Promotional Work

[Orphax]

A lot of websites and magazines (at least those I check on an irregular base) do focus on what is already known (either the artist or the label) and what surprises me most is that some of the releases written about are already sold-out (just check a random Eleh review) at the time of publication.
At some point this is kind of weird to me, 'cause what is the use at that point? Making people who didn't buy it feel bad about missing out on it, is it to please the labels?
Anyhow, hope things start roling again soon (when I finally have received the next release on my label after months of waiting...).

[taylordeupree]

i think some of it may be to please the labels... but, also, the particular writer may not know something is sold out.

also, for what it's worth, the review can still be quite relevant for the bulk of the music buying public (ie: the iTunes shoppers)

[bojanix]

Yes, Orphax is right. Even if you have a nice release but in a quite unknown label, it is very hard to find people who might be interested in reviewing it. I was lucky with ETALABEL (www.etalabel.com) last release and got some reviews. Still, after 2 months of silence, those reviewers who initially said that they are interested wrote nothing. Nowadays I just ask them, why. Is there a point in waiting for a review, or not? Some of the reviewers answer to such e-mails, such not. I really cannot understand (I know they are busy, but who isn't nowadays), so I don't understand why they just ignore the e-mails and don't answer anything. (And I don't spam them - believe me, it's just a mail after 2 months after the positive answer). How does that work?

[bojanix]

I'm still thinking if I am doing something wrong...

The last but one release by my www.ETALABEL.com, i.e. NOIKO received only positive reviews. I managed to reached a lot of reviewers. Even people who didn't know the music, when I played the CD, immediately decided to get a copy (DL or DigiPack). But how can I reach all the listeners who might be interested in such music?

One problem, which was mentioned here by someone, is that the reviewers, or bloggers (who are important for the target), don;t really care about the unknown label. They still write reviews of the same labels (of course, I love those labels, too - and that is probably the reason why they only concentrate on those labels), but it is very rarely when they decide to review somebody unknown.

My question is (probably again) - if there is a chance to change the situation?

Two more releases (even good ones), and I am out of resources - no more chances for the unknown artists to have a start - cause I know they knock on many, many doors.

[taylordeupree]

one quick reply... off the top of my head.... is that there are SO MANY labels out there, and new ones popping up all the time.... that's it's simply way too difficult for reviewers to pay attention to everything. and new labels often have to go through a long period of "proving themselves" before they are respected. 12k has been around for almost 15 years but there are still many indie and experimental music magazines who don't pay much attention. perhaps reviewers want to see how serious the label is... if they are around for the long haul... before committing their resources.

it's a bit of a catch-22.. yes... because how are small labels supposed to advance without press coverage... yet the press isn't willing to help them ....

if you can solve this, you have solved a mystery every label is still trying to figure out.

it's just important to remember that there are THOUSANDS of artists like you and me out there fighting for the attention of listeners and reviewers. i can say, personally, i ignore the people who won't pay attention to 12k and just keep doing my thing as quietly and passionately as possible and hope that over time the label makes a mark somehow.

[bojanix]

Yes, catch-22 is a good description of this situation :-)

Thanks. I keep doing my work. Hope it will bring profit sooner than I run out of the resources for new releases.

An the thought about artists: I think that we've reached the point that we have more artists than listeners... (of course, some of them buy new releases, too, but there are so many who want to be published)