Intro: We had the opportunity to interview a DJ and music producer who has made music for almost ten years as his work:
Angelo Raguso
He started his career as a musician, 10 years ago around, in 2011 he released his first official EP, then he decided to found his first record label, Boiler Underground Records (now managed by Roberto Corso and Riccardo Confaloni aka Rich Venom), and then continue with other successful projects such as Chucky Records, Heisen Records, Fluent., and many others that he has opened on behalf of his clients.
We asked to give us some advice in the world of record label management :
Let’s start with a not-so-bold statement: as a musician, you’ve either sent a demo to a record label or at least planned to do so at some point in the future.
In fact, “How do I send a demo to a record label?” is one of the most common questions on the music producer side, So we asked Angelo Raguso to answer it.
What is a Record Label?
According to Wikipedia: “A record label can be defined as a brand or trademark that is established with the major aim of marketing music recordings and music videos”.” In most cases, a record label is also a publishing company that manages music brands and music trademarks; coordinates the music production process, manufacture, distribution, marketing”, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos. As Label Manager, I founded, opened and sold many labels, such as Boiler Underground Records, which today is one of the most established Techno Label in Italy, currently managed by Roberto Corso and Riccardo Confaloni.
What strategies do you suggest to increase the awareness of the record brand and create a corporate identity?
Your brand has to do with the way people perceive you to be, which is why it is important to deliberately communicate and promote your brand. In promoting your brand and corporate identity, you should leverage the various print and electronic media.
As a matter of fact, it is cost-effective to use the internet and social media platforms to promote your brands, and besides it is pretty much effective and wide-reaching. Lastly, part of what you need to do to promote your brand and corporate identity is to sponsor community musical shows or even organize your own musical talent hunt reality show.
How does successful publishing happen? You must have a solid fan base – network
When it comes to the distribution of music albums; the larger the quality of your network the larger the income you will make. Although most big-time music marketers usually would want to become the sole distributors and marketers of any album you entrust in their care, that does not stop you in generating sales from music downloads via the internet and on smartphones and also from musical tours, concerts and shows.
3 Tips for Running a Record Label Successfully?
- One of the major reasons why people go into business is to make profits and to make the business successful on all fronts. The success of your record label company lies in the daily activities of the business. So, all you have to do is to ensure that all hands are always on deck whenever there is a project and also to always be on the lookout for talented and upcoming artists and also established artists.
- You have to also be deliberate in hiring members of your team. This means that you have to hire skilled people who will be able to run with your vision and mission. Hiring novices could be tantamount to failure and stagnancy. Lastly, it is very important to ensure that all the members of your team (employees and management staff as well) are always on the same page per time.
- You can achieve this by having regular meetings – meetings where you all will meet to review your company’s goals, missions, and vision et al. The meetings can be once in a week, twice in a week or even every day of the week, coupled with monthly reviews, quarterly reviews and of course annual reviews.
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