Getting an offer from a record label was once the dream of every musician, but today’s artists recognize other ways to get ahead.
The music industry is in a constant state of evolution. That has always been true, but technology has hastened the speed of change. Marketing today looks nothing like it did a decade ago, which itself felt far removed from the marketing efforts of the late 1990s. That is one of the countless examples of how the industry is evolving, and change won’t be stopping anytime soon.
Record labels were once the height of an artist’s aspirations. “If only I can get the attention of a label,” many musicians thought, “then the world will notice me.”
But time has taught us that isn’t true. There are many musicians with record deals who face the same fate as those without. These artists may get the resources that labels offer, but no amount of money or corporate planning can guarantee success.
The truth is that the consumer always dictates who is and is not successful. Major label money can do a lot, but so can a teenager with 4-million TikTok followers who love to watch them dance.
That brings us to a question that seems to come up every year: Do you need a record label? After all, is the debt artists accept for a shot at success worth the risk of nobody listening to their creative output? Is trusting yourself and your team the smarter and more fiscally responsible path?
In the latest Music Biz video, host James Shotwell investigates the necessity of record labels in 2021. He shares the questions every artist should ask before entertaining any recording contract offers and warns of the drawbacks to staying independent. He even shares an example of one musician who ignored major label money and had a better career as a result.
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
Earlier this year, the team at Consequence Of Sound held a roundtable with a team of influential industry leaders to discuss how people can start a label in 2014, and what the purpose of label should be in the modern music business. Check it out.
Hello, everyone! After a brief absence from the blog it gives me great pleasure to resurrect our Industry Spotlight feature with a little help from our friend Will at Tiny Engines. The work he is doing in music right now is impacting countless lives, and I am thrilled to be able to share his insight on the future of the music business. If you have any questions about the content of the blog, or if you would like more information regarding the distributional services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
We talk a lot about how much of music is a tight knit community of professionals, but in the grand scheme of things the business as a whole is a large, towering infrastructure made up of countless tiny moving parts (no pun intended) that music work together in order to keep the industry alive. Every person who contributes is, in their own way, a tiny engine working to fuel the continued existence of the music business.
For the better part of the last decade, Will Miller has been contributing to the music industry as a blog owner, label founder, and alternative music publicist. He currently spends his time as the co-owner of Tiny Engine Records and one of the great minds behind Beartrap PR, both of which keep him incredibly busy. I knew from day one that I wanted to work with Will on content for this blog, but given the typical workload he encounters each morning I held off on making any requests of his time until the very end of May. He agree, and now a couple weeks since our initial conversation I am pleased to present what I believe to be one of the best Industry Spotlights we have run in recent memory.
Will and I have worked together since we were both beginning to find out footing in music, but I don’t think either of us realized how inexperienced the other was at the time. From what I can recall Will was extremely professional from day one, and in the years since we have been fortunate enough to work together a number of times on exciting projects. Earlier this year he introduced me to The Hotelier, and not long after a close friend encounter a bout with illness that caused a lot of pain and stress in my life. That record, which I would honestly have never given the time of day without Will’s seal of approval, has since become a beacon of hope and source of comfort. It may even be my favorite album of 2014, and there will no doubt be several other releases on my ‘best of’ list that I know solely because Will and the people he has surrounded himself with made it a point to help those artists get the recognition they deserve. If that’s not the sign of a true industry professional doing their job to the best of their abilities, I don’t know what is.
If you would like to learn more about Will and his efforts in music, please make it a point to follow Tiny Engines on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: Before we dive in, please take a moment and introduce yourself:
W: My name is Will Miller, I do press for Beartrap PR and co-own the Tiny Engines record label.
H: Thanks for joining us, Will. We have been looking forward to this feature for several weeks. When you think about your earliest memories with music, what comes to mind?
W: Hmm, listening to a lot of oldies, motown and beach music growing up with my Mom probably. I still love that stuff too, oldies but goodies.
H: Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money?
W: Oh god, I have no idea. I’m sure it was something incredibly embarrassing. Something pop or hair metal I would guess. I was an 80’s kid, for better or worse.
H: How about your first concert experience? Bonus points if you share some memories of the event.
W: I think it was probably the Guns N’ Roses / Metallica / Faith No More stadium tour which I really remember very little about other than Axl Rose changing his outfit twenty times. I do remember buying a tour tee shirt and then discovering it had cigarette burn holes in it when I got home. Maybe that’s how they sold it to me? I have no idea.
H: You’re known these days for being a part of the punk and indie rock community, but was that always the area of music that captivated you the most?
W: I would say I was always drawn to music but it was taken to a whole new level once I started to dig below the mainstream. My story is probably similar to a lot of people my age who got into punk/indie rock. Nirvana was the gateway for me and from there I just went further underground into alternative and punk and indie rock and I’ve lived happily in that realm since.
H: A lot of the people we have spoken can pinpoint a ‘lightbulb moment’ in their lives when they realized that the music business was something that appealed to them. Can you recall when you this realization happened for you?
W: Well, I’m not sure the business side of it has ever really appealed to me, it still doesn’t really. The A&R side of it is what has always captivated me, I’ve just always felt like I had a good ear for things. I’ve always had a thirst for finding new music/bands and wanting to expose that to other people. So, the label thing was always in mind. The publicity side of it was never part of the plan but they are both fairly similar. I also ran a music blog for five years. So, really, it all just goes back to wanting to share my love of music with other like-minded people.
H: Did you attend college? If so, did you study anything related to the music industry?
W: I did, but didn’t study anything music industry specifically, just business in general.
H: Having become a successful member of the music professional community, would you recommend others considering pursuing a career in entertainment make it a point to attend college?
W: I’m not sure I would ever recommend this to anybody as a truly viable career. Or maybe it just takes a different mind-frame than what I bring to the table. But, if you choose it just be passionate about your work. I think at the end of the day, Beartrap and Tiny Engines have made it this far cause we only work with bands and other labels we love and respect. And I think that shines through. But, I probably didn’t realize just how difficult the industry is, in terms of making enough to survive and continue. It’s definitely something you have to be committed to and have passion for in regards to the bands and music.
H: Tiny Engines was founded in 2008. What inspired you to launch your own label, and who was the first artist you decided to work with?
W: Yeah, like I said before, wanting to do a label has always been in my mind. I always thought I could do it and I felt it would be a fulfilling way to spend my days vs. some boring 9-5 job. Tiny Engines was founded in 2008 by myself and Chuck Daley along with our buddy Jeff Meyers. Chuck and I met and worked together at Deep Elm Records and we stayed in contact once I left there. I think TE was just an opportunity for both of us to get further involved in music. But, I don’t think either of us saw it as something that would be going strong six years later and getting close to 40 releases now.
The first artist we worked with was Look Mexico, we put out their Gasp Asp EP on 7" back in late 2008. Chuck had worked press for the band via Beartrap and had become good friends with them. And then I met the band and we all just hit it off and felt like they were the perfect band to start the label off with.
H: While we’re on the topic of the company’s early days, what can you tell us about the story behind the name Tiny Engines?
W: I can never really remember the whole story but Chuck came up with the name. I think it fits. We’re just a tiny cog in the machine. I think the name has always kind of aligned with how we run the label. We’re small and band friendly but we also try to run the label in a professional kind of way without ever being too business-ey about it.
H: What were your goals for Tiny Engines when the label initially launched, and how have they changed in recent years?
W: Definitely changed from the beginning. Originally we were just going to be a 7" label doing one-off releases with bands we loved. But, then the Everyone Everywhere full-length came along and that record was just too good to not put out, so after only two 7" releases (Look Mexico and Tigers Jaw) we changed our plans and did our first LP as release #3.
I’m not sure we have any grand goals for the label. Obviously things have grown for us and the bands. At the end of the day we still just want to put out great records and work with bands we respect. But, we also want to sell enough records to keep doing this and growing and provide our bands with more resources. And it would be nice to be able to take a little for ourselves here and there considering how much blood, sweat and tears we’ve put into the label. I’m not sure people realize the amount of work and hours running a label takes. It’s draining but also incredibly rewarding as well.
H: You are also a part of the Beartrap PR team. When did you join the team?
W: Chuck founded Beartrap in 2006 I believe and then I joined in 2007.
H: What came first – your interest in running a label or your interest in doing PR?
W: Definitely running a label. Doing PR was never in my mind. I’m quiet and reserved for the most part so press was never something I pictured myself doing. But, like I said before, it’s fairly similar to the label in that I’m only working with stuff I genuinely enjoy.
H: Both Beartrap and Tiny Engines have been growing at an alarming rate. Do you ever struggle to balance the demands of both jobs?
W: Yes, most definitely. Especially these days. I would say my workload for Beartrap and Tiny Engines are both at an all-time high right now. Currently I do all the press for Tiny Engines as well as the press for 4-5 other labels so yeah, it’s a ton of work but I enjoy staying busy. I"m a bit of an organization nut as well so that helps. It also helps to be a single dude with no kids and a crazy passion for music.
H: Without going too in-depth, please walk us a through a typical work day:
W: Oh, nothing crazy really. I just moved up to Charlotte late last year so Chuck and I could be in the same city and I’m temporarily living in the TE office (Chuck’s basement…see how much money we make from this?) right now. So, that’s changed the routine a little bit I guess. Beartrap is much easier to set a schedule for, with Tiny Engines you never really know what the workload will be like from week to week, just depends on our current release schedule. I typically get started on replying to email first and foremost, Beartrap and Tiny Engines related. After that it’s typically on to Beartrap work, whatever press releases and/or digital promos need to go out that day. I know what I have for that day / week and I’m one who likes to knock my work out early and try to get ahead for upcoming days /weeks. It’s definitely a lot to keep up with so it helps to be organized for sure. And it’s a ton of email throughout the day, responding and pitching and coordinating. That can certainly be maddening at times but that’s just the job. And I usually end the day with packing up Tiny Engines mailorder. Save the worst for last I guess.
H: Tiny Engines has been using Haulix for a while now, and from what I have been told you are incredibly happy with the service. What is it about our platform that keeps you around?
W: We actually just started using Haulix this year. We have a Beartrap account that hosts Tiny Engines albums as well as all the other records we’re working press for. It really is an amazing service and one we probably should’ve been using a lot sooner. Just having the ability to create a nice digital promo in a matter of minutes is a beautiful thing for someone who makes a living doing press. And then obviously having the ability to send out and track what press contacts are listening to and downloading is so incredibly helpful in regards to follow ups and targeting contacts for premieres, etc. And then of course having the peace of mind to send out a record months in advance and be protected from an early leak, that’s been nice for Tiny Engines as the anticipation has grown for some of our releases this year. It’s certainly been a great tool for the growth of Beartrap and Tiny Engines this year.
H: Looking ahead to the future, what are the biggest challenges facing Beartrap and Tiny Engines?
W: Just trying to continue to survive. It’s always about survival in this business I think. You have to be willing to adapt and look for new ways to spread the word about your bands. I think for TE it’s going to be a challenge to balance our growth while still being able to operate as a small label on our own terms.
H: What advice would you offer aspiring industry professionals hoping to one day find themselves in a position similar to yours?
W: Work hard. Be passionate and selective about the music/labels/bands you work with. And stick with it, put in the time. Too many people give up too easily these days. And that goes for just about everything in life.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
W: I don’t know. It’s a tough industry for sure. For bands and labels. I love it when bigger bands, labels, publications support & spread the word about smaller bands & labels they believe in. That’s something to me that there’s not enough of these days, just mutual support/appreciation for when people are doing cool stuff, big or small.
H: Vinyl has become a big part of Tiny Engines’ business. What is your top-selling release to date, and what color variant are you most proud of having pressed?
W: Tigers Jaw’s Spirit Desire 7" as of right now although The Hotelier LP is going to gain traction on that one sooner rather than later I think.
In regards to color variants, god, we’ve done so many. I would say the starburst variant we did for the new Direct Effect LP might be one of the best for sure.
H: What goals do you have you set for yourself and your career in the year ahead?
W: I don’t have any supreme goals, I just want to be able to live a simple, comfortable life and continue working with bands/labels/music that inspire me. That’s it, I’m happy if I can do that.
H: I think that just about wraps it up. Before I let you go, are there any final thoughts you would like to share with our readers?
W: If you love a band support them. Buy a record or a tee shirt or go to a show. If there’s a label putting out music you love support them. Like I said, this is a tough industry for bands and labels to make ends meet and continue doing what we do. So, I think it’s important to remind people to support what they love in some capacity or it could very well be gone one day.
Hello and welcome to the start of another exciting week on the official blog of Haulix. We have been preparing for March since the early days of 2014, and think you will be pretty impressed by the content we have in store. Our goals to inform and inspire the next generation of music industry professionals remains, but in the weeks ahead you will see content offering continue to expand. There is a lot more to understanding the music business than can be taught through advice and interview feature. Stick around and you’ll see what we mean. If you have an idea for this blog, or if you would like to learn more about the digital distribution services we offer at Haulix, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. If you prefer social media, feel free to reach out to us on Facebook and Twitter.
People create music blogs for many different reasons. Some want to be journalists, some want to get attention for their friends, some want a space to share the thoughts they think no one else wants to hear, and still others – usually terrible, moronic humans – start blogs to pirate music. They each have their unique reasons, but no matter how misguided their intentions may be they all share a desire to express their love of certain artists with anyone willing to listen.
Mark Garza started Funeral Sounds for a number a of reasons. First and foremost, he loved music and wanted to share that love with the world. Second, he was interested in discovering new music, which is extremely easy to do when running your own site. Third, and perhaps the most interesting reason of all, he wanted a launching pad for his own industry endeavors.
We should clarify that statement and explain that Funeral Sounds is currently a blog and cassette label, but one day records may be involved as well. Cassettes are more affordable to press and create low risk investment situations for young entrepreneurs. Mark is only 15 himself, but his insight on what people want to hear is on par with many of his industry peers.
When I learned of Mark’s efforts I knew he needed to be featured on our blog. He may not have the years of experience or college level education possessed by many of our guests, but he has the drive and focus needed to succeed in this industry. He’s the perfect example of what the next industry of music industry professionals will look like and I, for one, could not be more excited to see what he does in the future.
If you would like to learn more about Mark’s efforts in music, make sure you take the time to follow Funeral Sounds on Twitter after reading the interview below. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: To begin, please tell everyone your full name, job title, and the site/company you’re here to discuss:
M: Mark Anthony Garza, Co-founder/Owner/CEO of Funeral Sounds, an online publication out of Houston, Texas.
H: Thank you for joining us, Mark. It’s a pleasure to feature you on our site. Tell me, what are the earliest memories you have of music?
M: I think one time in 4th or 5th grade I was going to be in the talent show with my friend Gary after my two other friends bailed and we were gonna sing Linkin Park. I had to make a CD with the instrumental of In The End and I had no idea how and I asked my sister’s friend and she gave me the wrong version so we couldn’t do it. I think Gary went on to sing Hotel California. Also, I couldn’t sing.
H: Who are the first artists you can remember obsessing over, and how did you originally discover them?
M: I always say Linkin Park got me into music and they really did. I think I heard In The End on the radio or MTV once or something. After that was either The Mars Volta or Circa Survive, they came kind of back to back. I found a burned TMV CD in my sister’s room and my neighbor would always be playing Circa Survive in his room and I always thought, “Wow, this is perfect, this is what I want in a band,” but I was too nervous to ask who it was. I ended up overhearing them say the band name and I googled “circus survive” and it worked.
H: Can you pinpoint any formative moments or experiences from your youth that steered you toward the pursuit of a career in the music industry?
M: After I got into post-hardcore/emo music, I met a lot of people with smaller, independent, DIY labels and being around that made me think that it didn’t take a ton of money to help musicians on that scale and that really inspired me to do something industry-wise. Also being around my brother and his band all the time always made me want to be involved in some way, though back in the formative years I always wanted to be a vocalist. I still can’t sing.
H: What was your first concert experience like? Go on, paint us a mental picture.
M: I don’t think there’s too much to say that I can remember. I say my first concert was Circa Survive although it was probably one of my brother’s shows way back before I can ever remember. There was a lot of people at this relatively small venue, we got there kind of late so we missed all the opening bands. This was I think in 2009 or 2010, they were touring with Dredg and Animals as Leaders, I was like 12. There was a lot of sweat and a lot of singing. Not much that I can really remember besides screaming all the lyrics as loud as I could and really feeling like everyone in that room was connected, as cheesy as that is. I bought a yellow shirt afterwards and I regret it.
H: Let’s change our focus to your efforts in writing. When did you first consider exploring the world of music criticism, and how long was it from that point to the day you launched your site?
M: Maybe a month or so before. I mean, Funeral Sounds came from me and my friend/partner at the time Chase Jennewine. We’d always talk about startnig a music blog and it didn’t happen for a while until at some point one of us reminded each other on Facebook and we started a Blogspot under the name “Troo Scrums” which was a really dumb joke. We moved to tumblr the next day and changed the name to what it is now.
H: The name of your site, Funeral Sounds, is one that sticks in the mind. What is the story behind the name?
M: At the same time of starting FS, all Chase and I listened to was like 90s emo and really emotional/sad post-hardcore/screamo bands so we wanted something kind of dark and depressing. The name itself came out of spit balling, haha. I distinctly remember messaging someone “give me a name for my music blog. funeral music. funeral homes. dead homes. funeral sounds. wait, nvm”. It wasn’t really serious serious back then but I think the name really fits the music we tend to gravitate towards nowadays and I’ve grown quite fond of it, even if I have a lot of trouble pronouncing it for some reason.
H: Before we get to the other part of what you do, I want to discuss the site a bit more. Tell me, what type of music do you cover on Funeral Sounds?
M: That whole “emo revival” thing you keep reading about. I don’t think anyone at Funeral Sounds really agrees with the term though. We mostly cover post-hardcore/emo/punk as the name suggests but we try to cover everything we get. We have a couple writers that are really into indie (and two that are really into rap but one of them hadn’t even heard Madvillain until we told him about it so I have my doubts, haha.)
H: There are a number of great sites covering similar areas of music as yours right now. What do you think sets your site apart from the competition?
M: This is something the staff and I have discussed occasionally and I like to think there’s a degree of personality in our reviews that I haven’t really seen too much anywhere else. We try to be as professional as possible about our reviews without compromising our individual personalities and some of us let our humor and personalities into the review if the music calls for it. But, you know, maybe not. I just feel like we’re a lot friendlier and open to shitty phone demo recordings that the artist was too excited to try to mix or master at all. There’s an honesty to it that we appreciate and a lot of us aer musicians so that excitement when you finish a group of material, whether it be an EP or an album is something we relate to. That’s probably a better answer.
H: Your site is still relatively young, so I am not surprised to see the lack of advertising. Have you considered monetizing in the future? If so, how?
M: I have. I’ve considered advertising mostly to pay for label expenses since I’m not yet of age to get a job but by the time we ever get close enough to start advertising for independents/friends/artists we support I’ll have a job by then, hopefully, but it still won’t be out of the picture completely. It depends on the demand at that point really.
H: Okay, now let’s get to the truly exciting stuff. Funeral Sounds is not just a blog – it’s a RECORD LABEL as well. Did you always plan to launch both projects, or did one come before the other?
M: The music blog came first and at some point I think a month after starting, Chase tagged me in a Facebook post and said “Let’s make FS a record label” and that was all it took. He had all the equipment and money so I just tried to help out as much as possible and I ended up taking the blog responsibilities and built our audience that way. I wish I could’ve helped more and I really, truly appreciate all that Chase has done for us and for me more than words can ever describe. My mom didn’t know about Funeral Sounds until we were a year and a half old which is always a funny story but if I told her earlier I probably would’ve been able to help Chase with the day to day expenses of starting a label, even if it is more-so a tape label. So yeah, thanks Chase. I love you man.
H: Were there any labels or groups that inspired you to start your own label? When did you first come up with this idea?
M: Tons. Like I said, we had a lot of label friends beforehand. I think most notably there was Dandy from Driftwood Records, Ashley from It’s a Trap! Records and Billy Brown from the now defunct Turn of the Century.
H: How many releases do you have out so far, and how many do you have confirmed for the future? You can feel free to include store links if you like. We want to help you promote.
M: It’s all kind of gone. The past releases, I mean. We had about 9 and they all got lost in the mail when Chase was shipping me the rest of the product we had leftover as we were changing management and Chase left Funeral Sounds. It was really hard for us as a label in the beginning because of mailorder issues and time management and all that so we did a lot of stuff wrong and made a lot of mistakes so we went on hiatus for a while but I always hated the idea of a hiatus and eventually I got the money together to go at it by myself so we’re back again. Most of the past few months of starting up again has been making sure that we repair any relationships we may have damaged because of the problems we had during our first run.
With all that out of the way, we have about 5 releases planned for the future and I’m more determined than anything to do everything right this time. They are mostly unannounced but we have two that are announced, Alomar (acoustic/folk punk), Heccra (a post-hardcore based experimental producer), and weak.(screamo from Halifax, Nova Scotia) that should be available for ordering sometime this week but all of them are available for streaming on our Bandcamp. Planning to announce the next two releases definitely before March ends.
H: Running a blog and label seems pretty time consuming. How do you balance your responsibilities while still leading a normal life?
M: I don’t. I spend all my time with Funeral Sounds if I can do that without failing any classes, haha. Most of my time is spent recording tapes or answering emails and I think any of the free time I have goes to talking with all of our writers as they’ve become some of my closest friends.
H: You have done a lot of cassette releases so far. Any plans for vinyl in the future?
M: We were actually looking up prices for vinyl yesterday. I have a plan in mind for a vinyl release but I don’t think it can be done anytime soon but it’s definitely a plan for the future, definitely a dream of mine. I like to think we can do it in summer but who knows. The more I research, the more realistic it seems. I can promise that we’ll have something on vinyl by the end of 2015, for what it counts.
H: What advice would you offer young people who may be reading this and considering pursuing their own career in entertainment?
M: From a business/industry standpoint, it’s all about who you know. Luckily, a lot of people are really nice and willing to help however they can, you just gotta take the chance and introduce yourself, whether by email or Facebook message (which I think is a little more personal). Be careful what bridges you burn and whose toes you step on. There’s a lot of ways to get in the industry, just find whatever suits you best and go for it. I think the independent side of music is a little more forgiving.
H: What are your current career goals?
M: Release vinyl by the end of 2015. I hope to start writing for Under the Gun Review soon and hopefully that will give my PR company a little kick in the right direction. Hopefully buy a printer and stop using my apartment complex’s. Become self-sustaining, in a nutshell. I’ve also been working on our new website with a friend of mine who’s actually in weak. Does that count?
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
M: How exclusive it all seems. How much profit plays a factor in everything. I mean, I get it but I don’t think enough people are alright with losing money for art you truly believe in and that’s kind of what the whole DIY/punk/emo scene that we associate with is all about. It may not be the most practical way to go about things or a good way to run a business but it’s honest and it’s pure and it’s damn well worth it.
H: What can you tell us about Funeral Sounds’ plans for the rest of 2014?
M: New website, better organization, more tapes, more emotional letters from yours truly. More music, as always.
H: That’s everything I have for now. Before I let you go, are there any final thoughts or observations you would like to share with our readers? The floor is yours:
M: I truly believe that you can do anything you want to if you try hard enough and never give up. I used to really think that was just a dumb saying that parents told their kids so they’d suck it up but from first-hand experience, if you want something strong enough and you really put in the effort, it’ll come to you. Also, Funeral Sounds also has a quarterly webzine that we put out every three months that accepts submissions from all types of creatives: poems, short stories, reviews, interviews, photography, art, articles, anything artistic, really. The next one should be out at the end of March. See our website for more information on that. You can read the first one here. Thank you for your time and thank you for reading. Oh, and go check out my friend Billy at Too Far Gone Records.
