TAYLOR
DEUPREE:
SHOP 33 IN-STORE NEWSPAPER (JP)
TAYLOR
DEUPREE
In-Store Interview
Q01.
Hi, Taylor. I am so glad to have an interview with you. First
of all, please let me say why we introduce you to our readers.
One is my personal motivation that I have loved 12k music since
when I had listened to Sogar's "basal". Second is that
I am very interested in your label in point of view that you put
much power on not only musical part but also graphical part. As
multi-media shop mainly selling clothing, I think you are the
best as our first featuring label. Each title on your label has
very fine cover art. It seems like inter-installation between
music and graphic. Recently you have changed your label logo from
floppy disk style to round-edged like-a-leaf style. And also music
seems to have shifted to more organic feel. How do you think relationship
between your music and graphic?
first, thank you very much for your interest in the label. it's
very important for me for 12k to cross over boundaries between
music, art, and design, so i am very happy to have the label in
your store. yes, after almost 8 years i have modified the 12k
logo. to me the floppy disc was becoming too "cute",
too "kitsch" and was too literal of a symbol. i felt
it no longer best represented what 12k was about. it was, however,
a very recognizable logo so changing it completely was out of
the question. instead i decided to modify it, by simply rounding
2 of the corners. the result was a combination of the floppy disc
and what, accidentally, turned out to look like an organic leaf
design. it perfectly captured what 12k has become which is a symbol
of both technology and organics. the new logo i think is much
more abstract and can stand on its own as a unique symbol instead
of being seen simply as a floppy disc. any time i am able to move
something literal into a more abstract realm is good and to make
sure nothing ever stays the same for too long.
Q02. It is not many music labels that release not only
men's t-shirt but also ladies' t-shirt and tank-top. Once I think
about that, it is not natural that music label has only men's
size label logo t-shirt, because women are also listening to your
music. It is nice idea to make ones for ladies'. Your label t-shirts
are very popular in Japan. Last old logo t-shirts were sold out
in many record shops. Would you broaden a clothing section from
now on?
12k has many female listeners and i think it is only fair to provide
them with a more feminine option for the shirt designs. and, yes,
as a matter of fact, richard chartier (from the LINE label) and
i are starting a new series of t-shirt designs. the first design
is being produced now and is the first LINE t-shirt. this series
of shirts are going to be more design based and not just be "label
shirts." they will be small art projects on their own. the
first design is an abstraction of the front of the LINE web page
where we have replaced all of the PMS colors from the LINE cd
catalog with simply the PMS numbers. we're using higher quality
t-shirts now and hope to produce a steady series of unique designs.
we're very excited about this project. unfortunately, this design
is not available in ladies t-shirt because of the limited nature
and our experimentation with the idea of a shirt series. future
shirts, however, will be available in both men's and ladies styles.
Q03. Let me talk about my long-time question. Your recent
releases are packaged in fine digi-pack, but early releases were
packaged in CD "EP" cases. Why not in CD LP cases?
i have never been very interested in regular CD cases only because
they are the standard and more common. i was always looking for
12k cds to be a little bit different. the first 4 12k cds are
actually in standard cd jewelcases but this was very early on
before the mission and aesthetic of label had been established.
and these sort of cases are also the cheapest so it was easiest
when i was starting the label. the CD-Ep case was very nice but
they broke easily and many people do not have extra ones around
like they do with regular cd cases. for some reason these cases
are much more fragile. the digipack has always been my favorite
type of package as it combines the stability of a plastic case
and tray with the physical feel of paper. finally 12k was able
to afford printing in digipacks and also to be able to use a nice
uncoated paper stock. i'm quite happy with this package now and
it will probably stay for a while. at the time of the digipack
12k also moved to a standard template design with the white bar
on the left of the front cover and no typography on top of the
image. i think it's important for label recognition to have such
a standardized sleeve but the cover also allows for completely
different images for each release so they are unique as well.
the package gives a consistent look and they really look nice
when they are all together, i think.
Q04. Your website have many free download materials. Also,
you have digital distribution contents. Recently you started TERM.
Many musicians and labels hate illegal free download without respect
to music. How do you manage in such difficult times?
i operate downloads on 3 levels. the first is on the web page's
"SOUND" page.. this simply has short, usually 1 minute,
previews of songs from the new releases so people can hear a little
bit before they decide to buy the cd. second, is term. which is
an online series of free downloads. the artists involved all agree
that the music will be for free and they enjoy getting some extra
exposure. lastly, is my digital distribution network. this puts
whichever 12k releases i want for sale on legit, commercial services
such as iTunes or eMusic. this is actually working out very well
because i am putting mostly the out-of-print titles for sale.
It gives people a chance to hear the album and buy the MP3s because
no more cds exist for most of these titles so it is the only way
to get the album. i only offer titles to the digital distributor
if the artist wants it distributed this way. sometimes an artist
may not want their work sold on an individual track basis, or
without a package. if this is the case, i won't sell the work
online. however, i think it's been very beneficial to fans who
have had trouble finding the out-of-print titles. it may not be
as nice as the original cd package, but downloads are very convenient
and many people probably end up putting their 12k cd library onto
their computers and iPods anyway.
Q05. You seems to have very much interest in Japanese
music scene, because you have released Keiichi Sugimoto (Fourcolor,
Minamo) and own Happy label featuring Japanese artists. You also
had held 12k tour in Japan. How do you think about Japanese music
scene and fans?
japan is now the biggest market for 12k. i have many friends in
japan and many business contacts so it is a very active place
for me. i visit once per year to travel, perform, meet people
and propose new projects. the audience's have been very receptive
and the people so friendly. the highlight of the trips is often
the large dinners we have every night with everyone. so fun and
the food is always great. i also feel that japan's take on pop
music is really intruiging and spend a lot of time listening to
japanese pop and buying cds when i'm in japan. starting Happy
was my way of trying to expose this music to audiences outside
of Japan.
Q06. You have released from Nao Sugimoto's Spekk label.
Congratulation on your work "January" won the prize
for "BEST ARTWORK PACKAGING" in French 2004 QWARTZ Awards
with cover art by uison. Many 12k artists have also released on
other labels. Do you have any other labels in which you personally
are interested in? Musically or in packaging, whichever okay.
right now, my favorite labels, musically, are Hapna, Morr Music,
and Apestaartje. i think these are all doing really excellent
music and very consistent, too. everything i've heard is just
great. and congratulations to Cheason for her artwork on January
and all of the art she does, it's really nice, and i'm so happy
for her to have won this prize.
Q07. Thank you for your answers. This is the last question.
As I mentioned first, our customers coming to shop33 are mainly
interested in our clothing section, I would like our customers
to know how fine 12k music and clothing is. Could you give some
message to our customers and free paper readers?
i want to thank your readers for their interest in 12k, LINE,
and happy... and to expect some very interesting things, both
music and clothing, in the coming months. and, christopher willits
and i will be in japan at the end of june, so please find us at
a show or at dinner and say hello! |
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