Think before signing to a label
There are many good reasons as to why you should think before signing to a label. And, in a recent piece by The Fader, Dylan Richards aka House Of Black Lanterns, a Berlin based producer talked all about why he is self releasing after ten years of trying to make a record deal work.
“There’s not many people that make music professionally for any [long] duration of time. A big part of that is a disillusion with the industry.” Said Dylan
Earlier last month he independently released his third album ‘You Were Telling Me of Mountains’. This has been the first album he has put out without any assistance from a record label, and ultimately this move seems to have been a long time coming for the artist.
Dylan has previously worked under a few different aliases, his first one being Zilla. With his second creative identity King Cannibal he got a four album label deal with Ninja Tune. He successfully completed his first album and his signing to a label was looking like a pretty good idea. But his second album became a bit of a hurdle as the line of communication between artist and label started breaking down.
“I couldn’t get any sense of what they actually wanted from me. No material or idea seemed to be met positively.” Said Dylan
When he reached the point of frustration and was still unsure of what the label expected from him, he submitted an album that he knew wasn’t ready and Ninja Tunes released him from the contract.
This had him feeling doubtful of himself as an artist and ultimately forced him to re-evaluate. Clearly his vision and that of the label’s were headed down different paths. When you take on a record label’s identity it is this that can stifle creativity. There will naturally be the expectation that you continue to carry on in the same creative vein as everyone else signed to the specific label.
This is pretty standard but can mean endless dead ends and frustration for you as the artist if you fail to comply. If you think before signing to a label and realise that your sound and style is not supported by them or any available record labels then the best thing to do is to self release.
While getting signed to a label might seem like an end goal and that everything else will automatically fall into place after that with fame and fortune following; the fact is that the reality demands blood, sweat, and ultimately compromise.
“You’re looking through all these records and it’s like a big pile of broken dreams in a way. Almost none of these artists still have a career, so you kinda have to respect that. If you’re making records you’re sort of adding to this pile, whether you want to admit it or not.” DJ Shadow, in Scratch documentary
Think before signing to a label source
