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I'm extremely hesitant about seeking out a chip label to be on. I know how the typical music industry works, but chip is something so different that I really don't know what to expect. Something about it screams "It's a load of crap!"
Now, i know, i know, you're thinking "...um. You actually have to be good to be on a label" and to that I say "F*ck you, I'm working on it!"
Anyway, those of you on labels like Pxl-Bot on TCTD, does being on a label really help you at all?
a netlabel will give you nothing you couldn't achieve yourself with a bit of hard work. that being said, some netlabels do give nice exposure to a larger audience. most don't.
I've noticed that there's a pretty big trend now towards self releases on bandcamp. I think that if you are fairly unknown and lazy then a netlabel could help you get you a few extra downloads.
I quite like netlabels though. They make it a bit easier to group together similar good artists, there are a few that I check regularly for good music.
Last edited by Jellica (Jan 3, 2012 2:29 pm)
I heard kitenrock is a horrible netlabel and they will only abuse you and your musical rights.
I sold all of infradead release to McDonalds for their next ad campaign. They are going to start targeting the noise scene with their new range of dead things in bread.
I'm not yet signed with or released any music on a netlabel yet, but I'm pretty good mates with Arnie of Datathrash.
Ever since he posted a link to one of my tracks, I've had a massive rise in listeners and respect in the thrash part of the scene. I've had requests for remixes, releases and the like.
I really don't think I'd have reached this particular level of coverage and respect in the scene without Arnie's help (and godinpants for originally showing him the link).
But on the same breath, self-releases are great if you wanna be in total control of what you release and when. I hate creating deadlines and pushing myself to reach them, but sometimes that attitude doesn't go down too well with label owners (luckily Arnie and most other chip label owners are swell guys).
It can go either way really. The first release I ever put out was with a now dead net label called obscura records. Needless to say although it was cool to see something I made promoted by someone else, in the end it didn't help all that much 
. My current situation though is different. With my Collaboration Album FM-Possible being released on Noisechannel.org, I feel that Freque really cares about what he releases and will only take things of a certain quality. Then, he'll take it and make sure everything is tagged nicely, check for any spelling errors or song title inconsistencies, and generally make sure everything is nice and neat before he releases it. Then when he does, he promotes it well.
I think if you have the drive and will to self promote you should do it. However, if you want some help it's not a bad idea to seek out a net label. What I recommend doing is check out some net labels and see if the artists there interest you and generally make things you like. Basically it's about finding a label that fits you, and making sure that label hits your targeted listeners so that they in turn might promote you also 
.
Either way you go, make sure the album you make is your best and that you are enthusiastic about publishing it. It would also be good to have at least a small fan base before you do a release if at all possible. That way you at least already have some people looking to hear new music from you .
Well, that's my 2 cents . As limited as my experience is, I hope that helps you a little 
.
it depends on the netlabel
you'll get a million squillion new fans if you get your album on 8bitpeoples, pause, ubiktune etc. but if it goes to a netlabel that started yesterday it's not going to help very much
a netlabel will give you nothing you couldn't achieve yourself with a bit of hard work. that being said, some netlabels do give nice exposure to a larger audience. most don't.
This is probably accurate. If you're talking about one of the "big" chip netlabels (Pause, 8bitpeoples, Ubiktune, etc.) they get enough regular traffic that releasing with them will undoubtedly get you more downloads. But really, if you're talking about a smaller netlabel, you could probably do just as well self-promoting it and releasing on bandcamp. But you do actually have to promote it.
smiletron wrote:a netlabel will give you nothing you couldn't achieve yourself with a bit of hard work. that being said, some netlabels do give nice exposure to a larger audience. most don't.
This is probably accurate. If you're talking about one of the "big" chip netlabels (Pause, 8bitpeoples, Ubiktune, etc.) they get enough regular traffic that releasing with them will undoubtedly get you more downloads. But really, if you're talking about a smaller netlabel, you could probably do just as well self-promoting it and releasing on bandcamp. But you do actually have to promote it.
pretty much this. It gets you just a little bit more credibility when someone goes to check you out (which is the hardest part) and a nice little webpage.
I always tout the "resale" value of releases on netlabels. Years after the initial hype of your release, netlabels can still get your album visibility when people head to the site for new releases. So there's that, too.
I always tout the "resale" value of releases on netlabels. Years after the initial hype of your release, netlabels can still get your album visibility when people head to the site for new releases. So there's that, too.
That's a good point.
TCTD isn't a label.
Well, slap my face and call me Susan. Guess I have more homework to do...
EDIT: Well, I'm back and less retarded. I see now that it is a blog. So... let's pretend I left that part out.
Last edited by Solarbear (Jan 3, 2012 7:17 pm)