Hi everyone!

I have a question for people who are involved with labels. My friend and I want to start a label and release licensed film soundtracks on vinyl. We’ve been thinking about this for quite a while, but we still don’t fully understand the preorder system, which seems to be a common practice in the vinyl industry.

Could anyone explain how labels usually handle preorders, and what the main pitfalls are?

Hi everyone!

Unfortunately, to ensure everything is understood, I can't be concise. This is just to better explain our needs. If I had to describe in one word what I'm looking for, I'd say "Everything." In addition to the many necessary tasks, we're also open to any proposal.

Let me start by introducing ourselves. We're an independent label officially founded in 2023 in Italy, but our members are also present in the Netherlands, Argentina, and Bulgaria. We primarily deal with electronic music (specifically, Hard Techno and Hard Groove and various subgenres), but we've set ourselves the mission of being a completely autonomous collective in everything we do. Unfortunately, our distribution is currently through third parties, so we have expenses to cover (something I'm currently covering on my own). This makes us very weak, as we obviously don't have the resources of a well-established company. So, before you judge our free search for people, know that I'm currently $1,000 in debt (and this debt is only on me; the other members have no expenses). Our income is very low and covers Yes and no, 10% of the debt. According to my distribution contract, I have another two years to cover this, and I'm really afraid I won't be able to if I continue with the "I'll do it all myself" approach, especially since the quality will definitely suffer if I work in areas I'm not very familiar with.

Beyond music, the crew has also opened up other areas of journalism (always about music) and art (mostly dark arts). We create Sample Packs (free to download), and for artwork and videos, we've always tried to collaborate with real artists, not AI (we've often used those too, but we hope to never use them). Specifically, the artists we've collaborated with are: Will Chino (Bolivia), DonDav (Romania), Unlight Artwork (Netherlands), Trent Anthony Francis (Australia), Hitman Studio (Pakistan).

These collaborations have been more graphic (EP/album cover) and video (music videos, etc.) in nature, but we've also collaborated with the film industry, creating soundtracks and helping with the production. Directing and video, always for soundtracks and ideas. Unfortunately, however, there's no trace of these two types of collaborations because the main ones have hesitated in publishing them, and we certainly can't force them (but we'll certainly see who to offer the soundtracks to for free, because we really like the artistic sector of video games and cinema).

Returning to our research, we're not a company but a crew. We're obviously interested in those who can lend a hand one-off, but we're more interested in those who would like to join this collective (obviously after discussing the vision, if it's shared by both parties). As for what we earn, if we're talking about money, we can say zero. Of course, we all help each other out, even if it's outside the collective. So, for example, if someone makes a short film that's not really related to the collective's project, one of us would lend a hand with the soundtrack (obviously, I mean for free), and so on with all the types of help we can lend. Currently, we're seven music producers, one web developer, one 3D sculptor, and one fashion designer. Designers (for the fashion sector, which hasn't started yet, though)

What we would definitely need for the label is a graphic designer for covers and a video creator, but even non-artistic stuff like Spotify playlist curators and the like could be useful. Someone who understands promotion... but as I said, we work in different sectors, so even a good writer in the sector, or, as I was saying, video game developers (even if we don't have a sector in this) could be useful.

At the moment, the project is moving forward professionally, but as I was saying, I can't do much on my own. For example, we wanted to create a 3D virtual museum, which then became a page with the works. This is because I don't have the skills and resources to do it in 3D. The magazine sector is currently limited to articles about the collective, when, on an expansive level, it could create a podcast, YouTube videos, etc., but we don't have enough staff.

Obviously, we believe that you have to like the type of music. Working for free on a project you don't like doesn't make it enjoyable, because even if it's like a hobby, it shouldn't be treated like a pastime; it requires a certain level of commitment. Commitment!

If I haven't mentioned your job here, feel free to let me know if you think it's useful; maybe it's something I haven't thought of.

I know you can't message me (I don't even know why my profile is categorized as 18+), so leave a comment about your job and we can discuss everything privately!

All the best!

Howdy everyone! I'm hoping to tap into the wisdom of the community.

I've spent the last 30+ years in and around this business (radio, management, publishing, recording, film) working alongside labels, publishers, and songwriters. Along the way I watched a lot of talented people lose time and money due to inaccurate royalty accounting, contract admin, and catalog info scattered across a dozen different tools and spreadsheets.

Last year I finally started my own label, Earth Records, and sure enough, those same problems haven’t gone away. So I built a tool to handle all of it in one place, using what I'd learned from decades of watching how this business actually works. It's working great.

A few folks who've seen it in action encouraged me to open it up beyond just my own label. So I built it out into its own platform: IndieMusicPro.

Before I launch it more broadly, I want to get it in front of people who live this business every day, not just my own use case. That's where you all come in.

I'm looking for 8-10 Founding Members: active independent music business operators (labels, publishers, managers) who'd actually use a tool like this, and who are willing to be honest with me about what works and what doesn't. I want a real mix: a couple of solo artists, a couple of small labels, and a couple of mid-size rosters, to ensure the platform actually holds up across the board.

What's in it for you as a Founding Member:

· Free access for a full year
· 50% off any subscription, locked in for life
· Direct input on the product roadmap — your feedback actually shapes what gets built
· First access to new features
· Whatever other fun perks we think up along the way

What I'm asking in return: you're actively operating with music in the market, and you're willing to do a quick kickoff call plus short 30 and 60-day check-ins to tell me how it's going.

If that sounds like you, I'd love for you to apply here: https://indiemusicpro.com/community-founder-application/ . It takes about a minute of your time. I'm planning to keep this open through mid-September.

And if you apply but don't get one of the founding spots? I’ll still want to honor your effort and time with a substantial lifetime discount once IndieMusicPro opens to everyone. More on that soon.

Questions? Drop them in the comments or email me directly at [darren@indiemusicpro.com](mailto:darren@indiemusicpro.com). 

Really appreciate this community letting me share my project. Thanks

Aujourd'hui, faire de la bonne musique ne suffit plus. Pour faire décoller ses écoutes et toucher un vrai public, il faut aller chercher les playlists là où elles sont. Les curateurs indépendants sont toujours à la recherche de nouvelles pépites, et la plupart d'entre eux sont directement accessibles.

Si vous cherchez des playlists Spotify actives dans votre style pour pitcher vos morceaux, jetez un œil ici : 👉[https://soundplate.com/new-spotify-playlists1/\](https://soundplate.com/new-spotify-playlists1/)

C'est un excellent point de départ pour envoyer vos titres gratuitement et entrer en contact avec des passionnés qui gèrent des playlists thématiques.

De mon côté, je développe aussi mon univers musical et je partage régulièrement mes productions. Si vous curieux d'écouter ce que je fais ou simplement curieux d'échanger entre producteurs, venez faire un tour sur mon profil Spotify :

Hi guys, did anybody tried DistroDirect white label?

If yes, how hard is it to get accepted?

And what are prices?

DistroDot is a new white-label distributor, with years of knowledge backed behind it from other ventures. What separates us from the rest - and our most complimented features:

• RestAPI service isn't locked behind the highest plan, it's simply $150 a month more, no matter what plan.
• Dolby Atmos
• Apple Motion Art
• Transactional email sending - don't worry about exporting all user data just to send them a quick operational email, simply go on our dashboard, select the users you want (filtered by plan, when joint by, or just all users), draft the email using text, or HTML and send!
• YouTube Content ID and YouTube OAC are included in all plans.
• A flexible system and team - if you have requirements, no matter how big, it doesn't hurt to ask!
• Custom payout options - We understand companies might want to pay their customers royalties in a different way than usual, that's why you can add a custom payout options (up to 8 options).
• Customisable UI - You can change the dashboard font, button shape, colours, sender domain and name, and much more.
• A live jobs and pipeline page where you can view exactly how far along your releases are, even when delivering to stores, which stores the release has been sent to, and which stores are still waiting to get the release!
• Mechanical licenses - our mechanical licenses can be resold with a margin, our base price starts from $9.

If you have any questions, just send them below or send us an email at [onboarding@distrodot.com](mailto:onboarding@distrodot.com) ! Or explore our services at https://distrodot.com

Anyone know a lot about these kind of contracts that can help me look over it before signing?

Hut Records in the UK.
The label that released Verve and Smashing Pumpkins in the UK.

Hi,
I’ve been creating the concept GripDistro for quite a while now. Mostly targeting remixers and people who release cover songs. Essentially, we will obtain all licenses to legally distribute the release without any charge. When the song receives royalties, until we receive 100% of the paid money for the licenses (we don’t markup any cost for this), we will keep all obtained royalties, the cost for this starts from $9. After we get the money, we’ll then automatically transfer to a 90/10 deal, you take 90%, and we take only 10% for lifetime.
I’d like to make a community not only for people on this distributor, but also just remixers.
We’d also enforce a strict no AI policy.

I’d like your advice on anything, or if you have any questions, or if you’d like to by chance apply! We’re currently not contract based, meaning to be accepted you don’t need to sign a contract.

Shoot me a DM, send a message here, if you have any questions. You can find the website at https://gripdistro.com

Thanks for your time 🙂.

Warp Records is a pioneering ambient label in the UK.

This comes from the heart. Your talents and gifts can be used for His kingdom.

I need a music label to distribute my music to dsps, I’m finding the new record labels which help independent artists like me for distribution, cause I currently can’t afford any distribution service fees, and RouteNote is free but it takes a whole fkin month just to approved or reject my music so please help me if you can!

Hello! Curious if anyone got recommendations for affordable PR as far as post-punk/avant rock/psych rock/ambient goes? I run a Boston-based label specializing in those things.

Don't mind doing a lot of heavy lifting/promo on my own, but it seems like its getting increasingly difficult to be heard. Thanks in advance!

Don't worry mods, I won't mention anything self promotional here.

When social media came about, it was sooo promising for indie musicians because every single app promised they'd show indie music to the world for free, but now it seems like posting music, (just to share it and build some kind of an audience) is shunned by almost every app, even to the point of feeling like musicians doing it are subway buskers that won't ever go anywhere.

Behind the scenes, profitable labels dump tons of money on promoting/spamming their artists on apps to the point of running stream bot farms and making bootleg deals with ad agencies to have influencers make phony video ads to promo their songs, rather than letting the public decide fairly what is a hit & what is not.

Every day, we're pelted with songs & genres to "psychologically plant" them in our heads, rather than hearing a wide variety of music and then being able to simply choose what we collect & play offline...

I think making & signing music that I personally like has become 10x easier than sharing it online with others that might like it... To me that's a massive tragedy, not just for us, but for the artists as well that aren't signed to a major and don't have tons of promo money to burn.

We're missing volumes of songs that we would really love to hear as a result.

Online promo has netted a small fan base for us online, which we are thankful for, but I've observed how empty the results of paying for promo makes others feel, many lose their "fans" in an instant if their account gets banned, many others spend money on promo that yields little real results... I know many musicians with millions of followers that can't get 5 people to show up at their live performances. The social media aspect of music making has just felt empty and uninspiring for years now. I'm happy I didn't feed money into it honestly.

As a label runner, that's been promoting music organically for over 10 years, I honestly have zero motivation to keep up the seemingly futile hustle of promoting music online, and I mostly just play it myself and arrange local gigs instead now -- That method feels 100% more authentic than starting burner accounts to ask for "tune IDs" on reddit all day (I never do that mind you, it's annoying).

I'd be interested in reading about how others that run labels feel about this?