The Death of the Record Label
“To be honest, we haven’t been especially pro-active about getting signed” says Jon Lee, drummer of London based ambient metal band, Bast. Go back 20 years and a statement like that would have sealed a band’s doom to a future of being unsuccessful. However, in recent times the prestige that comes with being signed to a record label is long forgotten.
The internet has played a large part in the demise of the record label’s status; sites such as Myspace have made it easier for just about anyone with the know how to record something and get people to listen to it. “The days where bands sent you a case of beer along with their demo are very much over” laughs Florian Fink, who is currently helping out with the running of Noise Art Records. She continues “We can go months without signing a new band, or sometimes we’ll sign two really good ones.” The internet sees no end of bands putting up MP3s and sadly, there is no filter to define what is good and what isn’t, so often really talented musicians will go unnoticed whilst those who are mediocre get a large following.
“The band started being active in 2003, but we didn’t get signed until 2006” recalls Suicidal Angels front man, Nick. “We recorded demos and kept on sending them to different labels, but sadly, no one signed us. So instead, we tried to play as many gigs as possible. Before we were signed we played a couple of underground festivals and a headlining one. We continued like that until we got noticed.” In fact, gigging is now the only sure fire way to get yourself noticed. “We don’t do much in the way of self promotion” says Bast guitarist, Craig Bryant, “We believe that playing often and well is the best form of publicity.” They have supported bands such as A Storm of Light, Nachtmystium and Ufomammut and are finding that they are becoming well known on the London gig circuit, all without the aid of a record label.
Labels are still important to those signed to them, however. “I would never give up my label” says Suicidal Angels’ Nick, “But if I had to I would still carry on playing as I am now. We don’t get paid, we just have our travel expenses covered, but even this sometimes doesn’t happen.” And Bast certainly aren’t disheartened by not being signed, “Far too much blood, sweat and tears have gone into this project to call it quits” says drummer, Jon, “At the end of the day, we are very proud of our music and what we’ve achieved in such a short space of time and occasionally, we do get paid.” So if you can still get paid without the aid of a label, what makes it worth bothering to be signed to one? Well, according to Florian, “Noise Art belongs to Rock the Nation Bookings. All bands signed by us get first priority for good bookings, tours and festivals.” But the band has to have their heart in it to really succeed. “They have to be very enthusiastic and independent; they have to want to talk to fans, tour, spread flyers, and be active on social networking sites. If bands are lazy they probably won’t get signed.”
Suicidal Angels are no stranger to having to work hard to get noticed, “When we were working without the help of a record label things were really hard for us” says Nick, “We’d have to pay huge amounts of money just to join a tour and the organisers would treat us like crap. We had no one to protect us or work alongside us. Now there aren’t many things to worry about anymore; we are working with the best people.”
There are still bands, like Bast, that prefer to go it alone though, “We haven’t approached any labels yet as we feel that what they have to offer us isn’t advantageous” claims Craig. With the aid of the internet making it so much easier to have your music heard and venues across the capital crying out for raw talent to play on their stages it is not surprising that artists are starting to care less about representation. In recent times it has been proved that status is earned through who you’ve played with, not who you’re signed with.
Suicidal Angels managed to get themselves a gig with Rotting Christ before they were signed and have since played with bands such as Kataklysm, Overkill, Kreator, Exodus and Death Angel. If you want to impress people work on getting gigs and playing with huge names, as record labels now seem little more than an accessory.
There are bands like Bast who have no intention of seeking out the help of a label and are happy that way, and bands like Suicidal Angels who have been greatly helped by their label, still not getting paid, but happy just to be signed. Whatever side of the fence you sit on it is evident that status that comes from being signed is a thing of the past.
Angela Davey
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