The world’s largest dance music digital distributor speak exclusively to DMCWORLD…
Interview by Simon Tillotson
Hi LW, where in the world are you today?
Currently sat on the train to London for some meetings with potential labels we will be welcoming to the family soon. Also heading to Enhanced Recordings office, a label who we have been working with for nearly 10 years, and then on to see the guys over at Spotify. Hopefully we will have time to squeeze a Byron burger in. Today will be a busy one!
For those not in the know – what’s exactly does Label Worx do?
We offer Digital Services for Record Labels. But, what does that mean, you may ask? We provide Digital Distribution, Promo Sending, Mixing & Mastering, Web Design Services and Royalty Accounting, among other things. We have developed a system, which allows record labels to completely manage their label all from one place. The best thing about this is the amount of time a label will save and that there is less room for human error – uploading audio once and inputting meta data once for sending promos, accounting royalties etc. It makes the whole process of running a label pretty seamless.
What makes Label Worx different to all the other distribution services?
We are now the world’s largest distributor of dance music. More recently working with labels such as DIRTYBIRD, NONSTOP, Tronic, Transmit and Harry Romero’s label Bambossa. We specialise solely in dance music and built our system to streamline a record label from its heart. We are not just another distribution company that has added tools in.
What does a normal day consist of for the Label Worx team?
Well, it usually starts with strong, quality coffee, followed by a general meeting about what’s going on to keep the whole team up to date. From this meeting different tasks are broken down for different members of staff to ensure things are done quickly and efficiently. After the meeting, general day-to-day tasks are performed, Skype meetings are locked in and off we go to work. All this is taken in our stride with a heavy dose of Techno on in the background at loud volumes (We have even been provided with ACS custom earplugs by the company to ensure everyone’s hearing stays in shape).
You have a great insight into the world of dance music – are there any surprising trends that you can see starting to form?
Although House music, Tech House and Techno are now becoming the strongest genres in the Dance Music scene, it seems that Electronica is bubbling away towards something beautiful in the near future. One of the best things about working here is being able to see which trends are growing from the music labels are setting up for release in the next few months.
And from your unique perspective, are there any topics in dance music that you think people need to talk about more?
Dance music has always been like the naughty child of the music business but more than ever it is now being taken very seriously. For example, EDM was the most streamed music out of all the genres including Rock, Hip-Hop, RnB etc. in 2015. I think this makes a clear statement of how serious the Dance Music industry should be taken, and that Dance Music in general should be a topic that is talked about more.
Streaming: is it really killing music?
No, not at all. Streaming has now become the main income source for some labels that are doing this properly. It is a natural progression of how the Internet and technology has changed the industry, for all record labels – not just dance ones. We see labels earning £30K+ a quarter just from streaming alone which has outgrown the revenue they receive from digital downloads. Labels need to embrace this and take it as seriously as they do their download sales. Like any business model it is all about looking for new revenue streams rather than complaining about them. If you run a label and have not got your streaming presence together, get in touch and we will help out.
If I wanted to start a label tomorrow, what is the #1 thing I should consider?
I assume you are an artist and have made some music… If so, does anyone else want to sign your music? If the answer is no, then it is probably not worth starting a label just yet. We see this happen a lot and if you don’t already have a following and a fan base that already buy your music, chances are you will fall down pretty quickly when running a label. After all, the reason why labels are not signing your tunes is probably because they are not up to scratch yet. Get your head back in to the studio, make more music, get it signed and get a following. Once you have this, that’s the point to start thinking about a label. You either need your own great music to release or have a stack of contacts for great music to sign from decent names, preferably both. If you don’t have these work on getting them before starting a label.
Are there any new ventures or projects for Label Worx on the horizon?
A lot is going on for Label Worx. Over the next couple of weeks, we are dedicating a lot of time in to launching our Berlin branch. We feel that it is important we have a strong presence over in Germany and central Europe as a huge slice of the labels we work with are based in Europe. We will have an active on-the-ground team who will be focusing on bringing even more labels on board. This also allows us to make more business connections on a global scale… More news to follow about this soon!
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