Even if you're not getting luck with contacting labels you should not sweat about it, printing your own BM CDs is absolutely doable if you're looking at a limited edition of let's say 50-100 copies. A few of us in Serbia are doing exactly that and it works.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary how can you lose money if you get 100 discs pressed with simple 4page cover? Costs less than a session drummer and you only have to sell 80 to recoup the costs
@@questionsfrog1918 Well besides the wildly differentiating costs between different printers (situational and subjective to location and decision making of band or individual)-- if people don't like your music and don't buy it, guess what, you lose money. And that happens all the time to bands for a variety of reasons. Other than that, one can just be sitting on a stock of Physical Goods for so long that there's just an inherent loss based on time to work income ratio in disparity (depends on the economic frequency individually for bands/ artists).
MASSIVE thanks for the shoutout and for the talk brother! Hopefully this will help bring some insight for those just getting into the scene/ industry, there's a lot of different ways to conduct business and work with a label, big and small. Cheers and hails!!!
I’m a drone ambient / post rock artist primarily and had an album released on the same label as burzum and other black metal artists. All I did was put out music and send out mass emails to as many labels as possible.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary yep I sent out massive amounts of demos to labels and kept grinding it’s not easy work. Of course the material needs to fit the labels it’s just a matter of what label grasps on to what you are doing
@@TheVioletBunny Yep! Dynamically, things have changed a bit over the years to where labels usually just want an email/ correspondence first and to check out material whether digitally or then subsequently mailed out, but the principle is the same. Got to grind and get oneself out there (if that's what they are looking for). Some labels want a fit more than others, just depends on their operational capacity and the value and talent they see in the music, for sure.
Lol, booking management is handled by labels and partnered promotion/ production groups. For example, Asagraum just came through my area, it was a Mexico-based outfit called Evil Productions that worked with their label (Edged Circle Productions) to facilitate the tour. Rest of the time, you have to work up to connecting with either a label or a production/ promotion group, so just book shows at various local and regional venues (most have a booking point of contact staffer, some charge you/ the band to book, some don't) and utilize various internet-based platforms to market your band/ music to the degree you see fit.
@@Snarl616 There are some Promotion/ booking groups that are absolute dogshit, you're not wrong there. Hiking ticket prices and not paying out good percentages, booking awful venues, it all happens. Bands live hand to mouth in the most general sense (obviously there's means and mediums to increase funds and ability and other exigent factors that can come into play), the nature/ culture of playing live and touring does need a serious discussion to improve survivability for bands.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary Not only that. I heard about booking groups deleting live dates for the simple fact that they couldn't get enough cash, and so many other horror stories. Also, I don't understand why labels don't spend money on a product (the music they release) they have and that in theory they should promote to boost sales, but instead there must be this "middle man" called booking agency. I think metal spent too much on getting money from live dates and tours. Tours are good and I love doing live gigs, but you can't make bands live only with that. Nobody has time for that, and especially it destroys the cultural heritage of this genre.
@@Snarl616 Yeah that happens sometimes with venue cancellations, booking/ promotion agencies for all kinds of reasons though money/ overhead and percentage payouts are a leading factor. The labels do spend a lot of money on product and marketing/ promotion, some labels have their own management group that handles the touring and live booking, some partner with 3 party promoters, just depends on the size and capabilities of the label and the ease of facilitating or performing those tasks (especially in foreign countries to the label). Some are just better put together/ organized or bigger and more capable than others. I wouldn't expect a DIY Tape label to be able to take the reigns on booking a national tour-- some regional venues and local shows sure, but the larger the tour and territory to cover, the more money a small label doesn't have, it's just logistics. Traditionally, that's where bands make the most money is touring and physical merch sales. That dynamic has changed with the internet and digital streaming and sales world, but physical formats, royalties, and venue/ show payouts are the biggest chunk of revenue for any band in the scene. I like touring too, but I do agree that the various marketplaces (record stores that exist anymore, internet based retail segues, etc.) should garner as much revenue for a band (if not more) than grinding out live shows-- and venues need to do better about taking care of the bands (unless you're using a management group, a venue won't usually honor a rider-- at least in the US, European venues take way better care of the bands from talking to Teloch and some other friends over there, and take a larger chunk of the money for facilities costs). Black Metal in particular is supposed to be somewhat exclusive and selective/ particular to live shows and presence, the "specialness" of a few select shows a year is a lot more exciting than seeing the same band grind out and show up on every tour that comes through (notwithstanding some bands that are just that damn good every time lol), definitely agree there.
Sir, I watch your videos on a regular basis your insights help a lot to make musick. Would you please make a video about adjusting the guitar string height and the proper way to do it??
i was just talking about this with my gf early this morning. my personal take on getting on a label is thinking the label will get your band more recognition than doing it yourself or just to say youre on a label or just to feel like your more cemented in the scene by having a label backing you up. if youre strictly about the music and not the clout i personally would go the indie route especially with how easy it is to get your brand out there these days with social media.
@@Vomitbukkake Well said, there's many reasons and individual rationales to signing and not signing with a label. Sometimes, it's just nice to not have to foot the bill for physical formats and the added perks of marketing, sometimes it is for the reputation or broader scene connection (I hate the word "clout") and ability to make it into a relatively sustainable career (I know, that is fairly laughable within Black Metal but there are many examples of that nonetheless) with touring and the managerial and financial support therein. There's many kinds of labels (as i'm sure you understand), big and small, DIY- style and Professional in the large scale, so there's plenty of options to pursue (if one chooses) in working with a label. The biggest label that our most "successful" project is signed to approached us, was a no- brainer in that situation. Other Black Metal bands I'm in either aren't signed or work in limited physical runs of albums in partnership with a label with no strings attached, they sell a portion and we get a portion to sell, and the buck stops there. Self- marketing is easy enough to do nowadays with the internet and all it's platforms/ mediums, absolutely. A band can certainly stay DIY most of the way and be "successful", it's an investment of time and money still (but definitely worth it, and there are examples of bands accomplishing a lot this way). A small or unknown outside of local circles act can't expect to get on a tour or reach the widespread Black Metal fanbase/ consumer base without adequate marketing and investment though-- and they'll have to contact and book all the venues themselves and shell the money out for said booking and travel/ transportation, merchandise (again as they subjectively choose), everything. It adds up fast monetarily and otherwise.
I agree, though some labels will take almost anyone if the type of band fits their "image" and they can make a buck. Definitely have to put the work in to refine/ hone a sound and style for better opportunities, for sure.
How about vinyl releases? Are those more a personal band choice or something only specific labels do with bands that are at a certain level? I’m a sucker for vinyl & cassette.
I'm a Cassette and CD collector still myself, love hard copy. Vinyl printing is expensive, and very backlogged/ delayed currently. The current bigger label I work with for the band Decoherence (Sentient Ruin Laboratories) has something like a 6 month lead time from the record printer/ presser. Usually its much more feasible for a Label to front the money for a batch of Vinyl, and there's some great options of Labels to put a submission in with to work that out logistically. You could attempt it at an individual/ unsigned independent level, but like I said it isn't cheap, and Vinyl Pressers/ Printers are a small group now working overtime. Cassette is more viable and can be done easier independently (just like with CD's), there's also a bunch of great smaller (and larger) Labels that do Cassette-only or have Cassette options. Worth poking around at some and emailing them, then submitting your demo/ material and see what they say, no losing out there if they say no, just find a couple to hit up. (Also, hope you're feeling better dude.)
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary Yeah nothing beats physical copies just the whole thing of flipping through the booklet & looking at the artwork. I’ve looked into doing vinyl releases independently & it’s just way too expensive to do, Cassette & CD are probably the better way to go. Very informative man thank you, I’m gonna start poking around some labels in October. Thanks man. I’m on the road to recovery, still can’t physically lift my guitar or do vocals yet but I’m getting there. Cheers🍻
@@TheCrucialMetalistMrToxic Yeah for sure, physical copies are great for many reasons, same, definitely love looking at the artwork and all that. Yes, very expensive. There are some printers for CD's and Cassettes out there that do batches, but its just easier/ headache-free and less cost burden to find a Label to help out. Keep healing! Cheers!
That's the mentality that means you're basically making it just for yourself, in which case what's the point of even recording anything? Also, plenty of "trve Black Metal" that's openly accessible (no matter how raw/ lo-fi or polished in production it is) because of how the internet is nowadays and it's utilization, and has been essentially since Black Metal's inception in a multitude of ways and means, ask the "grandfathers" of the genre still doing it and playing live shows and putting out material how they feel about that (let alone any other greats and newer acts doing it). The masses can see it, they obviously won't/ don't understand it (in large), but at least its out there for those who do value BM for what it is and the variety within that.
Even if you're not getting luck with contacting labels you should not sweat about it, printing your own BM CDs is absolutely doable if you're looking at a limited edition of let's say 50-100 copies. A few of us in Serbia are doing exactly that and it works.
Very true, have done DIY print/ release before too, sometimes it goes over well, sometimes you lose money. Just how it is sometimes.
This is the way to go!
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary How do you do this?
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary how can you lose money if you get 100 discs pressed with simple 4page cover? Costs less than a session drummer and you only have to sell 80 to recoup the costs
@@questionsfrog1918 Well besides the wildly differentiating costs between different printers (situational and subjective to location and decision making of band or individual)-- if people don't like your music and don't buy it, guess what, you lose money. And that happens all the time to bands for a variety of reasons.
Other than that, one can just be sitting on a stock of Physical Goods for so long that there's just an inherent loss based on time to work income ratio in disparity (depends on the economic frequency individually for bands/ artists).
MASSIVE thanks for the shoutout and for the talk brother!
Hopefully this will help bring some insight for those just getting into the scene/ industry, there's a lot of different ways to conduct business and work with a label, big and small.
Cheers and hails!!!
I’m a drone ambient / post rock artist primarily and had an album released on the same label as burzum and other black metal artists. All I did was put out music and send out mass emails to as many labels as possible.
Yep that's part of "the grind" in one of many ways to communicate with a label and submit material. Nice.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary yep I sent out massive amounts of demos to labels and kept grinding it’s not easy work. Of course the material needs to fit the labels it’s just a matter of what label grasps on to what you are doing
@@TheVioletBunny Yep!
Dynamically, things have changed a bit over the years to where labels usually just want an email/ correspondence first and to check out material whether digitally or then subsequently mailed out, but the principle is the same. Got to grind and get oneself out there (if that's what they are looking for).
Some labels want a fit more than others, just depends on their operational capacity and the value and talent they see in the music, for sure.
Whats your band name, I'd be interested in checking it out
@@Enruler i AM esper
We missed you Sablast! Good to see you! I got the Donner DLP and I love it! Definitely getting some more Donner guitars.
You have no idea how handy this video was lmao. Cheers! 🍻
Cheers! Glad it helped.
What you just said pretty much summed up how I was handling Primordial Serpent for all my releases.
Right on, digging the new "Tales From the Northern Vastlands" album dude, keep up the fire!
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary hell yeah, dude! Thanks!
@@Darksigilprod666 🤘
As a black metal musician, I'd love to see a "How to get signed to a black metal booking agency". That would be a good laugh.
Lol, booking management is handled by labels and partnered promotion/ production groups. For example, Asagraum just came through my area, it was a Mexico-based outfit called Evil Productions that worked with their label (Edged Circle Productions) to facilitate the tour.
Rest of the time, you have to work up to connecting with either a label or a production/ promotion group, so just book shows at various local and regional venues (most have a booking point of contact staffer, some charge you/ the band to book, some don't) and utilize various internet-based platforms to market your band/ music to the degree you see fit.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary yeah, and then there's rip offs. I wanna have a laugh there.
@@Snarl616 There are some Promotion/ booking groups that are absolute dogshit, you're not wrong there. Hiking ticket prices and not paying out good percentages, booking awful venues, it all happens.
Bands live hand to mouth in the most general sense (obviously there's means and mediums to increase funds and ability and other exigent factors that can come into play), the nature/ culture of playing live and touring does need a serious discussion to improve survivability for bands.
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary Not only that. I heard about booking groups deleting live dates for the simple fact that they couldn't get enough cash, and so many other horror stories.
Also, I don't understand why labels don't spend money on a product (the music they release) they have and that in theory they should promote to boost sales, but instead there must be this "middle man" called booking agency.
I think metal spent too much on getting money from live dates and tours. Tours are good and I love doing live gigs, but you can't make bands live only with that. Nobody has time for that, and especially it destroys the cultural heritage of this genre.
@@Snarl616 Yeah that happens sometimes with venue cancellations, booking/ promotion agencies for all kinds of reasons though money/ overhead and percentage payouts are a leading factor.
The labels do spend a lot of money on product and marketing/ promotion, some labels have their own management group that handles the touring and live booking, some partner with 3 party promoters, just depends on the size and capabilities of the label and the ease of facilitating or performing those tasks (especially in foreign countries to the label). Some are just better put together/ organized or bigger and more capable than others.
I wouldn't expect a DIY Tape label to be able to take the reigns on booking a national tour-- some regional venues and local shows sure, but the larger the tour and territory to cover, the more money a small label doesn't have, it's just logistics.
Traditionally, that's where bands make the most money is touring and physical merch sales. That dynamic has changed with the internet and digital streaming and sales world, but physical formats, royalties, and venue/ show payouts are the biggest chunk of revenue for any band in the scene.
I like touring too, but I do agree that the various marketplaces (record stores that exist anymore, internet based retail segues, etc.) should garner as much revenue for a band (if not more) than grinding out live shows-- and venues need to do better about taking care of the bands (unless you're using a management group, a venue won't usually honor a rider-- at least in the US, European venues take way better care of the bands from talking to Teloch and some other friends over there, and take a larger chunk of the money for facilities costs).
Black Metal in particular is supposed to be somewhat exclusive and selective/ particular to live shows and presence, the "specialness" of a few select shows a year is a lot more exciting than seeing the same band grind out and show up on every tour that comes through (notwithstanding some bands that are just that damn good every time lol), definitely agree there.
my guy got a lot beefier, great content as usual!
This video encouraged me to look into a label, now I have tapes made of my album
Congrats!!!
Really great video, just what I needed to know!
Very interesting video, great upload.
Sir, I watch your videos on a regular basis your insights help a lot to make musick. Would you please make a video about adjusting the guitar string height and the proper way to do it??
There are other guys who could probably do it better than me :p
Interesting video my friend. But the right question now is: WHY to get signed to a Black Metal RB? (Maybe a new video?)
Good point
i was just talking about this with my gf early this morning. my personal take on getting on a label is thinking the label will get your band more recognition than doing it yourself or just to say youre on a label or just to feel like your more cemented in the scene by having a label backing you up. if youre strictly about the music and not the clout i personally would go the indie route especially with how easy it is to get your brand out there these days with social media.
@@Vomitbukkake Well said, there's many reasons and individual rationales to signing and not signing with a label. Sometimes, it's just nice to not have to foot the bill for physical formats and the added perks of marketing, sometimes it is for the reputation or broader scene connection (I hate the word "clout") and ability to make it into a relatively sustainable career (I know, that is fairly laughable within Black Metal but there are many examples of that nonetheless) with touring and the managerial and financial support therein.
There's many kinds of labels (as i'm sure you understand), big and small, DIY- style and Professional in the large scale, so there's plenty of options to pursue (if one chooses) in working with a label. The biggest label that our most "successful" project is signed to approached us, was a no- brainer in that situation. Other Black Metal bands I'm in either aren't signed or work in limited physical runs of albums in partnership with a label with no strings attached, they sell a portion and we get a portion to sell, and the buck stops there.
Self- marketing is easy enough to do nowadays with the internet and all it's platforms/ mediums, absolutely. A band can certainly stay DIY most of the way and be "successful", it's an investment of time and money still (but definitely worth it, and there are examples of bands accomplishing a lot this way). A small or unknown outside of local circles act can't expect to get on a tour or reach the widespread Black Metal fanbase/ consumer base without adequate marketing and investment though-- and they'll have to contact and book all the venues themselves and shell the money out for said booking and travel/ transportation, merchandise (again as they subjectively choose), everything. It adds up fast monetarily and otherwise.
Darkthrone t-shirt is a +5 to look 😉🤘 Na zdrowie 🤘🥃
Nazdravlje brate :)
@@zimorog 🤘🔥⛪🔥🤘🥃🤘
If you sound like shit don't expect to be taken under their rooster. Words to live by.
Unless it’s depressive illusions records lol they will release anything and send tape inserts only lol
I agree, though some labels will take almost anyone if the type of band fits their "image" and they can make a buck. Definitely have to put the work in to refine/ hone a sound and style for better opportunities, for sure.
How about vinyl releases?
Are those more a personal band choice or something only specific labels do with bands that are at a certain level?
I’m a sucker for vinyl & cassette.
I'm a Cassette and CD collector still myself, love hard copy.
Vinyl printing is expensive, and very backlogged/ delayed currently. The current bigger label I work with for the band Decoherence (Sentient Ruin Laboratories) has something like a 6 month lead time from the record printer/ presser. Usually its much more feasible for a Label to front the money for a batch of Vinyl, and there's some great options of Labels to put a submission in with to work that out logistically. You could attempt it at an individual/ unsigned independent level, but like I said it isn't cheap, and Vinyl Pressers/ Printers are a small group now working overtime.
Cassette is more viable and can be done easier independently (just like with CD's), there's also a bunch of great smaller (and larger) Labels that do Cassette-only or have Cassette options. Worth poking around at some and emailing them, then submitting your demo/ material and see what they say, no losing out there if they say no, just find a couple to hit up.
(Also, hope you're feeling better dude.)
@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary Yeah nothing beats physical copies just the whole thing of flipping through the booklet & looking at the artwork.
I’ve looked into doing vinyl releases independently & it’s just way too expensive to do, Cassette & CD are probably the better way to go.
Very informative man thank you, I’m gonna start poking around some labels in October.
Thanks man. I’m on the road to recovery, still can’t physically lift my guitar or do vocals yet but I’m getting there. Cheers🍻
@@TheCrucialMetalistMrToxic Yeah for sure, physical copies are great for many reasons, same, definitely love looking at the artwork and all that.
Yes, very expensive. There are some printers for CD's and Cassettes out there that do batches, but its just easier/ headache-free and less cost burden to find a Label to help out.
Keep healing! Cheers!
whats ur main guitar?
3:11 me talking to a girl IRL
Trve black metal is hidden away from the masses.
That's the mentality that means you're basically making it just for yourself, in which case what's the point of even recording anything?
Also, plenty of "trve Black Metal" that's openly accessible (no matter how raw/ lo-fi or polished in production it is) because of how the internet is nowadays and it's utilization, and has been essentially since Black Metal's inception in a multitude of ways and means, ask the "grandfathers" of the genre still doing it and playing live shows and putting out material how they feel about that (let alone any other greats and newer acts doing it).
The masses can see it, they obviously won't/ don't understand it (in large), but at least its out there for those who do value BM for what it is and the variety within that.
tutorial on how 2 make money on failed death metal musicians next?
Make good music
Is RABM political views ok? LONG LIVE EURONYMOUS!
Погоди, ты русский?)
No he is Croatian