You would have to be an obsessed format fetishist to be still resisting the move from hard copy music (vinyl, CDs, etc) to hard drive storage (MP3 players, etc). It’s hard to argue with the logic - music’s easy to access, search and play, though hi-fi is still a long reach for most users - and indeed I’ve been dragged (flailing my arms to grab anything on my way) across to the itunes side by its convenience for travelling.
So what’s the potential for a purely online label?
There’s no doubt that online releases get rid of some big costs involved with running a label. No need to press up CDs, it side-steps the labyrinth of distribution (especially for international scale releases). It’s just about inevitable that labels will move there eventually. But are the consequent losses in immediate revenue to much of a compromise at the moment?
Well there are a few online labels out there. And not all are simply profile raising exercises to get the artists signed to a bigger label.
One of the coolest I’ve found is Tokyo Dawn Records, who are oddly enough based in Berlin instead of the Japanese capital (I discovered them by accident while searching for Tokyo beatmakers). TDR started in ‘97 as a net-label, but have branched in the past few years to release the odd CD or LP.
Their releases are broadly similar to people like Goya, Bugz, Delsin, Sonarkollektiv and Madlib. But they’re marking their own territory, and from my listening sound good, albeit sometimes with lower production values (which may in any case be more closely linked to the MP3 format I’m listening in). Deep lazy downbeat hip hop with tough cool production, dubby electronic grooves, broken beat that flirts with techno and breakbeat. All in all, extremely listenable.
They’re very much into the Open Source ethic too, so most releases are available free P2P or even directly from the site, in a range of media types.
Some of the better known names on board include Alex Cortez and Dharma One. But it’s worth delving deeper, as the lower profile acts are equally exciting. Check out label boss Prymer’s jazz funk flavoured mix sets or the premo new LP from Comfort Fit that Straight No Chaser described as somewhere between Sa-Ra and Bugz In The Attic. It’s a free zipped download.
Category: Music