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Labels & demos · 5 min read

How to run a record label

Running a label is mostly a schedule: a release calendar, a signed agreement and a royalty statement for every release, and promo that goes out on time. Keep the decisions for yourself (who to sign, who gets each promo) and hand the repeat work to tools. NeedlePool takes the promo part: each release goes out under the artist’s name, a second campaign for the same release skips everyone who already got it, and the campaign names who listened.

The routine, release by release

  1. 1Keep one release calendarEvery release on one calendar with its dates: master in, artwork done, delivered to the distributor, promo out, release day. A pace you can keep for a year is worth more than a busy month followed by silence.
  2. 2Paperwork before promoThe agreement signed, the split and credits agreed, the metadata checked: titles, mix names, artists, ISRC codes. A metadata mistake travels to every store, and it is slow to fix once the release is out.
  3. 3Deliver earlySend the release to the distributor weeks ahead. That leaves time to fix artwork or metadata a store rejects, and the release still comes out on the date you announced.
  4. 4Promo four to six weeks outTo DJs and radio who play the genre, under the artist’s name, with a private link for each person. Then one follow-up to the people who didn’t open it.
  5. 5Report back to the artistWho played it, who downloaded it, what the DJs wrote. Artists judge a label by what it does after the contract is signed, and a list of names says more than a total.
  6. 6Statements on scheduleSend royalty statements as often as the contract says, commonly every quarter or every six months, even when the amount is small: income by store, the costs taken off, the artist’s share.
  7. 7Learn from the catalogueAfter each release, note which DJs played or downloaded it and what they said. The ones who come back release after release are the first names for the next promo.

What to automate in label promo

  1. 1Sending on a scheduleBuild the campaign when the release is ready and pick when it goes out. In NeedlePool a campaign is sent now or scheduled for a date, time and time zone.
  2. 2The follow-upFrom the Pro plan up, you switch on a reminder in the campaign: a few days later NeedlePool sends a second email, with a different subject line, to everyone who didn’t open the first. It gets its own wave in the report, so you can see what it added.
  3. 3No repeatsAnyone who already got a release from you, in any earlier campaign, is left out of the next campaign for that release, so a second push reaches new people only. An address that sits on two of your lists gets one email.
  4. 4Unsubscribes by artistA DJ who unsubscribes from one of your artists’ promos stops getting that artist’s and still gets the others’. Leaving everything is a separate choice they make themselves.
  5. 5The reportEvery campaign shows by name who opened it, pressed play, downloaded and what they wrote, on any plan. From Artist up you also get the Analytics page and a printable report you can save as a PDF for the artist.
  6. 6Proof for the next releaseA written review from a DJ can become a share card: square for the feed or tall for stories.

Several artists, one account

On a label account each campaign has an Artist field on the release. The promo email is signed with that artist’s name, with their links in the footer, and your label’s name goes in the release’s Label field. Plans below Pro cover one artist; Pro covers up to 3 artists from one account, and Agency up to 5 artists.

Your own contacts stay in your account: other senders never see them, and they are never added to the shared pool. Import a list once and send each release to it and to the pool in one campaign.

What to keep doing yourself

Choosing who gets a release, the personal line to a DJ you know, and the answer to someone who wrote back. A tool can send on time and count who listened. It can’t tell which DJ a release is right for, and DJs notice when nobody chose them.

Questions

How often should a small label release music?

As often as you can promote each release properly. Every release needs its own promo window a few weeks before the date, so the pace is set by how many of those windows you can run well.

How often should a label pay royalties?

As often as the contract says. Every quarter or every six months is common, with a statement that shows income by store, the costs recouped and the artist’s share.

What can a label automate?

Sending on a schedule, the follow-up to people who didn’t open (from the Pro plan up), leaving out people who already got the release, and the report. Choosing who gets a release and writing to the DJs you know are still your job.

Can we send promo under each artist’s name?

Yes. On a label account you type the artist on each release, and the email is signed with that name. Plans below Pro cover one artist; Pro covers up to 3 artists from one account, and Agency up to 5 artists.

Can the artist see the results?

Send them the report. Every campaign lists by name who played and downloaded the release and what they wrote; from Artist up you can print it or save it as a PDF.

What does NeedlePool cost?

Starting is free, with no card and no time limit: you send to your own contacts. Paid plans open our Promo pool in any genre and start at $14.99 a month (Starter).

Keep reading

Put your next release on a schedule

Start free with your own contacts and see by name who listened. No card. The Promo pool opens with Starter, $14.99 a month.

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