Interview Answers - Record Label

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Questions for Record Label – Aly Gilliani

• Could you describe your role within the music industry and in terms of artist development?

I am the founder and A&R manager for First Word Records. My job involves finding artists who I think would fit our label’s style, signing them to the label and working with them to get their music ready for fans to engage with. This changes from artist to artist, some need assistance recording, finding collaborators or just getting projects finished (picking a final track list). With others they deliver a finished product and we just get it out to the biggest audience possible.

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• What are the opportunities and challenges for record labels in 2019/2020?

It’s tough as streaming means that income can be really low if you don’’t get significant play listing for a track or release. However a big playlist can mean a single track earns more than an album would in previous years. There are also other platforms such as Bandcamp that lead to much greater engagement with fans. Getting above the noise of internet chatter can be tough, but you do have the ability to reach people all over the world in a way that was previously impossible.

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• How has the way you find new artists changed in recent years? (eg. Do you use websites, such as YouTube, more than you did before?)

Not really - Most of the artist we sign are either recommended personally by other artists we work with, or find us due to our reputation. 

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• Have you noticed a change in demand for label signings recently? Are more artists starting out independently?

There are definitely more options for artists these days - labels aren’t the only route towards building a career. I would say that some label services can seem fantastic (lower rates, wider reach etc), but they aren’t necessarily able to provide the artist development and knowledge of campaign building that an experienced label can do. Also whilst it’s possible for artists to work without labels, the work that goes into releasing a record needs to be done by someone, so a team is still needed.

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• Do you place emphasis on particular areas of consumption in order to maximise success? (eg. physical sales or streaming data)

It’s very much horses for courses - some artists are big on streaming but low on physical sales, and some are the opposite. I would say that physical sales are the most important to us, as I see it as a sign that they have ‘real’ fans - fans who are committed enough to spend money on an artist when they could listen for free. That’s really powerful.

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• If any, what are the main questions you receive from artists looking to sign to a label?

What investment we’ll put into them, how we see them progressing, what plans we have to find their audience for them.

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• Does your approach to distribution and promotion of music differ when working with emerging artists compared to those with a fairly established audience?

Definitely - emerging artists are a huge risk. It takes a huge amour of time and money to launch a new artist and there are no guarantees! Established artists have their challenges too - sometimes the ‘levelling up’ from being established to really crossing over and becoming a big act can be more expensive and risky. But as mentioned before, every act and every release is different - you really can’t make sweeping conclusions without looking at the detail.

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• How have platforms, like Bandcamp, helped independent record labels such as yours? Have they meant fewer or more artists need independent labels like yours?

Bandcamp has transformed our business. not only do we get more money than on other platforms, we also get the money instantly (rather than 30-60 days later via our distributor) and we get the email address of our fans to remarket to them. It’s a complete game changer.

It does of course make it easier for artists to work without a label as you say. However, labels (if they’re good) should be providing more than access to market. It should be marketing, expertise in positioning and a whole host of other concepts / strategies that justify their existence.