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DIY Labels


Jaaakkkeee

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The fucks the point in a list of names without a description?

I dig:

CATH Records- Based in Glasgow, tape label run by the guys in PAWS and Sean Armstrong, tapes out by Dolfinz and PAWS already. http://www.facebook.com/cathrecords

Winning Sperm Party- Glasgow based aswell, put on gigs too. Released likes of Ultimate Thrush and Playdoh www.winningspermparty.com

Utarid Tapes- Tapes again, Screamo/punk releaes in the coolest packaging, fucking love tapes

I put out one record (What price wonderland?//Syn*Error Split) under the title "Thank You Records", it was all pretty underground

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Do labels matter any more? Did they ever matter? I'm not 100% sold on the idea that they're important in identifying quality music. With a label like Motown, the VAST majority of the back catalogue during their peak era was recorded with the same musicians, so you got that motown sound and therefore if you liked that, buying their releases was for you. But for a lot of labels, especially smaller ones, the theme rnuning through them is either geographic or ethos-based and the music can vary massively in quality and style. Any thoughts?

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I've found if I follow a band back to a label, i find other bands I like. Labels are nice. But that can only really be said about small labels.

Not necessarily. There’s lots of indie labels that can be considered quite massive which revolve around certain style of bands. Fat Wreck Chords is pretty massive, and they release exclusively punk rock records. Epitaph is pretty massive too, but they decided they wanted to branch out from punk rock a few years ago and started to release shite hip hop and trendy haircut-hardcore for children. Before that, and for most of the 90’s, they released only punk rock records, mostly “skate-punk” which was all the rage at the time, and they are still responsible for releasing the biggest selling independent record of all time.

There’s no doubt those labels now make a living from what they do since they are huge, but they started as DIY labels. Fat is still alright. Epitaph are a bunch of shithawks though. I’d still argue Fat are a DIY label even though they are massive and their records are distributed by Sony. They do everything else themselves. The 3rd party just get their records out of their warehouse and out into the rest of the world. That really isn’t a bad thing at all, especially as the popularity of their bands certainly warrants worldwide distribution. They’ve made their own success by doing their own thing for so long. They never really sold their soul along the way. Good label. Fat Mike seems like a bit of a toss though.

I have loads of favourite labels. Dischord is an obvious one. No Idea Records are pretty huge these days too but still DIY. My favourite UK label is Bombed Out Records (www.bombedout.com). They release primarily punk/indie rock mostly from UK bands but they released a few things by a swedish post-hardcore band called Kelly 8 who were pretty great. They practically got me into the whole DIY punk thing after hearing the FIG 4.0 record through a friend, and it blew my mind. They put on two annual all-dayers/weekenders in January and August, usually showcasing as many of their bands who can play, plus a whole bunch of other UK bands. Crackle Records (www.crackle.freeuk.com) have released some essential UK punk rock records too, but seem to have practically been put to rest except when Milloy put out a new record, which is a shame. Art For Blind (www.artforblind.com) is really great too. I believe Dany has released Carson Wells' stuff. He was gonna do a Cap Sante 7" too, but we split up. Super nice guy, puts out a shedload of records for bands he loves. I can't imagine he makes much money, if any at all, but his back catalogue is incredible.

Obviously DIY stretches beyond punk, but that's all I can mostly comment on.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Art For Blind (www.artforblind.com) is really great too. I believe Dany has released Carson Wells' stuff. He was gonna do a Cap Sante 7" too, but we split up. Super nice guy, puts out a shedload of records for bands he loves. I can't imagine he makes much money, if any at all, but his back catalogue is incredible.

This is true. He's involved with our forthcoming 12" too. Top bloke.

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