***Subsekt: The Label -- The Discussion***

[Lost to the Void]

I think it will be easy to work out who has or hasn't contributed to the community, mods can keep track of that.

Maybe we have a new invite only subforum.

Then we leave a Subsekt label discussion public sticky and people can request to get involved.
Then we can give those who fit the shoes invites.
That way it doesn't necessarily have to be purely based on post count , andt enhusiastic but contributing noobs can get in. And of course piss takers in for a free ride can equally be turned out etc.

I think those of us "pro's" can of course have the final say, mainly on qualitative judgements more than artistic, which should be more biased to a democratic process.

I think we should choose release in the same way that a company which has good diversity and inclusion practice operates.

We aim to push new talent/unreleased talent, but the democratic and artistic choices should always take preference over trying to meet inclusion stats.
But given equal choice of quality between someone who has been released and fresh or unreleased talent, we aim to give priority to the latter.

The value of the art IMHO must always take precedent.

Yes to boundaries, democratic yes, free for all no.
Respect is earned, anyone can come in to the Subsekt pub but you earn your place to decide what gets played on the jukebox.

I think the aim is to value art and community, but to make a quality label that doesn't care about your previous sales, your likes, your SoundCloud numbers, or if you are friends with the Booker at club x.
You will be judged on your art and your contribution to the community.

If we emphasise that then we create an environment that is less attractive to selfie pepps just looking to drop their latest shit to get a release and get ahead, and then fuck off to the next label.

This is a chance to prove something can transcend selfish individualism in the music world.

Together we are stronger etc.


Obviously I'm a cantankerous fuck, at least by perception, by some. But community and collective action is always where I am, in a place where critique can be handled in an adult manner.
If I am on your side then I am ON YOUR SIDE.
All in, I'll fight your corner. That's what I offer.

Totally with the suggestion above. Keep the money non public domain but those involved can get the quarterly reports or whatever by email or something.
So transparent enough to make common knowledge that everything is above board.

Also depending on money pool put in, we can be democratic about how it is used,

We set up a core team who can step in to make decisions and push things forward when needed to stop the democratisation becoming debilitating.
A steering committee of sorts.

And of course we can remain malleable and adjust and change as we go, with each release we will learn more about how this all works.

So far all the ideas are pretty much on point.

This is very encouraging.

[terryfalafel]

In this thread your points are well made you cantankerous fuck. Very non-cantankerously tbh

As mentioned, I'd love to support if I have skills that are useful to the group....

If I am on your side then I am ON YOUR SIDE.
All in, I'll fight your corner. That's what I offer.

nice one, fists n all..? if I sample Inner city life will you protect me from Goldie? That's where we sort the men from the boys

[Lost to the Void]

Now in terms of people throwing wobblers if they don't get released.

If the process is done right the it won't be flat out rejection, everything will be discussed, critiqued, like the members tunes thread.

So if someone doesn't make it one release, we can all talk to and guide people whom really want to be released so they get to the point where they do.

The point is to pull together, and become part of something that will benefit everyone. Just by being involved. It could grow and lead who knows where.


Rave story alert.....

When we ran the rig, actually when I joined the rig, got "sworn in" and proved myself, invested in the rig and so on, I radically changed the way it was run.

I made the rig much more democratic, as the guy who ran it who I became partner too, he came up from the OG school of 88.
So the rig was run quite cliquey.
My main thing was that I was in charge of the music, who played, what was played and when.
I opened up the rig to new people, as it was a fiaely closed shop, and gave new DJs a chance.
People that we got on with, that played good shit, that fit in, got asked back, got better slots until they got properly invited in.
Threw the changes I made the crew grew, the audience grew.....

I'll get to my point.

Not everyone got to play every week.
Not everyone got the best slot or the slot they wanted all the time.
But.
Everyone who was a part of it was a part of it.
Even if you didn't play that week, you were part of it, if the party rocked hard, you were part of that, everyone contributed, everyone help set up the rig, police the party, do the door, run the lights, keep the kit safe etc etc.
It wasn't about just turning up, playing your tunes in the peaktime slot, wanking your ego off and then fucking off.
You were a part of the whole, and sometimes just seeing someone else rock the rig and slay the crowd was enough to get your hit.
Because we were all a part of making that happen.
A DJ with no rig, with no party, no venue etc is just a test with a box full of disc shaped petroleum products.
Everyone got a chance to shine, everyone got a peak slot at some point, in front of thousands of people.
When I joined the rig we were pulling a couple of hundred, in the height of the madness our parties were pulling in 2 - 5000 people in a weekend, with the big United System multiriggers getting 9, 10 thousand.
That was through collective action.


So I see the label in a similar way, dont approach it just with me me me as your goal.
Approach the label as a chance to be a part of something that means something.
You will get your chance to shine, but also you become a part of the whole thing working, not just your release. And if it goes well and grows, individuals benefit from that.

Off the back of the label we can have feature mixes by members, even events, who knows what else or where it will lead.

As long as it's fun.

[Lost to the Void]

In this thread your points are well made you cantankerous fuck. Very non-cantankerously tbh

As mentioned, I'd love to support if I have skills that are useful to the group....

If I am on your side then I am ON YOUR SIDE.
All in, I'll fight your corner. That's what I offer.

nice one, fists n all..? if I sample Inner city life will you protect me from Goldie? That's where we sort the men from the boys

Sure, Goldie don't scare me.

[P0607r0n]

In this thread your points are well made you cantankerous fuck. Very non-cantankerously tbh

As mentioned, I'd love to support if I have skills that are useful to the group....

If I am on your side then I am ON YOUR SIDE.
All in, I'll fight your corner. That's what I offer.

nice one, fists n all..? if I sample Inner city life will you protect me from Goldie? That's where we sort the men from the boys

Sure, Goldie don't scare me.

I heard he bites.

I also would like to contribute to making this label work, as I'm experiencing the big stopping wall in techno world, where difference between getting gigs/releases is not about quality of your stuff, but who do you snort coke with (or if you do so at all). I'm coming from the environment where group efforts, and decision making, no strict leadership, and inclusiveness are shared values. I miss that in our music scene. I have acquired some sort of social trauma, android I feel unable to approach some of the people I know that are running nights, or labels, because of their massive egos, and douchebaggery. I would like this to be different , and I see how this kind of project can help in making that kind of change possible. There is a need for more underground in "underground techno".

[sergiobR1]

I'm experiencing the big stopping wall in techno world, where difference between getting gigs/releases is not about quality of your stuff, but who do you snort coke with

hahahah, it seems it's the same everywhere right ?

there's so much """""""DJS""""""" getting gigs here in Argentina just because they are "friends of" I won't name no one, and won't name any promoters or partys, or clubs, but u can really take a guess.

[Kromasome]

So many good ideas so far.

I was originally concerned when I read about the perceived effort in participating in the community (ie inclusion in the "label" based purely on post count etc), but seems like that will also be taken care of on a case-by-case basis. I'm relatively quiet in "real life" where I generally don't say much, but like to think that when I do speak up it's something worthwhile (definitely not having a dig at those who contribute a lot here ).

It's just my style/personality and some may say it's just laziness which is fair enough. It's pretty clear to me that you guys are very fair, and if it's decided that I don't meet the criteria then I'd rather not waste your time if I can't contribute adequately anyway (and certainly won't hold it against anyone).

At the very least I'm looking forward to hearing/seeing what comes out of the label!

[intrusav]

Well, we don't really know our strengths...
Might be worth breaking the operation down and seeing who can possibly do what and can commit to it to get a better idea?
Production, mastering, a&r, photography, design, marketing (uuugh!), direction, legal, loot, etc.
Would be good to have an overview of what's on the cards...

[juodas]

Well, I wasn't active for quite a while.
However I see this label as an opportunity to grow not personally, but as a family as well.
I think it's best thing which could be good is that young producers could have a proper professional feedback, I think it's kind the same as having tutor.
Also it's way more acceptable to be around the people with a familiar taste of music.
What I can see if it's gonna be beneficial for all subsekters who want's to participate

[Vorlis]

The community driven ideas on how the label should run are just lovely, nothing to add apart from respect!

Format: I was thinking releasing on USB was an odd media to even mention, as anyone who uses a computer can just download the music anyway. But, had a quick google just to see how people present them and found these.
https://ploomlabs.bandcamp.com/merch/to ... ed-release

Great to see it can be done in a way that is more appealing than a tin box or key chain. The space for artwork along with label, artist and track info is fantastic. Aye, so more open to USB after seeing them. The subsekt t-shirt tag?

I’d love to contribute in any way I can. I enjoy creating artwork through photography and collage, mangling the images into something new, it can lead to some real nice stuff, now and again
Can also help with startup costs to a degree as well.

The thread is packed with solid ideas for the plan, but what happens next?

[JakobRobb]

I'm new here but I'd be happy to give support in any way I can, sounds like a very worthwhile project! Definitely on board with what's been said so far.

[Prophän]

Releasing on usb cards/sticks sounds like a great idea. And they are not too expensive to produce and can have the artwork on them.

I'm all for it. And I hope to see this format getting more widespread. It gives both the satisfaction of owning the physical object, yet it's possible to use it in the digital world.

Now all we need is someone to come up with a cool way to store them unless it already exists.

[0dd]

That usb release looks nice. Didn't know there was such a thing.

[Mslwte]

$35?

[P0607r0n]

Yeah 35 dollurz seems quite a lot. I'm all for USB + t-shirt, or t-shirt + download code.

[Lost to the Void]

21587020_1460805083955805_1035680643748377151_o.jpg (84.73 KiB) Viewed 1556 times

[Ben Kohonays]

Love the ideas, love the concept. Happy to help or back in any way I can.

I agree on every two months, 4 releases a year is too slim, once a month might be too much. And it seems digital is sensible, maybe keep physical releases for an occasional compilation or something? Just a thought.


And this:

Pixellated neon cock cheese.

Needs to be an album title or something.

[td3l]

Late to this thread, but into this idea.

[Vorlis]

That usb release looks nice. Didn't know there was such a thing.

Yea me too, the off/white cards look sweet as well, they won me over on usb with the way they present the format.

$35?

Tbh I didn’t even look at the price, £35 is mental! Even though they look great there’s no way that price is solely because of those sexy usb cards! Fuck knows how they got to that price

[Lost to the Void]

That usb release looks nice. Didn't know there was such a thing.

Yea me too, the off/white cards look sweet as well, they won me over on usb with the way they present the format.

$35?

Tbh I didn’t even look at the price, £35 is mental! Even though they look great there’s no way that price is solely because of those sexy usb cards! Fuck knows how they got to that price

I looked in to custom usb sticks for Singularity. It`s not cheap at all, you are looking at a price that can be more than vinyl.
However you have much greater storage capacity per unit, and no technical limitations as regards to the sound.