How to run a vinyl label?

Notes from Funkyjaws Music workshop about running a successful vinyl label.

22.12.2024

knowledge

Чытаць па-беларуску

On a gloomy December day, young Belarusian artists and music enthusiasts tuned into a workshop Radio Plato team has organized together with Siarhiej Abramaŭ, known the world over as Funkyjaws. A DJ, and electronic musician, and since 2022, a label-runner of Funkyjaws Music – a renown vinyl-only label focused on disco edits and classic house grooves. Below we present you our notes from this very insightful talk.

Siarhiej hails from the beautiful Belarusian town of Horadnia, where he resides to this day, and has been making music for over 15 years. He has been involved in nearly every key facet of the industry: a prolific music author, a respected DJ and selector, and now head of a label. His first vinyl record came out back in 2013 on American label Glenview Records, and more releases followed on Shadeleaf Music, Diggin' Disco Deep, Kolour LTD, etc. The latter has released one of the key records in Siarhiej's carrer - 'One Night In Grodno' EP made in collaboration with his friend and music partner Four Walls. The record sold a whopping 5,000 copies with all the re-presses over time, and in his own words was instrumental in helping raise his profile to the point where labels started contacting him asking for material for the first time. When he got the idea to start his own label a few years later, the distributors knew they were talking to a real talent that can really move units. But let’s take a break here for second – how exactly does running your own label work logistically?

<h2>P&D Model</h2>

P&D stands for ‘production & distribution’ and is a way to start a small independent label in partnership with a distributor, who handles production and distribution of records, while the label is focused on the creative side (providing the music and the artwork) and some of the promotion. The sales profits are shared between the label and the distributor per agreed percentages and the label is able to release records without any financial risk. The percentages are agreed based on the label’s track record and/or distributor’s sales projections or expectations. Which is why Siarhiej admits he had a good negotiating position, having bestsellers like 'One Night In Grodno' under his belt. Getting a big name for the first release would be another way to get a good running start in Siarhiej’s opinion, although, of course, at a cost. If you have means for funding it, it will pay off in the long run – both in your relationship with the distributor, potential new artist submissions and, of course, reaching a wider audience.

As for working with ‘regular’ independent electronic artists – like ourselves – money usually does not really enter the picture. While P&D model makes starting a label accessible to anyone with a hard drive full of good unreleased tunes and some organizational skills, the profit margins are simply not good enough to make running a label your primary income source. Siarhiej admits that he always kept a steady job, despite some very successful records and constant DJ bookings. Standard is payment in kind – an artist receives a number of copies of the record he composed music for. Big niche producers will gladly discuss custom terms and discounts, like Eddie C, whose record on Funkyjaws Music is scheduled for release next year, who accepted the 50/50 profit sharing deal from the label, or the legendary Chicago DJ Rahaan, who negotiated a one-time-payment out of Siarhiej’s own pocket for his edit on a compilation EP that ended up selling so well, that Siarhiej admits the risk was absolutely worth it. Above all logistical and financial decisions, Siarhiej reminds us that it’s the music itself that counts the most for him, and that he is more than open to absolutely new names, local or international, and to your demos filling up his DM’s.

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<h2>Release Promotion</h2>

While your distro partner will take care of getting the records to the shops and having press-releases professionally written, you absolutely cannot forego promoting the record on your own. Here are the key elements of release promotion in Siarhiej’s professional opinion:

– Premieres. Getting a track from your upcoming release posted on one of the premieres channels with a big following to raise customer awareness and ultimately boost vinyl pre-sales. Prices vary, so consider the cost vs channel reach.

– Digital Promos. Sending out digital versions of the release to prominent DJ’s and radio stations in your niche. This is also offered as a service by promo-agencies, but their costs may be way out of your budget, so Siarhiej suggests putting in the work yourself, establishing contacts with your musical heroes along the way.

– Physical Promos. If you have a few copies to spare, consider sending some physical copies to your favorite DJ’s too. A great gift is often great social media content that vinyl collectors happily post, hyping up the record to their followers.

– Social Networks. Simply a must nowadays. Besides the obvious release date announcement, the more content you can post on your own about the upcoming record the better.

<h2>Digital Distro?</h2>

Funkyjaws Music has been a vinyl-only label from the very start until very recently, when Siarhiej decided to put all of his out-of-print releases (including his earlier releases on other labels) in legal digital form on Bandcamp. The label is gearing up to make its first small steps on Spotify next year with Vova Patapenka’s newest EP, admittedly one of its most streaming-friendly releases. From Siarhiej’s perspective, starting out on Bandcamp may be a tough hill to climb, without the exposure of successful releases on established labels. Although, he admits that he is a real newcomer to Bandcamp, and that there are great examples that disprove his hesitancy. Bogdan Ra, a Russian producer, who has released his very first vinyl EP on Siarhiej’s friend’s label Craft Music, already had a massive following of around 3,000 subscribers on Bandcamp prior to his first ever release on any label, and was even bold enough to release on vinyl the tracks that had already circulated widely in digital. It seems that vinyl and digital are no longer as mutually exclusive as they were once thought to be. If the music is good, a considerable number of vinyl collectors will buy it on vinyl, even if digital is available as well.

When asked about the label’s highlights, Siarhiej withough hesitation mentions the first EP in the disco edit series on Funkyjaws Records called Let’s Dance Vol.1. A truly stellar lineup on the EP all but guaranteed success. The Russian house prodigy Lay Far, a Chicago legend Rahaan, London and Berlin respective stalwarts Admin and Delfonic. Upon the record’s announcement, it kept first place among all pre-sales on Juno.co.uk – one of the largest online vinyl stores in the world – for a few months. This helped cement Siarhiej further in his, somewhat obvious, idea that big names help sell records. And on the flip side provided a sobering contrast to his label’s other releases, like Vova Patapenka’s EP. No less of an accomplished musician, arguably even more musically interesting material, and a name that is far from completely new to the audience of the genre was attracting way less pre-sale enthusiasm than the mount Rushmore of today’s disco editors that is Let’s Dance Vol.1.

And while Siarhiej isn’t able to point out a complete fail, he does have regrets that serve as a reminder not to rush things. The second ever release on the label featuring Funkjaws’ own two tracks was a tough sell, that he now thinks would have been helped by changing the format to a fully-fledged four-tracker.

<h2>Advice to young artists</h2>

Siarhiej’s own musical journey is an illustration of a perhaps old-school slow grind method. A reputation slowly built up by a gradually growing catalog of releases, including some absolute bangers, culminating in starting his own label with an ambition to develop other artists. Thus, his advice to young artists is likewise old-school: learn to walk before you can fly. Get noticed by publishing music on known labels before you even start thinking of your own vinyl label. Get proactive, don’t just sit around waiting to get your music noticed, send it to labels and DJ’s you like. And if there is too little feedback, be honest and ask yourself again if your productions are actually good enough for vinyl yet. Pay attention to production quality – if you are making dance music, it will be played on sounds systems way more powerful than your studio monitors and definitely way more powerful than the best professional headphones you can get. Try to mix and arrange tracks for the dancefloor, even if that sometimes means traveling to another city just to hear your demo on a good soundsystem with a proper subwoofer.