’d rather sacrifice their sanity for, is there?
This is a weird time in the history of the music industry and you can tell because the big record companies are throwing a fit every thirty seconds, and, thanks to mass media, we get to see why. How does this affect us, you ask? We, the independent market who place art, listeners and integrity above profit… Given how the industry usually ends up getting what it wants, it’s not unrealistic to assume that the face of the internet itself will be changing in time, and a Big-Brother-esque, everyone-has-to-pay-for-anything kind of M.O. may prevail. Right now however, everyone in the independent community is faced with a unique window of opportunity. Now that there is a wealth of information about the inner workings of the industry at our disposal, all it takes are a few enterprising individuals to join forces and use that info to find their place in the vast spectrum of the industry; to slip under the radar of an otherwise exclusive, members-only universe where all you talent and hard work can actually pay off. Sure it’s idealistic, but at least I’m keeping my ass covered along the way. Communication between artists and labels, though increasing all the time, is still too rare, at least from my vantage point. There’s so much unfriendly competition between people who are simply dividing an already confused and tiny market. Just a touch of collaborative spirit could be the difference between an actual music scene, or a plethora of disjointed cliques, pledging allegiance to some genre-specific phantasm of esoteric proportions. So tune up your guitars, crank up your cabs, plug in your samplers and tape down the keys of your Korg. It’s time to build an army.

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