Roots Archives Forum

Leggo, surely it can't just be because of people who torrent instead of buying the records? If that were the sole reason for these labels' demise, how come Pressure Sounds are able to stay in the game?

I've never torrented and only buy vinyl, like your good self, so I'm not having a go at you. I'm just saying there must be an awful lot of variables that dictate whether a label can keep going or has to shut up shop.

If there was some magic formula for guaranteed success, I suppose we could probably get a label going with the R-A massive at the helm...

You've clearly thought that through, man. Sounds very reasonable and logical. Just add some material and finances and you're away... perhaps!

@ Leggo Rocker
You're wellthought arguments have just one weak point. You don't have any knowledge about costs, i.e. licences/copyrights (there is always someone who wants to be paid, right nowadays and even from Jamaica!), official agencies (BMI/ASCAP/GEMA call it whatever you want), pressing and printing and TAXES (ooooh YES!). And you don't count you're personal expenses, don't you, ha?

Put just an amount you discount as small on top of just one record you are going to release and then think again.

There is maybe different reason for demise of auralux, B&F and similar labels- reggae market (especially reissues of vintage reggae)is relatively small and the overall number of releases was too high. I´ve got only limited amount of money and (even more importantly)limited amount of time, so I don´t buy each and every release.

This is one of the most interesting discussions I've ever seen on here. Leggo, your business plan actually seems very well reasoned. When I talk to friends that aren't nearly as dedicated to collecting as I am, they almost always say that the record industry (particularly the big labels which may have different models than a 'boutique' label) dropped the ball and totally missed the boat, they're doing business the same in the 2000s as they were in the 1970s.

Supposedly even the biggest labels out there that sell real pop music, (Timberlake, Spears, etc.) spend massive amounts of cash on promotion and advertising and it is these artists (whether we like it or not) that generate the revenue to support the smaller acts on their label.

Well, if no one is buying the music from these big pop acts, there is less revenue to filter down to the more 'artistic' music and therefore the smaller acts get dropped from the label and the company further focuses on the big pop acts, it would seem to be a vicious cycle.

The system that they have set up for themselves forces them to push only a few of the biggest acts and when their sales fall off they move on to the next big pop act.

I think this relates to the small 'boutique' labels, such as B&F etc. in that most of these small labels don't have that big cash cow pop act to drive revenues for the whole company and allow them to keep releasing the smaller selling artists.

Just my thoughts.

Chris

DOOP has a valid point.

Perhaps the interest in real authentic reggae from back in the day is becoming less popular and is noit attracting the new interest that it needs to survive.

Go to many of the high street musoic stores now, many of ythem dont even have a reggae section and the odd title they do stock has been pigeon holed into the Urban section.

I was in HMV in Poole recently and asked the question what had heppened to the reggae section they used to have.

The answer I got back is that they no longer has a reggae section as it no longer warranted its own section as it did not attract sufficient interest.

The best business plan in the world cannot work if the music is not generating sufficient interest in the first instance.

Dave

"Or more simply (and sadly this has been the case on occasion): I've been spending all the profits on coke, loose women, fast cars and alcohol. Oh, and I didn't have any reserves left to weather the first storm that came along."

i know that steve barrow, when pressed to answer some questions on the BAF board some years ago about profits, etc, he mentioned that he kept a salary equal to a bus driver for the duration of the business, never took a raise. i don't know him, but if we take him on his word, that certainly shows that the BAF crew were certainly in it for the love of the music, and had full disclosure with the artists they worked with so they'd also get their pay.

It's surprising when you get actual sales figures on some of these boutique releases how small a market segment they are serving. These releases can sell in the high hundreds to the low thousands.

Blood & Fire did a superlative job, as did others. Don't forget that the label was funded by fans of the music (pop band Simply Red)who likely would have pulled out very early if it was just about money. Sometimes you have to do things for reasons other than money....you do them because there is a need for them to be done.

But someone earlier in this thread hit the nail on the head IMO - there are fewer and fewer people listening to the music. Tastes change, people die, people spend less time now listening to music than they used to....but life still goes on, and we who love the music will continue to do so until we are no more.

Record collectors are a different breed, in that they are often as interested in the artifact format as they are the music. Many won't touch a CD for some reason, even of there are tracks that were never relased on wax. I don't understand this, even though I get the argument about vinyl sounding "warmer' and all the rest of that stuff.

I agree with Mr. Kingston. Reggae is a popular music that a lot of people know or like but few people collect it or buy it. Most people think reggae= Bob Marley. They buy Legend and say "irie" once in a while.
There are those who get into it a bit more like those who like Dennis Brown, Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, etc.
Finally, there is a TINY population who will get into it and be interested in the more obscure items that people on this forum talk about. I can't say that I blame them. Music collectors on a whole are overly-competitive and a bit snobbish. They treat others in a condescending manner. Music collecting has become a hobby for people who want to pay loads of money and has become something that does not create a very appealing or fun use of time for others. On the other hand, we have those who would give it all away for free via the internet in order to get people the music that can no longer be obtained. Somewhere in the middle would be the best. Many early alternative/punk bands turned me onto Reggae because they let me know what sounded cool and was influencing them. They included their fans in this. It worked. Maybe one day we'll get back to that type of culture.