So here's an update on some recent failures:
1. My hot lady friend sending out e-mails worked for getting attention, but not the attention we were looking for. Go figure.
2. Some of the smaller clubs I reached out too that are in bigger cities are already associated with a label, so they simply don't have the interest in associating with another label. Makes sense.
3. As big as the interwebs are, it seems that there is no replacement for some good ol fashioned face to face time with people.
My potential work arounds that I've been pursuing.
- I found a young guy who's fresh out of college and works in marketing and promotion. He happens to be an aspiring producer (still learning a good bit), but he's unfamiliar with management and booking, but he is familiar with all of the local clubs and the scene. He's hopped on board and interested in teaming up to become my own personal manager and booking agent. While he doesn't know the in's and out's of the club scene, he seems to have good business sense about him and eager to give things a whirl.
-Since it's only myself and one other artist at the present moment, I think my best bet right now is just getting myself out and DJ'ing again to build exposure using the label as an "additional offering" Where I came from, it always sounded good when I told GM's and Owners that I was signed to a record label, and now that I even own one, seems even perkier. I havent DJ'ed since New Years of this year and I was offered an actual EDM DJ'ing residency in my hometown just prior to that, but I had to move thus declining it. So I've gotta grind my way back up to where I was, but in a new spot. I'm also planning on moving directly to a bigger city when my lease is up so I no longer have to commute to try and get these gigs and can make more face time with clubs in person again. I've always been pretty good at landing gigs, making contacts and building connections when I get face time with people, but it's been next to impossible via interwebs.
So again multiple failure after failure, but that's what makes it fun! I'm no discouraged very easily and I take rejection as a sign that I need to try something different. I'm a Critical Care Flight Paramedic as my "day job" and our biggest asset is that we manage patient's who can no longer support their ability to breath very well. When we RSI people (a procedure where we sedate, paralyze and then put a tube in their lungs to breath for them), if we miss getting the tube in on the first time, stats have showed that our failure rate on the second attempt skyrockets almost 74%. So how do we reduce that increase in failure rate? By trying something different, because obviously the first attempt didn't use something right. In relationship to the business world of a record label, either your pursuing things in the wrong manner, or your simply barking up the wrong tree to begin with. Take a step back and see what errors you may or may not be making; if you're sure something COULD work, then keep at it if you believe it's the right thing to do, but don't get so caught up and afraid to change things up.
I released my first track with my own label and it's gotten good feedback so far. Since we've gotten two solid releases under our belt now, I've submitted to DJ'ing record pools (so far only MyMP3Pool and ZipDJ) in hopes to get our music in front of more DJ's. Soundcloud seems to be the best "bang for your buck" from a financial point of view if you don't have the following. Looking at the stats, the plays from repost networks are so random and far in between at this point it's hard to judge it's consistency, but from the networks I have pinged so far, their following appears to be very legitimate with genuine followers/listeners and DJ's. If I could offer any word of advice at this point is that FACEBOOK PROMOTED POSTS ARE A FUCKING SCAM!!!! Holy crap; the stats, viewership, likes, etc. from there are absolutely worthless so I'd concentrate your efforts on other avenues. If it were cheaper, I would say it's justified, but it simply doesn't garner the reward that adds value to the amount of money your spending on promoting posts. I'm 100% against paying for fake likes or anything like that to simply "look better" so I am trying to gather a genuine following and it seems that the above option is my only current option.
The inspiration for pursuing this route is from the record label Night Bass who the owner is AC Slater. Talented DJ/Producer who started the label on his own and he had a club that always hosted their event nights and he's got some serious talent under his belt these days. I'll keep this post updated with any more successes and/or failures as inspiration for you other guys who have always wanted to pursue starting your own label!
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