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redwingz
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
2,483 posts
Joined: Jan, 2005
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 Posted - 2011/05/12 : 19:44:41
Its been almost 3 years since I began NSR and as a label I feel like we are doing worse now than we were 12-18 months ago. I believe this to be for a number of reasons but mainly I feel that we are just struggling to reach out to new fans as we dont have the financial backing of some other labels. We also dont have as many contacts as other labels (mainly because Im not one to suck up to artists and write on their facebook walls everyday to tell them they are awesome). Other contributing factors are IMOdownload dieing on its arse (we still dont see the amount of sales on TID as we did on IMO), hardcore now having only 2 respectable download outlets, trackitdown, which has so many new releases added each day its hard as a customer to keep track and Hardbeatsdownload, who have twice rejected our application to join. I also feel that labels starting more recently than us are surpassing us, and all they are doing is mp3 releases, meaning that as we invest more money into the label we see a reverse in fortunes.
Whilst we have made some good achievements with regards to Chris Ross getting 'Lets Go Disco' on two hardcore albums and DJ support from Kutski (on Radio 1), Sharkey, Brisk & Fracus among others, this DJ support unfortunately has been too few and far between (thats no dig at any Djs, its a personal failure as a label owner). People arent asking to book our artists (not much anyway), people arent approaching them very often for remix work, and as a label, people just are not sending us demos anymore, it seems people dont want their tracks on NSR.
Hugely varying mp3 sales have been demoralising, some of our musically and technically better releases have sold worse than some of the tracks that I expected to appeal to only a niche of people. I personally feel like a failure as a label when an artist signs a track to us and we have to report poor sales figures, because while its not all about money, it is about getting as many people hearing an artists music as possible, and if sales are poor then I have not done my job properly and of course its widely known that mp3 sales in hardcore are terrible, our best selling mp3 has sold 119 units to date, so we have also tried our luck with CDs.
Our CD releases though have been something that has taken up months and months of mine and others time and has gained us very little in terms of new interest for the label or its artists. As they are something I have invested my own personal money in to, I dont mind sharing the current sales figures for our 3 CDs:
NSR: Hardcore Explosion - 82
NSR2: Hardcore Invasion - 102
NSR Presents: Future Hardcore - 49
As you can see, the last figure is something that has largely contributed to this announcement and opened my eyes to just how badly we are doing now. The first CD pleased me, as we did it on a small budget and in hindsight probably released it when the label was still too new. Hardcore Invasion, while breaking the 100 mark and is our best selling CD disppointed me as we still have a lot of excess stock. With the names that we got on the CD, Fracus, S3rl, Weaver, Michael Mansion, Joey Riot, Chaos, Thian Brodie etc and with it being a double disc in full professional casing and free postage and packaging, we expected to at least hit 200 and then aim for an even bigger follow up. The latest CD is musically our best, a lot of talent, both established and new artists with a lot of artists who are receiving a lot of recognition right now, but it hasnt even sold as many as our 1st album, its not even close.
As Ive said, this isnt about the money, its about the fact that the label is clearly heading in the wrong direction in terms of reputation and recognition. We are on a downward spiral where we should be heading upwards and unfortunately I am now at the point where I wake up feeling disappointed with how things are going rather than optimistic or happy.
Its widely known that theres a lot wrong with the hardcore scene and when I see threads about 'best up n comer' it seems to be the same 8-10 people mentioned all the time and NSR's core artists are very rarely mentioned, this again tells me that we are not achieving what we set out to achieve 3 years ago. Also, of those 8-10 people, I feel only 1 or 2 are actually bringing a new sound to the scene and trying new things, the others just appear to be a poor copy of someone else. I am not shy in saying that not a lot of new hardcore does a lot for me.
So whats going to happen. Im giving NSR 12 months. 12 months to get to where I want us to be as a label. That is...a wider fanbase, one of the first labels that spring to mind when people think of the best up and coming labels, more album inclusion for our artists, wether its actual NSR tracks or remix work for other labels, more regular DJ support and just be able to go to bed at night feeling that we are contributing something to the scene and helping to push it in the right direction. How are we going to do this?
- No more batches of 4 track mp3 releases. Tracks will now be released just 1 at a time.
- More free downloads, both originals and bootlegs.
- The label will go down a more breakbeat hardcore route. Im enjoying the breaks a lot more right now, and NSR needs to reflect that. We will aim to be 50/50 between breakbeat and UK.
- NSR Events. The first one is going to be a joint event in August, this will be an attempt to reach out to people outside of the online community and give people the chance to see our artists live alongside fresh new talent from other labels. This should also combat the lack of contacts we have.
- 1 more CD project. Hopefully this year, but it may be early 2012. 3 mixed discs, immense packaging and artwork, the best labels and artists, quality Djs mixing it and depending on budget, hopefully HMV stocked etc.
We will also hopefully do a free CD giveaway. 1 mixed disc packed full of NSR tracks where I will stand outside 3 events at closing time across the country, take a couple hundred copies to each and just hand them out to people for free (queue a million digi labels now doing this idea before we get round to it).
All in all, its make or break time for us. These plans will either catapult us upwards and allow us to invest more into the scene and do bigger and better things and be able to do albums on the scale of HU (thus giving the scene 2 underground series albums sold in HMV etc) or we will go broke, in which case NSR will either pack its bags and leave, or exist in a much smaller state and probably move away from UK hardcore. You might ask why I am bothered and why not just continue as we are? The answer is simple, at the moment, I am not doing our artists the justice they deserve, so I want to do more. Its like anything, if you put a lot of time into something you want it to be good, and at the moment Im not sure we are.
I have always said I wanted NSR to be an open label that paints a real picture of how the scene is going for us. If we achieve something good, I will share it, but equally when something goes wrong or flops, I will also tell you. People may disagree with me writing this post, but Ive been open with people about the label since day one, and will continue in that form.
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Audioshift
http://www.trackitdown.net/recordlabel/111477/nsr-records.html
http://www.nsrrecords.co.uk
http://www.imodownload.com/NSR-Records
http://www.junodownload.com/labels/NSR
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Samination
Advanced Member
Sweden
13,162 posts
Joined: Jul, 2004
195 hardcore releases
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Posted - 2011/05/12 : 19:54:00
I find it funny how HBD rejects you when their supposed to accept newcomers easily... but I guess as you said, you don't suck up to anyone :)
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Samination, Swedish Hardcore DJ
Happy, UK Hardcore, Freeform, Makina and Gabber
http://samination.se/
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acidfluxxbass
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
5,000 posts
Joined: Apr, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/12 : 19:58:05
Omfg. It gets worse...
dropping like flies!!!!
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Aka Archefluxx
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/archefluxx
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/afbofficial
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/archefluxxuk
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redwingz
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
2,483 posts
Joined: Jan, 2005
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Posted - 2011/05/12 : 20:33:51
quote:
Originally posted by acidfluxxbass:
Omfg. It gets worse...
dropping like flies!!!!
As stated at the end. This is not us quitting. This is us saying that we are not doing as well as we need to carry on in the same capacity. So something needs to change cause right now im failing.
So we are going to have a huge go this year! I now have a stable job so whilst i have less time, i do have more money, so I will be investing alot into fresh new music on the label and a BIG CD compilation.
But then if it bankrupts me...we will have to bow out.
Its make or break year for us, nothing can last forever without progressing, and after 3 years, this is the year ive picked that we need to step up to the plate.
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Audioshift
http://www.trackitdown.net/recordlabel/111477/nsr-records.html
http://www.nsrrecords.co.uk
http://www.imodownload.com/NSR-Records
http://www.junodownload.com/labels/NSR
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djDMS
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
10,304 posts
Joined: Feb, 2003
572 hardcore releases
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Posted - 2011/05/12 : 21:01:11
Very well put mate. I can see how frustrating things must be - all that time, money and effort for next to naff all! Looks like what a lot of people have expected for quite some time is finally happening. It was only a matter of time before the 'scene' got into a position where it couldn't sustain itself - mainly due to a mixture of lack of quality, abundance of ten a penny tunes and labels, and a clear lack of enthusiasm from the paying punter. Now we see a state where only the biggest can survive, and i bet a lot of them are doing worse than we think. I really do hope things pick up for you and others like you because i'd much rather support something like NSR than a lot of the shite out there. Hopefully the event will bring a much needed boost and more interest/publicity for the label. Good luck :-)
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Taking my time to perfect the beat
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JayHH86
Advanced Member
Vietnam
1,400 posts
Joined: Dec, 2008
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Posted - 2011/05/12 : 21:08:18
Big respect for you Craig. The honesty, your commitment to the label, to your artists, not to mention your own, personal financial investment.
Whilst it's humble of you to say "I'm failing", and whilst I'm doubtlessly less qualified on label politics than you are, I think you're being hard on yourself. I could go into an enormous, lengthy summarisation of the various affecting conditions that labels are subjected to these days, but it's all been said before. Things are very, very tough mate, as you of all people know. But I think that irrespective of the quality of management, a lot of labels are going to be going south very soon. I think a lot of it is out of your hands. I'm absolutely not knocking anything you're doing, or plan on doing over the next year - simply saying: it's so bloody difficult at the moment, that no matter how good a label-runner you are, you could still be up shit creek. And not to put so much blame on yourself personally.
I don't think there's a single person that has a bad thing to say about you or the label. And I know pats on the back and people speaking highly of you/NSR on forums doesn't get you a lot of cash and sales - but my word, I think it's certainly a measure of success. I sincerely think that the last thing you should be doing is considering yourself a failure, or that people are thinking of NSR as a failure. I know that's not a hard, quantifiable measure of success, like release and EP sales, but I still think it's a meaningful measure of success.
As for your plans and ideas, I think the single most important one could be the event(s). I think that may very well help widen the fan base in a meaningful way. (Just a thought, might be worth including some live-sets from those NSR events from NSR artists to add as a bonus on the CD, or even up for free download on your site. Or maybe even - "Buy 3 NSR tracks and take your pick of from a number of live-set mixes from our NSR artists as a freebie"? I dunno, just thinking aloud).
Whatever happens, good luck my man. And if things are still going bad by the time I'm back, I'll buy you a few beers when I attend my first NSR event.
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For free tracks & mixes: http://hardcorehighlights.com/
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Ionosphere
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
3,750 posts
Joined: Dec, 2004
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Posted - 2011/05/12 : 22:52:50
Don't be too hard on yourself Craig, imo, it's just a sign of the times mate.
If it doesn't improve in the next 12 months then maybe you should just ease back a bit and keep NSR on tick-over with single releases until you get a second wind or things pick up again.
As a fine example, we've been on tick-over for donkeys years and haven't 'made it'.... but it's still fun and isn't that what really counts? ;)
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This- http://www.discogs.com/artist/Ionosphere
THIS - http://soundcloud.com/ionosphere
VIDEO - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nYWkHCkaho
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silver
Admin
Japan
12,564 posts
Joined: Feb, 2001
894 hardcore releases
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Posted - 2011/05/14 : 01:30:23
While I support anyone promoting hardcore I want to point out a few things... this might read as a little bit of tough love but I've been running this site for 12 years.
1. Don't expect or assume anything, running a label for x years doesn't open doors for you and you should not expect anything.
2. People love to latch onto something new as it "might" be the next big thing... Expect this with anything.
2.5 People will tell you what you want to hear. Listen to people but use your own judgement to decide what is right or wrong or good or bad.
3. Don't judge your success solely on sales figures. If you personally know the track is good and it did not sell well it must have come down to promotion of the track. Move onto the next track and if you think the track under performed get a new remix for it and release it again 12 months later.
4. DJ support and playing helps but dont follow the crowd, just because you get a track on the radio or x DJ plays your tune doesn't mean you have made it... everyone wants to be on top and no one wants to promote someone else over themself... the only way to make it is to do something well and keep at it.
5. Expect to lose money in music... seriously there is little or no money in music anymore.
6. Download sites wont promote your tunes, don't expect people to buy it because of the name of the tune, the name of the label or that it is on X download site etc...
6.5 If a store rejects you and you think your music is good, that basically means you have not done enough marketing, the store does not want to put a label in there that does not sell.
7. Offline promotion, get your stuff promoted offline, logos here and there.
8. Keep it real, let the customer decide if it is good, don't over hype something... makes it look like a TV special... "call now and we'll give you this for free"...
9. I think you have already learnt this, but it is serious rookie mistake that I see time and time again.... don't promote or even talk about the next thing or the next release or even what is coming up next before you release your next release. Don't talk about your next release coming up when you are trying to promote the current release. Keep your fan base guessing.
10. Facebook... use it!
11. You fan base isn't 100% online, think of online as 1 promotional angle, then think of other ways to get your music known.
12. The artists need to promote themselves, as a label it is not your job to get DJ bookings for them, promote the label and the releases over the artists, if the label gets a great name for itself the artists will surf the promotional wave and you'll get alot of artists wanting to sign up.
13. Don't sit back and expect things to come to you. They wont.
14. Don't post stories like this, people and artists don't want to be part of a sinking ship, don't tell people you've had enough or worried or whatever.
15. Make a 12 month plan, a serious one, with release dates (a real date not "march 2012"... put a day in it) and schedules and such. This goes a long way in getting into stores and sorting yourself out.
16. Don't expect to not fail, nothing is automatic in life.
17. Expect no help or too rely on anyone. If you want it done right (and on time) you're gonna have to do it yourself.
18. 1 in 1000 people will offer help.... 1 in 10 of those people will actually be helpful :)
19. Don't do what everyone else is doing, customers know who made the ipod and buy from the innovators, if you are just coping what other people / labels are doing then why would people be interested in what you have. Go big or go home.
20. DJ out... this might sound weird, but I can tell listening to labels who is a DJ (and performs live) from the music on that label. A good A&R person knows what sounds hot and what sounds meh...
21. Know the industry and how it works, don't be afraid to ask questions. I've seen alot of people moaning or complaining about something that was their own fault...
22. Artists can sometimes be deva's. Expect them not to invoice you and then complain about non payments, except them not to read their contracts, expect them to not understand the contracts, expect them to break their contracts. Communication is key here.
23. If you don't know what mechanical royalties, A&R, publishing and terms like this are without googling then you should not be running a label.
24. You just might be wrong, consider it... The track might not have sold because it actually sucks.... If a track doesn't sell, but all your mates and online buddies said "yeah it's great!" consider that the track might actually be a stinker and your friends are just being nice to you.
25. A DJ will play anything that is good, a DJ not to play your track basically means they don't like it.
26. Don't take things personally. Consider everything and improve for next time.
27. You need to run a label semi like a business if you want any sort of major success. If you run it like a hobby or a way to make friends don't expect artists to come knocking down your door.
28. Artists are looking to promote themselves, don't expect loyalty, they are looking out (and rightful so) for themselves.
anyway... more of a "shit I've learnt" over the years.
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redwingz
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
2,483 posts
Joined: Jan, 2005
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Posted - 2011/05/14 : 11:12:38
DMS, Jay, Ionosphere - Thanks guys, some great words there <3
Silver - Wow! Thank you for that, seriously. I think thats the longest post Ive ever seen you write ;) So its seriously appreciated that its in this thread.
Some of the points I do know about, some I didnt but am learning, some have given me new ideas and some have made me motivated to kick this on and try new things and evolve!
Some points are things that I have shared the same opinion as you on for a long time and still shock me today. Point 23 jumped out at me straight away, its quite scary how many label owners and artists I have had to explain publishing to and how it works. You can forgive an artist for not completely knowing, but for a label owner to think that publishing money is theirs etc :|
Definitely going to take alot of what you have said on board and utilise it. So thanks for taking the time to help :)
__________________________________
Audioshift
http://www.trackitdown.net/recordlabel/111477/nsr-records.html
http://www.nsrrecords.co.uk
http://www.imodownload.com/NSR-Records
http://www.junodownload.com/labels/NSR
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silver
Admin
Japan
12,564 posts
Joined: Feb, 2001
894 hardcore releases
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Posted - 2011/05/15 : 00:18:36
Labels can take publishing, but it is rare, but I have seen it.. sometimes on exclusive artist contracts or 100% buyouts labels take publishing, but as an artist it is in your best interest not to sign your publishing away to a label but to sign with a real publisher.
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