 When the Record Label is YOU!
The Experts Reveal All at L*A*M*P
Reported by The G-Man
"Pay royalties to artists? What an amazing concept!"
And with that preamble from Keith Holzman, author of "The Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company," Leslie
Waller's day-long workshop on Starting and Operating an Independent Record Label kicked into gear.
 Sharing the opening presentation with Holzman was entertainment attorney Paul Menes, who almost
immediately pointed out that the topic was huge and that even a full day's worth of panels would only serve as a primer. But what a primer! I filled six pages with notes.
In addition to Holzman and
Menes, the experts at the event were: Bobby Borg, author of "The Musician's Handbook"; Ira Kalb, author
of "Zero Budget Marketing"; Bernard Baur of Music Connection Magazine and the newly-launched Baur-Godwin Artist
Development; Pesci, in licensing and creative services at Cleopatra Records; Ryan Kuper, head of Redemption
Recording Company; Jeffrey Weber, Grammy-winning producer, record label consultant, and member of Studio Expresso; and Vernon Neilly, CEO of Boosweet Records.
 At various points during the day, the panelists made some chilling observations about the
record industry, including the following:
* Holzman: Of the 26,000 indie CD releases last year, their average sales totaled just 1,300 units.
* Baur: "With no label or
distribution, using only direct sales, any indie artist selling 30,000 copies of an album will make more money than a major label artist selling one million copies."
* Menes: "The music business is now completely corporate."
* Weber: "Radio airplay without payola of some kind is extremely hard to come by."
 Throughout the day, the primary emphasis was on all the steps that must be
accomplished to become your own independent record label, from writing a business plan to identifying your distribution and marketing methods, as well as addressing many legal issues, including name/logo
search, domain name search, trademark search, and the filing of all necessary paperwork in each of these areas.
More than once, attendees were directed to online sources of information, including NARIP (National Association of
Record Industry Professionals, Billboard Magazine, and the Library of Congress (see URLs below).
More Notes, Highlights, & Quotes:
* Holzman: "You'll work 16-hour days starting a record label, but you can succeed with the right attitude. My brother
(Jac Holzman) founded Elektra records with $600 and an extraordinary ability not to take 'no' for an answer."
* Menes: "P2P (peer-to-peer filesharing) proves the viability and desirability of music. It's the pay structure that's at issue."
* Holzman: There are a great many things you'll need to know, including obtaining a unique bar code from the
Universal Code Council, CD Red Book Standards for proper manufacturing, and the RSRC codes that will be embedded in each track of your CD releases.
* Menes: It will pay you in the long run to obtain legal counsel to help with such contractual points as extension
options, payment structures, recoupment, grand rights, song ownership, re-recording restriction, branding, dispute resolution? (this panel was daunting, but absolutely necessary).
* Baur: "You won't get a distribution deal without showing a marketing plan."
* Weber: "Making a record is easy; selling it is a war."
* Neilly: "A distributor may offer to help you with co-op ads and promotion, but only if you're already doing your own promotion and advertising, or obtaining radio play."
* Borg: You've got to be pro-active. At the very least, you will need to contact other indies, both labels and artists, and
try to exchange links with them. This inexpensive marketing is inexpensive but can be critical.
* Pesci: Marketing to radio doesn't guarantee sales, but it generates attention that can reach your audience in the long run.
* Kuper: You have to do a unique marketing plan for each CD release. "Your marketing plan can be 1-2 pages of bullet points, but you have to do it."
The day was exhausting, illuminating, and fascinating. And the networking alone was worth the time spent at the event. All I can say is: Ya shoulda been there.
The G-Man is on iTunes and at http://www.gmanmusic.com.
Other contacts for this article include:
Los Angeles Music Productions:
http://www.lamusicproductions.com
"Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company":
http://www.recordcompanystartup.com
Keith Holzman:
http://www.holzmansolutions.com
Ira Kalb:
http://www.kalbassociates.com
"The Musician's Handbook":
http://www.bobbyborg.com
Bernard Baur/ Dito Godwin:
http://www.BGOEntNet.com
Boosweet Records:
http://www.boosweet.com
Jeffrey Weber:
http://www.studioexpresso.com
Paul Menes:
http://www.scriptsales.com/DDLawFirms.html
Ryan Kuper/Redemption Records:
http://www.redemption.net
Pesci/Cleopatra Records:
http://www.cleorecs.com
National Association of Record Industry Professionals:
http://www.narip.com
Billboard Magazine:
http://www.billboard.com
Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov
Copyright Forms:
http://www.copyright.gov/forms
Bar Codes:
http://www.adams1.com/pub/russadam/upccode.html
RSRC Codes:
http://www.ifpi.org
# # # Photos courtesy of Judy Lamppu and Steven Scott of Los Angeles Women in Music
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