news category created 30 March 2011 written by Mick Glossop
MPG Stage 2nd DIY EVENT at Metropolis Studios (March 30th, 2011)
Investigating the ins and outs of starting your own DIY record company is proving to be a popular topic as the Music Producers Guild discovered when it held its second DIY Event at Metropolis Studios in London on March 30th.
The event built on the sell-out success of the first DIY event, which took place at the end of last year. This time the theme was distribution and pressing, with a panel of experts giving valuable advice that really got into the nitty-gritty of this important subject.
The panel included Karen Emanuel from Key Production, Jonathan Quarmby from AWAL, Michael Fuller fromAIM, James McGuiness from Absolute Marketing and Distribution, and producer Tommy D from the MPG.
You can listen to the audio recorded at this event in the MPG Sound Archive (members only)
The evening kicked off with a presentation from Tommy D about the new models that are emerging. He then asked the panel to contribute to the discussion. Michael Fuller ofAIM gave an overview of the independent labels market. Karen Emanuel of Key Production explained the process of manufacture and the value of merchandise. Jonathan Quarmby took the process of digital distribution down to byte size chunks and explained how AWAL acts as a conduit, uploading and encoding the music into stores and then accounting to and paying its clients. James McGuiness of Absolute Marketing & Distribution, which provides sales, marketing and business management solutions for independent record labels, gave a few examples of the process of running a ‘do it yourself’ label.
During the event a number of key issues were addressed. These included a discussion about where the modern marketplace is, how artists can get their music to their audiences, the importance of the CD and how many to press, how to get music online, the role of the major record companies and the benefits of using aggregators. There was also a heated debate surrounding the issue of illegal downloading and its benefits or disadvantages to the industry with some unexpected conclusions.
The floor was then opened up to questions and they came in ‘fast and furious’, everyone wanting more information. There wasn’t enough time to answer everyone’s queries and with this in mind, the MPG is considering running a workshop day for DIY.
MPG director Tommy D says: “DIY is about empowering artists to take control of their musical output, allowing the public the option of finding and judging it for themselves, which helps to define where your market may ultimately be. It gives artists the best possible start because it helps them get their music out there in front of a new audience. We hope that these useful sessions – of which there will be more – will give people the tools and understanding they need for success in the changing landscape of the music industry.”
The Music Producers Guild will host a third DIY Event during the summer and this will focus on marketing and how to feed your fans.
