In response to the changing landscape of the record Industry, more producers and artists are looking to start their own record, publishing and production companies. The Music Producers Guild is holding a series of networking events designed to investigate the ins and outs of starting your own DIY record company.
The first successful DIY event was attended by more than 70 people and was moderated by MPG director and producer Tommy D. It was designed to give an overview of the process of DIY. We had speakers from AIM, The Musicians Union, BASCA, and some of the MPG’s own members who have gone down the DIY route themselves.
The next event will explore marketing and distribution and our panel will include Karen Emanuel from Key Production, Jonathan Quarmby from AWAL, Michael Fuller from AIM, James McGuiness from Absolute Marketing and Distribution, and Tommy D from the MPG.
The event will be held at Metropolis Studios on the 30th of March at 7pm. Tickets for the event cost £25, but the usual MPG discounts apply:
Full Members and Associates with a season ticket: Free.
Associate Members: £12.50 (with a further 5% discount if you pre-book on-line).
Early booking is advised for those who want to secure a place as this event is open to other organisations as well as the MPG, and the previous DIY event was sold out well in advance. To obtain a ticket please visit the MPG website.
The panel members confirmed so far include:
Karen Emanuel, Key Production
Karen Emanuel set up Key Production over 20 years ago in 1990, having started in music by booking bands and DJing at college then working for Rough Trade Distribution. Key quickly earned a reputation as a company who produce high quality product on time at competitive prices. Key manufacture all types of product, Vinyl, CDs, DVDs, USBs, merchandise and bespoke and ethically sourced packaging as well as giving our clients free marketing and publicity at www.backstagepassmusic.com
Jonathan Quarmby, AWAL
Originally founded in 1997, AWAL now stands at the forefront of the new media revolution. AWAL has empowered independent artists and labels to take control of their own destinies and bypass the gatekeepers of the old music industry. The function of AWAL is logical and simple. Large record companies have direct deals with iTunes and other digital stores, however these stores cannot deal directly with the hundreds of thousands of small labels and independent artists who want to sell their music on line. Consequently AWAL acts as a conduit, uploading and encoding the music into the stores then accounting to and paying its clients. AWAL currently represents over 6,000 artists with a catalogue totalling over 150,000 tracks, and has sold over 20,000,000 downloads.
James McGuiness, Absolute Marketing and Distribution
Absolute Marketing & Distribution is a leading provider of tailor-made sales, marketing and business management solutions for independent record labels, single-artist labels and brand-owned music labels. Established in 1998 as Europe's first 'one-stop' label management specialist, London-based Absolute provides everything it takes to run a successful independent record label - from label administration ... to television advertising.
Michael Fuller, AIM Head of Legal and Business Affairs
AIM, The Association of Independent Music represents over 800 member companies, from the largest and most respected labels in the World, to small start-ups and individual artists releasing their own music for the first time. AIM promotes this sector globally and provides a range of services to members.
For more info, check out the MPG web site, below.
