We (meaning me) aim to please and help as much as possible.  Thanks for the kind words!

Incredibly well said. That gives me something to chew on.

That only happens if you actually bother to interact with the other people in the label, otherwise, it's not much different from talking in a forum like this one.

A netlabel is just a means to an end. What are the goals for your music, really? Do you want as many people as possible to hear your work? Are you trying to land gigs? Looking for some hypothetical credibility? That, along with Decktonic's list will tell you if you need a netlabel or not.

That part right there cannot be emphasized enough.

For example: auto post status: Pause, Ubiktune, Da!heard it, Bleepstreet, 8BP, BoTB Comps, Metrodub...

Re: tctd coverage, some labels are so good they get automatic postings without listening, some require a listening because of dubious quality and ill sometimes just stick the release in a tweet if I havent had time to vette it, or if a label is just releasing too much stuff for me to keep an eye on.

That's kind of the feeling I've gotten from them.

Pause were very helpful and let me keep on selling outside their label.   I'm not really sure what some of the smaller ones can offer that a Bandcamp/Facebook combo can't though, how often do you hear about these labels outside of TCTD and these kind of forums?   I prefer the freedom of promoting in whatever way I want to and not being genre tagged to whatever the label is perceived to be.

Some netlabels seem about as reliable (in terms of quality) as a random cm/8bc download, but I keep coming back to the more reputable ones to download fresh, good music. Bandcamp is convenient, and one of the few ways I still randomly listen to albums I've never heard of before. It's still hit/miss when it comes to quality, but as DKSTR pointed out, at least the player is good enough to account for it.

EDIT: And yes, net labels have helped me. I do virtually nothing to promote my own music outside asking labels when I get some songs bunched up, and according to last.fm i still have a bunch of listeners. Now, the proud part of me likes to think it's because my music is good, but it's probably mostly because I've gotten in contact with good labels that already have a lot of quality content relevant to what I want to release.

net labels are great! submit a whole bunch.

people will download your music and share it.

Net Labels are great. Gives you a chance to collaborate and become close friends with a group of artists w/ like minded tastes. You also gain new fan bases based on that labels audience. Sometimes it's nice to self release, but net labels can really get your name out their to people who wouldn't normally hear your stuff. Again... it depends on the net label.

Also as far as like getting on a net label. If you make something that you feel like would really suite a labels style send a demo. But I think for the most part you should always wait for net labels/labels to contact you. Their managers tend to know what fits for their label more than you would.

There. Need to focus. Is like LowToy or Chippanze, where is kinda geographical related. Hell, even 8bp were like that. So, I would seek for that kind of netlabels - and even if it's not just chip labels, which is better!

I think net labels might evolve into collections of links to bandcamp (or whatever follows it) pages. Then artists get the advantage of a nice easy way to get paid for their work while being able to track downloads / plays and being able to manage all their content really easily. Downloaders get a nice collection of curated links for the type of music they like. Bonus for everyone.

I think the most traditional net label in our scene is bleep street http://www.bleepstreet.com/ . They have great artist bios, a constantly maintained list of upcoming shows, merch, extra videos and mixes, a very slick webpage, music available on most digital download sites, a very high quality bar and a fairly clear type of music they favor. I think they are pretty much the bar for chip netlables to aspire to.

However, I think the trio of labels I like most is Metrodub, Ubik and Pause as they seem to value a few things which I rate pretty highly

- Very high quality bar.

- Pretty clearly defined idea of what music they like.

- All releases visible and downloadable on one page. Im fairly unlikely to click through one of the blog style release pages.

- Easy track previews.

Love all three of them!

I like netlabels, and bandcamp. There's a place for well grouped music in this crazy alphabet soup we call the Internet !

I think netlabels can be great tools for artists, so long as they have an unwavering vision or plan. The two labels I'm involved with (Ubiktune and Pause) are both very good in this arena, which is why I think people keep coming back to them. You generally know what you're getting when dealing with them. Ubiktune is especially noteworthy in the fact that they really push everything they put out. I've had reviews from russian websites pop up weeks after a release. Good stuff.

The two main problems I see with netlabels are this:

1) Labels are sometimes too 'nice' and accept material with little concern for quality or content. It may seem elitist, but I think a lot of chip labels could benefit from being more selective with the artists/works they promote.

2) There is no defined style or sound to distinguish the label. A label needs something identifiable that people can latch on to; even if it's just a broad or abstract concept.