I’m launching a record label
Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows that my company Pure Incubation is working on starting lots of companies. You probably also know that when I get to announce the launch of one of them, I am really excited (and usually a bit relieved!)
Today I get to announce that my latest project is launching: Fat J Records.
I’ve been working on getting this independent record label off the ground for awhile, but I feel like it’s finally official because I’ve signed my first artist: Cara Austin.
Check out her site here: www.caraaustin.com.
I’ve mentioned Cara Austin here before - because I really like her music - but now I am more than just a fan, I’m her label.
To be honest, I’m still figuring out all the kinks with what’s involved with owning and running a record label. The idea to even start this type of business came from a post that I wrote earlier this year about the music industry and the things that are changing with the way that music is sold and promoted because of the Internet. That post is here if you want to give it a read.
The bottom line about the online music business is that no one has it just right yet, so I figured that I might as well jump in now when all the fun stuff is happening.
One thing that I know for sure is that the Internet is changing the fan/artist relationship, and with that in mind, Cara Austin’s blog has launched on Tumblr. I think that the Tumblr microblogging platform might be just perfect for an artist blog that will likely include a lot of pictures, quotes, and short bits and links, as well as video and audio clips. I’m going to be the primary writer of the blog, and I won’t only be posting about Cara Austin and her musical career, but also about our adventures in exploring the online music industry - so feel free to give a read or follow us there.
Second, I don’t think that the online music business models are going to be figured out by one small independent label working alone. So with this post, I invite all of you to get involved. Do you have ideas about what needs to happen to change the music industry? Why don’t you post them here. Are you an independent record label yourself, or an Internet business that is making the best use of the new music models that are emerging? Let’s work together. Send me an email and let’s see if and how we can collaborate.
The launch of a business is always exciting. But today is particularly thrilling for me as the music industry is all new for me. It’s seems sure to be a wild ride.
Tags: , Blogging, Cara Austin, Fat J Records, Music, online business models, Pure Incubation, Tumblr
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Welcome to the confusion of the music business! I have to believe there are ways for artists who will never sell 1 million records to still garner a following and distribute their music to people who would really want to hear it. The internet definitely levels the playing field more and makes it possible. I think the trick is figuring out the right business model. I’m not sure anyone has just yet. Good luck!
April 4th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
[…] music industry is something that I’m really thinking about lately with the launch of Fat J Records and signing Cara Austin – so the recent news about iTunes overtaking Wal-Mart and MySpace […]
April 10th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Very much admire what you’re doing. My new book, Jump Point: How Network Culture is Revolutionizing Business (McGraw-Hill) deals with a lot of the issues being faced by the music industry–recording side, talent side, the live performance aspect. Grab a copy and then let’s collaborate. I am in Silicon Valley and there is much potential to mash things up right now.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:20 am
If you’re like me, starting a net-centric record label via TuneCore will give you about 18 billion ideas for musician-focused web/mobile apps.
http://tunecore.typepad.com/tunecorner/2008/04/musical-freedom.html
As I’ve asked, rhetorically, to many tech people: does BMW hire engineers that don’t drive cars?
I am very happy that you’re “walking the walk”. One tiny suggestion? How about a music player on the site? It’s WAY too quiet!
Drop me an email for more mind-blowing insight ;-)
Kind regards,
Ethan
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I came across your blog through hacker news at the ycombinator site and I found many of your posts to be refreshing. I came to connect with many of your posts because I too am working on a startup that is launching and testing many ideas to see which sticks. One of those ideas deals with the publishing industry which attracts many comparisons to the music industry. The comment that I wanted to share with you that comes from most writers I came in touch with was that making their books available online to read has surprisingly increased their offline book sales and made their tours more popular. I guess that same comparison could be made where music is a free mechanism to enhance other revenue streams like live concerts and tours. Best of luck.
Mahmoud
May 8th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
[…] there is a fundamental problem with Tumblr that I wasn’t aware of before I started using it - the search engines don’t seem to like it. In the two months since I have been posting […]