Downstate wrote:am i the only grumpy cunt that is thinking 'oh great, another chiptune netlabel' ?
i mean there are shitloads already. most start with enthusiasm and then amount to nothing. i think you really need to be a label with a focus to look legit. Maybe its just me but labels that have no quality control or no sort of theme or collective aspect to them just seem kinda ponitless
its just a bunch of random stuff on a website. make the first release awesome. dont feel oblidged to release everything you recieve because you dont want to dissapoint people. the first few release will really set the bar. like if i check a net label and its first 3 releases are all shit or not particularly memorable then that netlabels name just vanishes from my memory.
These are words of wisdom - quality control is a real issue for 95% of netlabels. Whether it's because the people running them can't tell awful music from good music or they just have no pride whatsoever I don't know. Also, you will have to put hard work into presentation, actively seeking people to do nice artwork etc. Imagine you are trying to make money out of your releases - you wouldn't risk wasting $1000 on a vinyl release with bad artwork and crappy music, so why should anyone be bothered to download bad quality mp3s?
Take the most obvious example, 8bitpeoples. They have developed a clear aim (keep the ''fakebit'' to a minimum, focus mainly on US 8-bit with some European/Japanese stuff and FM/etc...), their art is fairly consistent (same resolution/often the same artists), the presentation of their website is professional and everything they release today is made with love and care.
However, while this might be a bit intimidating there is something to be said for doing something for the pure DIY rush of it. Also, great netlabels don't happen overnight - call me a heretic, but there is some utter garbage in the early 8bitpeoples catalogue...