Pretend for a moment that you have unlimi

 

I'd start a record label & studio and record thousands of unsigned bands. There would be no star status, no unfair or binding contracts, no hidden management fees, no studio costs, no advances, no wages and no unlimited studio time - just the facilities to record, manufacture and distribute one album per band. There would be a limited amount of general promotion, (maybe a few well promoted tours and festivals and a series of targeted genre-specific promo CDs), but the bands would have to do all the specific promotion themselves, either individually or as small collectives within the label (anyone who can remember the Manchester Musicians Collective of the 80s will know how effective that can be)

 

Think of it as the opportunity to record a professional demo for free with added benfits of sound business and studio management. All start-up bands need that step-up to the next level and often it is just a small amount of cash and the knowledge to spend it wisely that prevents that from happening.

 

I have calculated that $5,000 for each band would produce a vialble "product" for them to sell and the sales of those would then be used to fund futher pressings and/or the second album. If any band or artist thinks that $5,000 is not enough then they are free to add to the pot with their own funds, if they are still not happy with that then they are not the kind of band I would be looking to help and they can go look for another label.

 

This would be a 100% non-profit making altruistic enterprise and all I would ask in return is for any band who made it big to remember where they came from and feed the system, so helping other struggling bands that follow them.

 

 

I'd start a record label & studio and record thousands of unsigned bands. There would be no star status, no unfair or binding contracts, no hidden management fees, no studio costs, no advances, no wages and no unlimited studio time - just the facilities to record, manufacture and distribute one album per band. There would be a limited amount of general promotion, (maybe a few well promoted tours and festivals and a series of targeted genre-specific promo CDs), but the bands would have to do all the specific promotion themselves, either individually or as small collectives within the label (anyone who can remember the Manchester Musicians Collective of the 80s will know how effective that can be)

 

Think of it as the opportunity to record a professional demo for free with added benfits of sound business and studio management. All start-up bands need that step-up to the next level and often it is just a small amount of cash and the knowledge to spend it wisely that prevents that from happening.

 

I have calculated that $5,000 for each band would produce a vialble "product" for them to sell and the sales of those would then be used to fund futher pressings and/or the second album. If any band or artist thinks that $5,000 is not enough then they are free to add to the pot with their own funds, if they are still not happy with that then they are not the kind of band I would be looking to help and they can go look for another label.

 

This would be a 100% non-profit making altruistic enterprise and all I would ask in return is for any band who made it big to remember where they came from and feed the system, so helping other struggling bands that follow them.

 

 

 

I'd most of it on vintage gear of every type, recordng equipment, vintage synths, '59 Les Paul, Rick bass, among other things. Then I would put out an album. I would find people locally to play with, I'm a big believer that being in the right place at the right time has a lot to do with fame so I wouldn't worry about big names. My buddy John would do the cover and some singing and maybe some guitar too. With what was left I would pay Roger Dean to paint murals on the walls all over my house.