This Wednesday June 4, Society of Tastemakers & Elegant People (STEP) are poised to present the first in a series of events that combine intimate panel discussions and live music.
An initiative of music publicists Ash Sambrooks (Higher Plains/ Show Off Services) and Zac Abroms (Viceroyality) the first edition of STEP will play host to an intimate panel discussion on ‘Young Labels’ moderated by Poncho.tv founder and journalist Nick Clarke. The discussion draws together four upcoming names in the Australian independent record industry to investigate how each came to be and what separates them practically and ideologically in their approach to releasing music in 2014.
This is the first of our new ongoing ‘How To’ column, where we chat with industry professionals about different elements of the music business. Our two experts today are Lorrae McKenna and Will Evans, both of whom will be a part of the STEP panel discussion this Wednesday.
Lorrae McKenna is the marketing and promotions manager at Remote Control Records, a label set up by Harvey Saward and Steve Cross to represent international record labels in Australia and New Zealand. Remote Control’s current roster of artists includes Courtney Barnett, King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, Jungle, King Krule, Kurt Vile, Vampire Weekend, Warpaint, Fat Freddy’s Drop and many more.
Will Evans is one of the co-founders of Zero Through Nine (ZTN) a local record label and music management company. ZTN have released music by Melbourne genius Japanese Wallpaper as well as Tom Day and Moonsiren’s beautiful 2013 EP. Will is also currently the music director at youth radio station SYN fm.
Use Social Media Effectively
The importance of a strong social media presence.
“Social Media is a tricky game but if you absolutely nail it, it will become one of the most valuable and important tools you can have in regards to publicity and marketing. If used correctly you can create more than just a platform for informing people of your newest releases, it becomes more of a community where people choose to go to engage and connect with things that they are most interested in.
We are so lucky to have this very special platform where artists and labels can reach out to their fans and engage them and make them feel a part of the entire process of music creation. It is very important to Remote Control that we engage in all forms of social media in the correct manner and maintain a strong presence across all platforms.
Two bands that I think work their social media skills to the max are Jeremy Neale and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Both of these artists have two completely different styles of using social media but what they have in common is that they have found their own unique style/way to connect and identify with their fans and for me this is the absolute key.” – Lorrae
Be Flexible With Distribution Methods
What distribution outlets are essential to upcoming indie labels.
“ZTN’s distribution method varies from release to release. Currently our back catalogue is available on our bandcamp, however, it is becoming increasingly more important to have releases available on streaming services such as spotify and Rdio.
There are some aggregators out there like TuneCore that can get your music on streaming services for a pretty low cost and are fairly easy to use, however, distributing a song online will only get you so far. It has become vital to ZTN that distributors offer some form of trade marketing and synchronisation so that the release is heard and not just added to the vast wasteland of the Internet.” – Will
Always Consider Various Release Formats
Vinyl, digital,CDs- what’s important these days?
“One of the initial core beliefs of the label is that all releases get some sort of a physical release. It hasn’t taken long to realise this isn’t going to always be possible. Vinyl is really important to us, so we are trying to make that a possibility for as many releases as possible. CDs have become pretty much obsolete in our eyes.
We are able to print out our own CDs so we do that for radio servicing, but it is also important to note that some people don’t want to buy digital files, and don’t have a record player, so in some instances CDs are necessary to provide access to those who want to buy your product.” – Will
Mix & Match Promotional Platforms
The most effective way for young labels to get their music heard.
“I think promotion of music is all about have the right mix of all of the promotional platforms in place. The push is definitely towards online in our current technology climate of people wanting instant news, instant gratification and access to music. In saying that there is definitely still a place for more traditional forms of promotions including radio and print media, in particular community radio. I think our community radio stations in this country are as strong as they have ever been and still fighting the good fight.” – Lorrae
Have A Sonic Focus
How sonic direction and genre focus will help your label.
“I think having some kind of a sonic direction is really important. However the label was founded on the basis that we would release whatever we want. The name Zero Through Nine is meant to be a representation of that.
The direction of the label so far is a manifestation of an interest in garage house, dub and ambient pop, but as 2014 continues on, it will look a little more diverse whilst still under the umbrella of electronic music.” -Will
Organisation Is Paramount To Success
Best ways for a new label to stay organised.
“My hot tip for organisation is LISTS. I’m old school and I still carry a note pad with me everywhere I go and write myself lists everyday of the things that I need to do. There is no better feeling then having a page long list of things to be done and crossing them off in bold red marker when you have completed them.
From a company prospective we use a lot of Google docs because we work as a team and have a lot of people working on the same projects at the same time. These give us access to editable planning documents that every member of Remote Control team can view and edit to stay on top of the many projects that we usually have on the go at the same time.” -Lorrae
Event: STEP Edition #1
Wednesday June 4 | Boney, Melbourne CBD
8pm: Panel Discussion
9pm: Milwaukee Banks (live performance)
10pm: Lower Spectrum (live performance)
10:35-late: Luen/Hand Games (dj set)
Tickets on sale now: www.boney.net.au
