DSF-based record label?

[TecBloc]

After knocking about on this forum, slinging a few posts in here and there for a few months i've noticed..... Theres actually a fair bit of talent on this forum There are also a lot of up and coming artists on here who are trying to be heard, either through track releases or promotion....

As many of you on here may know its actually fairly easy and low cost (potentially free) to set up a Digi record label, I set up my own about a year ago and was accepted on all the usual online outlets, despite being the only unknown artist on the roster and with some admittedly fairly questionable tracks at the beginning, however since then it has been regularly featured in '10 must hear' weekly charts as well as being selected for a main advertisement:

https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/con ... tyId=16027

Anyway, what i'm suggesting is a record label owned and controlled by the users of DSF, (i'm imagining they may not want us using anything bearing their name or logo... Although if they would let us that would be sweet as it already has wide recognition) what i'm imagining is some sort of voting system or potentially a board that would select tracks for release, maybe with a mod or two involved. There are a number of heads on here who have involvement with blogs and radio shows etc. who could help with promo, and to be honest if enough people got behind it i think it could be quite a force. I already have channels set up with a distributor so i think we would have no problem getting to the retailers, or if there are others who have more experience/influence in running a record label they could sort it out.

Aaanyway, its just a thought, as i said i have not been massively regular on here so this may have come up before, would love to hear what people think.....

[legend4ry]

There is already a DSF label which is hard to get onto because quality is everything.

[TecBloc]

Oh really? I googled and searched beatport and couldnt find anything? is it not under the dsf name? Fair enough.... Well like i said it wouldn't necessarily have to have anything to do with DSF only run by the users.

Your sig track is narsty btw

[legend4ry]

Cheers!

I think the label is a sister label of box clever not sure if its still going but be warned...No one is allowed to use the DSF name on anything - especially when you're trying to make a profit out of the dubstepforum name. You're more than welcome to start a label to push the talent on here but think of an original name and good luck to you!

[TecBloc]

Cool, well thanks for the heads up boss, i'll have to wait and see if there are any takers.... I should make it clear to anyone reading this thread that I am not looking to make money off anyone and I would imagine that any money would be shared out between people who contributed to the release, i.e. producers, a percentage to graphic designers etc.

[RandoRando]

i would love to get a song released. but ive always wondered, all these small time dubsteppers, about how much money do they make off their tunes? does a song have to sell so much copies to stay on beatport or somethin like that? if royalties are 50/50 and the song sold for 1 dollar. does the label and artists each get 50 cents?

[Basic A]

i would love to get a song released. but ive always wondered, all these small time dubsteppers, about how much money do they make off their tunes? does a song have to sell so much copies to stay on beatport or somethin like that? if royalties are 50/50 and the song sold for 1 dollar. does the label and artists each get 50 cents?

50/50 typically means a 50/50 split of the PROFIT... the label recovers their distribution costs and then factors from there... make sense?

Tunes sell on those sites for 99cents, but that doesnt mean the label receives that 99c, the retailers have to make money too somehow, so they remove a percentage...

There is also taxes...

After all thats said and done, about half the retail price will actually make it to the label, meaning an artist will end up with about 25% of sales after the initial cost of distribution...

If you want to see my quarterly's as a nobody dubstep producer, PM me, dont think thats stuff to share in public though...

EDM in general isnt hugely profitable though, bear in mind most of your favorite 'big name' EDM artists will have day jobs and make most of their musical money from bookings and live appearances.

[Sparxy]

I have nothing to add to this thread other than OP: the tune in your sig is lovely, can I have a 320 please

[TecBloc]

i would love to get a song released. but ive always wondered, all these small time dubsteppers, about how much money do they make off their tunes? does a song have to sell so much copies to stay on beatport or somethin like that? if royalties are 50/50 and the song sold for 1 dollar. does the label and artists each get 50 cents?

50/50 typically means a 50/50 split of the PROFIT... the label recovers their distribution costs and then factors from there... make sense?

Tunes sell on those sites for 99cents, but that doesnt mean the label receives that 99c, the retailers have to make money too somehow, so they remove a percentage...

There is also taxes...

After all thats said and done, about half the retail price will actually make it to the label, meaning an artist will end up with about 25% of sales after the initial cost of distribution...

If you want to see my quarterly's as a nobody dubstep producer, PM me, dont think thats stuff to share in public though...

EDM in general isnt hugely profitable though, bear in mind most of your favorite 'big name' EDM artists will have day jobs and make most of their musical money from bookings and live appearances.

Yea from my experience the label will receive roughly half of what the track retails for, after my distributor has taken 20%.... There isnt a massive amount of money in releasing the tracks however it will help you progress in the scene, i have started receiving bookings as a direct result of releases on Beatport and got booked for my first gig abroad in Rotterdam earlier this year, so nobody would be making much money from the potential label. This is why i suggest a system whereby all money goes to the contributors as the idea is this label would be owned by anyone who wants to be part of it and if you shared the money out with everyone equally there wouldnt be anything worth having.

[nftfhx]

I quite like the idea of that, I think it'd give the newer kids and beginners a bit of hope and some inspiration to keep producing knowing that they could get something released through here

[GothamHero]

There is already a DSF label which is hard to get onto because there's no brostep, pop, or electro house tendencies.

Fixed

Who's on the DSF label anyway?

[legend4ry]

I can't remember the label exactly so not sure but I remember they put out quite a few big-names first records.

[Dystinkt]

Id be interested in doing this, my tunes are getting semi releasable I think and Im struggling to make headway with recognition anyway, I'm bummed off as a producer locally but here everyone else isnt as enthusiastic.

[Teknicyde]

This topic comes up constantly, as stated above, Dubway runs a label, and he's made it more then clear on several occasions the DSF name cant be used for something like this...

[zerbaman]

i would love to get a song released. but ive always wondered, all these small time dubsteppers, about how much money do they make off their tunes? does a song have to sell so much copies to stay on beatport or somethin like that? if royalties are 50/50 and the song sold for 1 dollar. does the label and artists each get 50 cents?

Yeah. I didn't ask how much, but a label manager I'm working with, specifically asked me to make more brostep so that the EP would sell a bit more
If labels don't reach x each month, beatport kicks them off.

To OP
What style are you looking to release? A bit of everything, or anything in particular?

[legend4ry]

I don't' know many digital DJ who uses beatport as their main place to buy music anyways.. Its more expensive than most and like Zerba said its all about meeting targets to stay on beatport so if a digital label's focus is to stay on that website their quality is going to be either drowned by quantity or compromised so it sells. Its a great place for a label to sell its music though don't get me wrong!


With things like Bandcamp about these days - if your music is good and you are passionately advertising it (sending it to the RIGHT DJ's and getting good blog coverage) you don't even have to go through a distributor in this day n age.. IF and a big IF - your music is on point.

Music sells through hype around it anyways, look at Odd Future - their music is terrible (production-wise) and people love their beats because their names been shoved in their faces for months/years.

[FSTZ]

I can't remember the label exactly so not sure but I remember they put out quite a few big-names first records.

Pressing Issues

[drooka]

i like the idea and although i have no experience in running/being a part of a record label, i would be very interested in getting involved in any way if this were to take flight

[Atac]

Music sells through hype around it anyways, look at Odd Future - their music is terrible (production-wise) and people love their beats because their names been shoved in their faces for months/years.

This!!

A lot of my friends like them for some reason, so I decided to check out Tyler the Creator's album Goblin.
I've been listening to it for a couple days now, and I can't even try to like it. It's pretty rough.

I guess they're selling an idea/lifestyle more than anything.

EDIT: Forgot to reply to OP

If my tunes are deemed worthy of a release (would be just my second), then I'd be more than happy to fuel a DSF-ish label.

[Gurnumsbug]

.