so, ive been working on this Grungestep Compilation lately (still accepting tracks, if anyone's interested!.. sorry lol) and anyway i gotta say, in all honesty, it's the funnest shit i've ever done in music! (maybe the other funnest thing is that feeling you get when you finish an album.. ) my point being, i kinda really got into the idea of the concept of grunge-step, remixing the past, 'ironic nostalgia,' and fighting against over-80s-electro-synthy-bs... i wanted to do like.. a series of grungestep remixes, and then eventually start releasing my own and others tracks in a style based around SAMPLING grunge, as kind of a next step to just REMIXING it..


anyway, so, when i get into a new kind of music, there's always loads of music to choose from on youtube, soundcloud, facebook/myspace, friends, pets, etc etc etc. and with this, theres almost nothing to look for, because no one's doing it yet, and maybe it's destined to be over a month after the compilation comes out, or maybe it will continue-or go on to influence some other musical ideas to come in the next few years..

but ive thinking lately about what i want to do in music right now, and i feel like i want to incorporate dubstep, glitch hop, the lofi-wonky-instrumental hip hop (flying lotus, hudson mo) and also some grungey angry filthy rock, and fuck it all together into a nice stew and then drink the stew, vomit it into a prostitute's mouth, and then fuck her senselessly. so.. any advice on how to get artists into this? or what i should do to try to run a label putting out music no one's really made before? anyone want to join my label, and become a musical renaissance terrorist with me? lol. i want to be five or ten years or fifteen years ahead of music, incorporate politics (subtly and/or openly) and art and culture, and combine things that weren't meant to be combined, a wonderful colorful mess - remix the unremixable, a big pranking of the music world. An underground's underground, broadcasting the future of culture, now ! ha!

btw, i apologize if some of that imagery is too weird and graphic.

i would search all free music sharing sites, like soundcloud, and find artists that are making stuff similar to what you want to hear. pick a few that you like and then send them a message asking them to make the stuff you want and tell them it will be released on a label. they will probably be interested.

Finding good artists is not that difficult, and they are all reachable via facebook, twitter or simply email. The point is, you need to find an agreement with them. You want something from them, so you also need to offer them something real, not dreams or ideas.


IMO, it's very hard without:


- A huge and solid fan base.

- Confirmed high profile guests and tracks help a lot to convince other high profile people (in fact, the trick is to start with one high profile artist and build the compilation around it. Makes it much easier).

- Credibility and references. Especially all better known artists are very amateur allergic - for a good reason. Beginners tend to fuck up their first product in a way or another. So, they ask for 2-3000$ to keep you away. On the other hand, Warp doesn't have to pay much - even the big artists are happy to contribute for free in this case.

- A proper infrastructure for production/distro/promo/booking/press relations/a strong web presence, etc.

- The right contacts and a lot time and nerves to communicate with them. You need to be able to reject weak tracks from friends, that's a very hard. The output will be boring cheese if you do not master the latter.

- Proper finances and advances. No way around a big stack of dollars. Really. You won't make money, that's sure But you need a lot for running a label. Basically, a label is just a bank/PR agency for musicians. So you either need a very good paid job, a stack of $ you made before or just a rich daddy. It's sad, I know.

- A lawyer for contracts or at least a lot experience reading and writing music contracts. Be careful here, compilations are very dangerous if you do not secure all requirered rights with full care. One wrong sample in one track can ruin your whole life.


Don't get me wrong! Not here to demotivate you, just don't expect anything beside substantial losses and headache if you forget only one of the aspects above. Music first of course, but you can't walk without ground under your feet (I mean the points above).

cool. well, what if theres lots of samples, but the compilation is free?

Free or not doesn't really make a difference in my experience. No matter if it's about the costs, the fan community or promo and legal struggle.

I'm sorry for shifting the topic that far. Back to music!


Really, it might be helpful to start with one killer track or popular artist and then move on to the next people and ask them:

"Hey, we're doing a nice compilation, X and Y are already on board with these tracks, you're interested?"

So the thing becomes easier with every new artist.



You already have a concept I can listen to?

well, the grungestep CD im doing will feature ill gates, strangeflow, archie cooper, and many more!
yea, go to soundcloud and just search "grungestep" theres a couple primo examples there.


bah. i used the word 'primo.' im going to hate myself for the next 12 hours for that one...

Oh, these are cool artists. In this case, just harvest at soundcloud. I guess many people will be happy to cooperate.




lol

thread title is a fav passtime of mine.

hehe