manifesto

Viva la Republic!

Band Republic was created as part of the music industry revolution that is currently changing the way the music buying public listen and purchase their music. For too long the record industry has ignored what we want from them. Gone are the days when the public will be hoodwinked into buying something just because it has a great marketing campaign. We want to see and hear great music, great bands and niche bands releasing records.

Bands are finding it increasingly difficult for Record Labels to hear their music, and unless it’s a really safe bet the record industry does not want to know. I personally got the idea for Band Republic after being told by a major label exec how very lucky I was to get to meet him! For me that sucked, I had something interesting to offer, was polite and courteous, had travelled for over two hours to get there and was told I was very lucky! So I looked into the industry further and found that all of the major labels seem to have staff that are scared and stressed. Why was this? What’s happening? After discussing this with some of the employees it was clear that they were all scared about losing their jobs, one mistake and you are out, one bad signing and the whole department gets the sack, If the band doesn’t sell well they get dropped.

How had this happened? Why was the record industry not nurturing bands any more? Why were they not prepared to take risks? Surely this is what music is about, risk taking has always been a major part in releasing a record hasn’t it?

If you walk into a label right now it appears that the marketing departments and the accountants are the ones running the show. The guys and girls that are really into their music, know the scene, going to gigs, gauging what the next big thing is going to be seem to be a dying breed!... It’s understandable when you consider that a label has thousands of employees with staff overheads and office space running into millions of pounds and dollars. The little band that walks through the door stands no chance!

With that in mind and with not many small labels to turn to anymore that offer that personal service, I thought about setting up a label! The problem is that there are now thousands of small independent online record labels, all doing a good job but not many breaking a band. Why is that? What can we do that is different? Then it dawned on me!

I’ll set up a record label run by the people, they are the ones who know what they want to hear on the radio, listen to at home, school, college or work. It’s simple really… with the advent of digital downloads and making them chart eligible you or I can set up our own label and release a record… hmm but that’s the easy bit, you still need to sell a few thousand records to get into the charts! So how are we going to do that without a multi million pound marketing campaign? Well I believe the way to do that is by doing it as a collective. We encourage as many members as possible to sign up, it’s then not just about what band or what single, it’s about a sense of belonging. We as members will have decisions and choices, we can debate it, we can argue our case, but then we get to vote on it. Our decision is going to play a part in a bands career. That’s going to be fun, it’s going to be informative and it’s about doing something that will make a difference. To sign a band without any pressure, just because we like them! That’s how it used to be! How great a feeling is that!

So here it is Band Republic, join up and be part of the revolution now!