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

Idiopathic Joker
Idiopathic Joker Members, Moderators Posts: 45,691 Regulator
Just wondering.
«1

Comments

  • 5th Letter
    5th Letter Members, Moderators, Writer Posts: 37,068 Regulator
    At the minimum you should own your own studio
  • mc317
    mc317 Members Posts: 5,548 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ^this, everything thing else can be done digitally
  • 5 Grand
    5 Grand Members Posts: 12,869 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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!!!
  • Busta Carmichael
    Busta Carmichael Members, Moderators Posts: 13,161 Regulator
    5 Grand wrote: »
    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!!!

    This ain't the early 2000's b. He don't need an degree.

    He can literally do all of that from his the comfort of his home
  • grYmes
    grYmes Members Posts: 2,350 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I been apart of many a insta rap label. As long as you have a dedicated direction & stick to it you'll be ok.
  • Built 4 cuban linx
    Built 4 cuban linx Members Posts: 12,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You don't need no degree. 50 cent a dropout and made more money than these teachers
  • Busta Carmichael
    Busta Carmichael Members, Moderators Posts: 13,161 Regulator
    And as for the hit song.

    Fetty wap made trap queen and just spammed twitter celebs for 2 years with it until It​ caught on.

    Radio stations ain't got like that no more.
  • DarthRozay
    DarthRozay Members Posts: 20,570 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2017
    Do I need drug money to get off the ground?

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  • DarthRozay
    DarthRozay Members Posts: 20,570 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You don't need no degree. 50 cent a dropout and made more money than these teachers

    an education helps, even though it's not necessary. but there's a difference between being an artist that has a label and just running a label. Jay-Z and Dame Dash. Dr Dre and Suge Knight.
  • Aztec_Kang
    Aztec_Kang Members Posts: 1,994 ✭✭✭✭
    Record labels are becoming a thing of the past.
  • 5 Grand
    5 Grand Members Posts: 12,869 ✭✭✭✭✭
    5 Grand wrote: »
    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!!!

    This ain't the early 2000's b. He don't need an degree.

    He can literally do all of that from his the comfort of his home

    So you're saying a person with a high school diploma can run a successful record label?
  • DarthRozay
    DarthRozay Members Posts: 20,570 ✭✭✭✭✭
    5 Grand wrote: »
    5 Grand wrote: »
    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!!!

    This ain't the early 2000's b. He don't need an degree.

    He can literally do all of that from his the comfort of his home

    So you're saying a person with a high school diploma can run a successful record label?

    like any industry, experience and contacts >>> a degree. you do need some level of intelligence, imo of course. you can't be sending business e-mails typing like gee
  • Built 4 cuban linx
    Built 4 cuban linx Members Posts: 12,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just cause someone got a degree don't mean they that smart and vice versa. Some of the dumbest muthafuckas I know got a degree and some of the smarter ones don't have one
  • Busta Carmichael
    Busta Carmichael Members, Moderators Posts: 13,161 Regulator
    5 Grand wrote: »
    5 Grand wrote: »
    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!!!

    This ain't the early 2000's b. He don't need an degree.

    He can literally do all of that from his the comfort of his home

    So you're saying a person with a high school diploma can run a successful record label?

    Yes

    There's internet today, u can basically study business from the comfort of your living room.

    All business classes are on the internet. Trust me, I took business management and dropped out.

    Because it didn't teach me ? I didn't already know. I've been studying business by myself since I was 14 thanks to the internet.
  • 32DaysOfInfiniti
    32DaysOfInfiniti Members Posts: 4,152 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You need to write a business plan and get a loan or an investment, that ? costs.

    Whether you buy your own studio or rent one out thats gonna put you in the red to start.

    Second recruiting artists, unless its just your friends, you're going to need to have something to offer them, starting with studio time, direction, advice, people who can design websites, do graphics, flyers etc.

    Once the single is done, I would book some open mics, test it out and get a response.

    If it is good, you need a budget to shoot a video, and promote the song (pr, ads, blog blast, sync opps, radio campaigns) and this can cost anywhere from 5k to 250k for a indy artist depending on how much exposure you are trying to get.

    And of course, start booking more shows for your artist around town to spread the word, try to get a tour placement, manage their social media and stay very active (relevant post a day). Rinse, wash, repeat...

    I'd just start with one artist and do everything you can to make that individual successful, then once you know what works for him, pick up another, then another.

    If you start out spreading yourself too thin you will fail.

    Also consider what you want your label to stand for and what image you want to represent so you can keep it uniform...
  • mosincredible
    mosincredible Members Posts: 2,051 ✭✭✭✭✭
    5 Grand wrote: »
    5 Grand wrote: »
    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!!!

    This ain't the early 2000's b. He don't need an degree.

    He can literally do all of that from his the comfort of his home

    So you're saying a person with a high school diploma can run a successful record label?

    Yes

    There's internet today, u can basically study business from the comfort of your living room.

    All business classes are on the internet. Trust me, I took business management and dropped out.

    Because it didn't teach me ? I didn't already know. I've been studying business by myself since I was 14 thanks to the internet.

    I tell people about YTU all the time. YouTube University. They have every class you can think of. It's the reason I don't give passes for ignorance anymore. Almost anything you'd ever want to know, someone is dying to teach you on YouTube in exchange for subscribes, likes, and comments.
  • Revolver Ocelot
    Revolver Ocelot Members Posts: 3,393 ✭✭✭✭✭
    5 Grand wrote: »
    5 Grand wrote: »
    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!!!

    This ain't the early 2000's b. He don't need an degree.

    He can literally do all of that from his the comfort of his home

    So you're saying a person with a high school diploma can run a successful record label?

    ? you can't be this slow. There have been numerous folks who didn't have degrees who had successful labels.

    Puff went to Howard but he didn't get a degree.

    Jay/Dame/Biggs no degree

    Irv Gotti no degree

    Dr. Dre no degree

    Barry Gordy, Founder/CEO of the most successful African-American record labels ever, guess what? No degree.
  • Busta Carmichael
    Busta Carmichael Members, Moderators Posts: 13,161 Regulator
    Neither Bill gates or Steve Jobs had degrees, both were college dropouts.
  • Built 4 cuban linx
    Built 4 cuban linx Members Posts: 12,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2017
    Yeezus is a ? and he's a college dropout
  • Weazel
    Weazel Members Posts: 3,955 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • 5 Grand
    5 Grand Members Posts: 12,869 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well good luck trying to start a record label without a college degree
  • LOLCL
    LOLCL Members Posts: 1,039 ✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2017
    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
    LOLCL Members Posts: 1,039 ✭✭✭✭
    5 Grand wrote: »
    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.