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Thread: Looking for a label focused on prog rock that might sign my band

  1. #1
    Member Marco's Avatar
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    Looking for a label focused on prog rock that might sign my band

    So, I'm almost done with recording my band's debut album. All it needs is a couple of overdubs and it'll be sent to the mixing engineer.

    Very heavy prog rock, sung entirely in Portuguese, somewhere between Crack the Skye-era Mastodon and Gösta Berlings Saga with zeuhl and post-punk tinges.
    A very talented Scandinavian drummer is handling the sticks on this record.

    Problem is I can't seem to find a label that will reply to my demos. I tried reaching the better known ones and they won't reply.
    It kinda sucks because self-releasing is a sure way not to be noticed, and it makes no sense to release a record if nobody will get to hear it.

    Does any of you have had any good experiences with specific labels?

  2. #2
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    You tried Lasers Edge?
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
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    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
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  3. #3
    Member Marco's Avatar
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    I have not! Didn't see any demo submission policy at their website, but perhaps it won't hurt to try and send them an e-mail.

  4. #4
    Hope you're able to find a label, Marco. Laser's Edge and Cuneiform are the only ones that came to my mind, not to put anyone on the spot.

    Would love to hear your music. Have you considered Bandcamp? Self-released artists seem to get some decent traction there I think.

    Keep me posted please.

  5. #5
    Member Marco's Avatar
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    Sure I will! We have a little three-song demo here on Bandcamp.

    I'll hit Cuneiform up, too.
    bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno

  6. #6
    Hi Marco.

    My $0.02...

    I'm listening to your songs now. I think they sound very good. I think you should approach Laser's Edge, Cuneiform/Wayside Music, ProgRock Records, and some of the others, but not necessarily to be signed. Rather, you should inquire about them selling your finished product once it's released. Most of the scene is familiar with and follows vendors like them as new info sources. Especially if you provide a YouTube video or Soundcloud link that can be shared as part of the description to help their customers.

    IMHO that's how you're most likely to be heard/discovered.
    If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
    https://battema.bandcamp.com/

    Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com

  7. #7
    Member Marco's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by battema View Post
    Hi Marco.

    My $0.02...

    I'm listening to your songs now. I think they sound very good. I think you should approach Laser's Edge, Cuneiform/Wayside Music, ProgRock Records, and some of the others, but not necessarily to be signed. Rather, you should inquire about them selling your finished product once it's released. Most of the scene is familiar with and follows vendors like them as new info sources. Especially if you provide a YouTube video or Soundcloud link that can be shared as part of the description to help their customers.

    IMHO that's how you're most likely to be heard/discovered.
    I see. Hadn't thought of that route, honestly! Thanks for the tip.
    bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno

  8. #8
    Member TheH's Avatar
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    Did you try South American lables like Masque (Brazil) or Mylodon (Chile)?

  9. #9
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by battema View Post
    Hi Marco.

    My $0.02...

    I'm listening to your songs now. I think they sound very good. I think you should approach Laser's Edge, Cuneiform/Wayside Music, ProgRock Records, and some of the others, but not necessarily to be signed. Rather, you should inquire about them selling your finished product once it's released. Most of the scene is familiar with and follows vendors like them as new info sources. Especially if you provide a YouTube video or Soundcloud link that can be shared as part of the description to help their customers.

    IMHO that's how you're most likely to be heard/discovered.
    They're history.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by dropforge View Post
    They're history.
    Sadly yes. But the others are still around.

  11. #11
    Brain fart: Melodic Revolution Records. Nick K's label My bad

  12. #12
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    There's also Greg Walker's Syn-phonic.

  13. #13
    Listening now on Bandcamp, I like it! Reminds me a bit of Modulo 1000...

    Being myself a fellow Brazilian Prog artist, I thought I might add my 2 cents here from my own experience.

    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    It kinda sucks because self-releasing is a sure way not to be noticed, and it makes no sense to release a record if nobody will get to hear it.
    Not necessarily, as Battema mentioned above, you might go the self-release route and then try to get some distribution deals with the traditional Prog vendors. What a good label can do for you though, is give it more credibility. If a label decides to release your album, it automatically means that someone found it good enough to invest on it and release it. Also, some people have certain labels on "auto-buy" and will pretty much purchase anything released by that label, which might help you reach a wider audience.
    Having said that, this is a bit of a moot point these days, since CD sales are ridiculously low anyway. We might be talking about a difference of selling +/- 10 albums if you go with this or that label, or independently...

    In any case, either independently or though a label, make sure you try to get your album available from the main Prog vendors (Laser's Edge, Wayside, etc). These are the main places where people look for new releases and usually the vendors will be kind enough to write very nice blurbs about your music, which will surely help draw people's attention.

    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    Does any of you have had any good experiences with specific labels?
    Though there are a few examples of Brazilian bands being released by Cuneiform, Laser's Edge, Musea and so on, you might have better luck trying a Brazilian label. They are all a bit slow on releases these days (as sales are very low), but there are a few who are still around and actually releasing the odd album every 10 years or so...

    Masque Records is one you could try, which has already been mentioned above. Other ones which you could try are Rock Symphony, Som Interior, Editio Princeps, Record Runner, and there are probably a few others which escape me now... With any of those you could either try to get signed (very unlikely these days, to be honest), or you could try to make an exclusive distribution agreement in which you produce the CDs yourself, but they would sell them for you, and normally that also means you could have their label on your record (which helps add credibility as I mentioned above). Or anything else really... you could try to get a few of them to commit to buy a certain amount from you when it's ready, which might be just enough for you to pay your production costs. These guys are all nice people and normally very flexible, so keep an open mind and try to see what you can get from them.

    Another point I'd like to add is my own experience with CD Baby and Bandcamp. For my first album, released 11 years ago, I went with CD Baby and was really happy with the results. I sold quite a few CDs through them and they also have a nice digital distribution system, which will get your music in pretty much any existing platform. I also tried Bandcamp at that time and sold exactly 0 from them...

    Now, jump 10 years, and for my latest release, I decided to put it on Bandcamp first. I was blown away, as I was getting orders almost immediately after I hit "Enter". Not even sure how that's even possible, but true story... Actually I was so happy with Bandcamp that I didn't even bother to put it on CD Baby this time, so I don't really know how they are doing these days.

    Anyway, I hope this was some helpful information for you, and in any case, you can write me a PM in case you have more specific questions or if you just want to chat in Portuguese...
    Perspective Vortex - my new solo project available now at http://perspectivevortex.bandcamp.com
    Mahtrak Progressive Jazz Rock - www.mahtrak.com

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