Social media numbers don’t necessarily impress me– engagement is much more important. say. Personally, I prefer boundary pushers who have a fresh way of presenting their music and message. What I don’t like are copycats. How much research do you do on artists? Today we’re very data driven. If I like what I hear, I do online research. I look for transactional things, like audience reaction and fan engagement. Social media numbers don’t necessarily impress me––engagement is much more important. But, a lot of artists aren’t great at that. They tend to use social media as a promotional tool. Do you develop acts? That’s hard to answer. I have, in the past, but not lately. There’s so much nuance involved it really depends on the act, what they need and how much time we have. What would motivate you to sign an artist? Besides strong songs and talent—I love stories. If they have an interesting story and have achieved results, that gets my attention. If they have a good team, press, radio, touring experience and fans, I’ll take a real close look. But just being talented, like having a great voice, isn’t enough. You need more than that for a record deal. What kind of deals do you offer? We’re creative, but every situation is different, and leverage definitely plays a role. In the music industry today, record labels are the last bastions of financial investment. Given that, and the decline in traditional recording revenue, I think it’s only fair that a label has a chance to participate across an artist’s non-record businesses and share income. What’s your signing process? It depends on how competitive the situation is. When I’m all-in, I’m all-in. I try to make sure that artists and their representatives know what I’m offering. I also want to know if they’re team play42 January 2017
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ers. If they’re excited about what my label has to offer, that moves things along quicker.
have something to say, no matter what genre– especially if it’s political.
How can artists contact you? At Capitol we prefer to be contacted by industry professionals. Someone who knows me XPVME CF CFTU r
What’s your label’s philosophy? Our mission is to put out exceptional records by important artists, and to continue our tradition of being queer-positive, feminist and artist-friendly. Additionally, we believe in doing it yourself, and see our job as helping artists realize their vision. In a culture that rewards mediocre music with a quick buck, we feel lucky that we get to work with artists who challenge mediocrity on a regular basis. Plus, we love the music. What type of acts attract you? I like self-sufficient acts that are in it for the long haul. Acts that understand the business and have put in work already are no brainers. What I won’t sign are acts that feel entitled.
KILL ROCK STARS Portia Sabin Owner and President killrockstars.com Submissions: Website One of the few female-run independent labels in the United States, Kill Rock Stars (KRS) has a long and colorful history. It was founded in 1991 by Slim Moon who ran it until 2006 when he became Sr. Director of A&R at Nonesuch Records. Portia Sabin then took over operations. Known for its eclectic roster and indie spirit, KRS has released tracks and records by Nirvana, Elliot Smith, Sleater-Kinney, Deerhoof, the Melvins, Bikini Kill and the Decemberists.
I like selfsufficient acts that are in it for the long haul. Does your label have a musical focus? Although many of our acts are rock-based, our roster has a lot of diversity—we’ll check almost anybody out (except EDM or metal). I have noticed that some of our biggest successes have been bands with women in them. We seem to have a strong chemistry with those acts. We are also attracted to artists that
How important are social media numbers? They’re important if they’re zero, or extremely low. The first thing I do is Google an act. I need to see that they have an online presence. I look for fan engagement and evidence that they are working at it. How important are live performances? Vitally important. I don’t like signing acts I haven’t seen play live. If you don’t have a great live show you’re not going to find fans. What kind of deals do you offer? We’re old-school––we don’t do 360 deals. We offer a Net Profit 50/50 deal. We only share in sales; the artist gets to keep everything else. I think it’s the right thing to do. We tend to work with acts at the beginning of their career, so we keep costs low so they can recoup and start making money quickly. How do you promote your acts? We talk with them to see what they need. We try to put them on tour as soon as possible. I also have a podcast, called The Future of What, that plays music from our roster. (killrockstars.com/ UIFGVUVSFPGXIBU BOE FYQMPSFT UIF CVTJOFTT r
POP CAUTIOUS RECORDS Tyler Porterfield Owner and President popcautiousrecords.com Submissions: via SubmitHub.com Both an artist and label owner, Tyler Porterfield founded Pop Cautious Records on a simple yet elegant concept: to raise awareness of the role music and art play in society. Porterfield believes that it’s an idea best expressed simply, “through the honest resonance of authentic music.â€? Since music and popular culture have a direct impact on our world, Porterfield is on a mission “to form and nurture a community of artists who work together toward positive change.â€?Â