The age of the boutique record label (more) -- Mike Stock Music

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Date Posted: 08:53:06 06/25/03 Wed
Author: FranklinRivers
Author Host/IP: 034.a.009.mel.iprimus.net.au / 210.50.112.34
Subject: The age of the boutique record label (more)

June 26, 2003
The age of the boutique record label
by FranklinRivers

http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/therecordracket/

It�s no secret that the record industry world over is
experiencing declines in their fortunes of between 5 and 10 per cent per year. This has caused the majors to re examine their costings and structures and to perform resource and rebalancing of their artist rosters as well as their own work streams.

The fall of the majors may not necessarily be a bad thing as where there is chaos there�s often opportunity. It is said by many that we have entered the age of the boutique mini label.
Record labels with only a couple of acts run by a small team of 3 or less people with out-sourcing of production and promotion activities to third party businesses. This is a very efficient model and allows the record company to focus it�s full attention on each record they release rather than the majors approach of throwing a stack of records against the wall and seeing which ones stick.
Not to mention the obscene amounts of money they all spend on videos and promotion.

In this new economy of the record industry the labels have to closely watch all their costings to take into consideration the average sales results of medium to big hitters within their marketplace.
To survive, the Profit & Loss (P&L) statement must eventually leave the red zone and enter the green zone otherwise they�ll run out of capital and die a sad death (not very nice huh !).

The important thing with running a record label is to be able to survive the lean times as well as enjoy the good times.
There are usually long delays from the time a record is released to seeing the financial returns back from the distributors.
In order to cope with these delays and also the odd flop record, it requires deep pockets (a healthy capital base) so as to be able to ride out the drought and still be there for when things turnaround for the better.

Better The Devil Records is a perfect model for a successful record label in today�s real world.
It�s small and efficient and has focused it�s attention on a segment of the market where there�s opportunity to be found and reasonably fast returns possible. The artist roster is small and the use of outsourcing particular work activities as they are needed enables the business to operate to a tight budget. The first release �Fast Food Song� by Fast Food Rockers has proved that their approach to this business model is correct because of the very successful result it has achieved in a short space of time.

Fast Food Rockers are on the way to establishing themselves within the UK pop market and have the chance to become regular hit makers and eventually I see successful touring and merchandising opportunities opening up for this trio.

The important thing for all of this to work is
not to stray from the Fast Food Rockers ethos but to build on it and develop a strong fan base for the characters of the group and the decidedly UK pop sound that�s synonymous with Mike Stock�s high production values.

Now that the Fast Food Song has made it to the number two position of the UK�s pop sales chart the BTD team are working on a successful follow up that will surprise all of the fans but will still be in keeping with the happy melodic and beautifully pristine sound that will be instantly recognizable as Fast Food Rockers upon first hearing,

The Record Racket

http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/therecordracket/

The Record Racket is for people within the music industry as well as interested spectators with a fascination for the inner workings of how hits and misses come about.
Record labels, Music Publishers, Record Producers,
Songwriters &; Artist Management.
This group is for you to share news and your viewpoints on the state of the industry and what�s going on inside the boardrooms of the hit makers.
From big hitters to the indy labels �
we want this to be the place where insider knowledge is aired.
Check out our links page � lot�s of useful sites relating to The Record Racket.

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