Jazz record labels

[timscarey]

Hey friends,

as some of you know, I am about to release my first album here in the next month or so. As I've have been blowing my savings on all of the little details of putting out an album (mixing, mastering, duplication, ASCAP, etc...) I have been in contact with several record labels (all local but pretty well known nationally) about the possibility of working together on the release, in other words, I'm trying to get signed to a jazz record label.

I have a few insights into why I would want to do this, and I know that all of the people I look up too (famous or not) put their records out on labels of some kind.

my question is, for people here who have put out albums with labels...

What was better for you than just putting it out yourself?

did you pay the label?

have you gotten any more airplay/gigs/or opportunities as a result?

and any other insights you might have to share...

Thanks I really appreciate any input.

[marcwhy]

I'm eager to see some responses here, and I'm especially confused about your question about "paying the label??" I thought one of the reasons for getting signed was that they pay you ... unless you're talking about what happens in the book publishing industry these days -- which is still essentially self-publishing (with their name on the spine).

[marcwhy]

An update to my first post:

I just called a good friend, who happens to be a real A & R exec at a real jazz record company (and no, please don't call him), to clarify my confusion above.

He said that if you're "paying the label," as Tim asked above, then you're likely dealing with a "distribution" company, not a "record company." [A record company would say, "Tim, we love your sound, and want to finance your recording session and distribute your CD! We'll give you X% of the sales, and we'll put your face on every billboard in Seattle! You'll be a star!" etc.] These are very different entities, and therefore would result in different responses to Tim's original questions.

Tim -- which type of company are you dealing with?

Thanks,
Marc

[marcwhy]

Anyone else on this one?

[brad4d8]

Originally Posted by marcwhy

Anyone else on this one?

I think you pretty much summed it up in your previous post. The only thing I would add is that, unless things have changed since I knew about such things, all recording and publicity expenses are taken from the artist's royalties so that the only guarantee is the studio fees. The artist is NOT responsible upfront and is NOT LIABLE if the recording does not recoup the label's expense.
Brad

[cosmic gumbo]

The whole thing about a label is, that unless they can get something of value from you, there is no reason for them to do it and the same for you, unless they provide you with something of value, why would you want to do it? Big questions all around. It's such a different game now.

Here's a link to a guy in your neck of the woods, who you may already know about, because he's done a fair job of getting himself on the radar. Jason Parker Music | Home Of Seattle Jazz Trumpet Player Jason Parker | Jason Parker Quartet

This is also an interesting new source of info for jazz musicians about marketing, record labels, etc. JazzDIY

NYC, and the northeast are such a rat race. I hear through the grapevine that the greater Seattle area has one of the healthiest local jazz scenes in the whole country. Enjoy that fact and good luck with the CD.

[timscarey]

Didn't even realize that this had gotten comments. It's funny, Jason Parker is a good friend of mine we've played a lot together over the years. He self produces all of his stuff and does a wonderful job of promotion through his blog, podcasts, and a lot of hard work.

I'm almost done with the album and am getting more info about this as I go, the label i'm talking about is a pretty well known one from Seattle. I'm hopefully going to be sitting down with them soon as the record nears completion.

At any rate, i've already paid for the whole thing out of pocket so, maybe a record company isn't what I need, maybe I should e-mail Jason

and yes, Seattle has an amazing music scene, live jazz 7 days a week.

[Stevebol]

i really struggled with the issue of record labels since I had a large # of live classical music recordings of family members. I thought being part of someone's existing label would provide some degree of promotion, etc.. That just wasn't the case, for me anyway. One label that was recomended was interested but they wanted to record my parents because, they said, the recording that we sent them wasn't professional enough. They didn't take into account that these are almost all live recordings in decent sized concert halls.
It seems like everything is up in the air in regards to selling music and technology continues to change the game continuallly. I decided to do everything myself. I'm not selling any CD's but at least there's less BS to deal with.
I wouldn't rule out seeing what a record label can do for you, but many people just decide to get it done on their own. I have 11 CD's at this time.