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Why Most Indie Music Group and Labels Fail

January 2, 2013

Why Most Indie Music Groups and Labels Fail (Part 1)

BY: GLENN MACRAE 

This is part 1 of a 2 part article I wrote strictly based on my professional experienceproducing and engineering and managing artists.  Since 2006, I’ve been involved as a key member in several music groups, labels, and production teams that despite all their potential to achieve greatness, fail and fall apart, often at critical moments.

So without further ado…

1) Unchecked Egos

We all have them, but some people do not know how to keep them in check or simply to check them at the door.  Unchecked Egos will tear apart even the closest allies and cause individuals to think they can do better on their own than with the group.  Though this is sometimes the case, a great deal of wasted time and energy can be avoided. Recognize the people with potential Ego issues and eliminate them from the group/organization/team/label.  Attempt to help them with their Ego issue is not recommended as it can backfire.  Death to overinflated egos!

2) Lack of leadership

No organization can succeed without strong leadership – independent music groups and labels are no different.  Without a leader, they will undoubtedly fail. Usually, there is one person (or sometimes in the case of larger groups 2 or even 3 people) that are the natural leaders of the group.  These individuals are the most reluctant to except their positions as the leader of the group.  Oftentimes, this reluctancy comes from their notions about what a leader is – they imagine them dominating the group as a king or controlling every single aspect of the group.  This is not what a leader is or does.  The very reluctancy to lead can sometimes even be an indication that this very person is the right one to lead. Humbleness and dedication to the rise of the team/company are essential and necessary qualities.

3) Fear, Anxiety or Worry

Hesitant, would-be leaders are sometimes afraid on stepping on their allies/teammates toes.  If you are unwilling to step on a few toes – If you fear losing a few customers/clients in order to grow/evolve and further the vision- If you are afraid to kick people off of the ‘bus’ in order to figure out where to drive it – the team, and you as a leader, will not succeed.

4) Lack of direction/ No clear Goals

This is unfortunately very common.  Many assumptions about success are made, but clear goals and a vision for what success is are a must.  In other words, unless each individual defines success for themselves personally and how the group should define success on a bigger scale, then no progress will be made.  No goals, no success.  Set goals and your success will not only be defined, but the steps you need to take to achieve them will also be crystal clear.

5)Laziness/Procrastination

Procrastination is like mental masturbation because you are only f***ing yourself!  Ideas and concepts are great, but unless they are turned into objectives, completed – they will not be reality and might as well be called wishes, hopes and dreams.  You must take a sense of urgency with everything you do – even the smallest things like following up with key allies can go by undone for weeks and then a key relationship is lost/destroyed possibly forever.  Don’t let this happen!  Make a habit to take action and you will live out your dreams and achieve everything you want and more!

(part 2 coming soon)

Sony Music's OKeh Records - A Historic Jazz Label Gets a New Life

A Historic Jazz Label Gets a New Life

By NATE CHINEN

The major-label landscape hasn’t been hospitable to jazz in recent years, but there’s a bit of good news on the horizon: OKeh Records, the label that released historic early recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Duke Ellington, is being revived under the corporate umbrella of Sony Masterworks. The new OKeh roster will feature contemporary artists, including the guitarist Bill Frisell, the saxophonist David Sanborn and the pianist and keyboardist Bob James; its first release will be “A Different Time,” by the pianist John Medeski, on April 9.

Wulf Müller, who joined Sony Classical as a jazz consultant last fall, is overseeing the label revamp. Mr. Müller has nearly 30 years of experience in the music industry, many of them in the realm of A&R and marketing for PolyGram and Universal. At OKeh he’ll work with Chuck Mitchell, who was recently appointed senior vice president of Sony Masterworks (and comes with his own major-label jazz pedigree, having worked as an executive at Verve and eOne).

“With Wulf Müller and Chuck Mitchell as the ideal partners, I’m thrilled that we are breathing new life into one of the coolest brands in recorded music history,” Bogdan Roscic, the president of Sony Classical, said in a news release scheduled for distribution on Thursday. “We feel there is currently an incredible wealth of exciting music out there that will find a new home and thrive on OKeh.”

Founded in 1918 by Otto K. E. Heinemann, a German émigré, OKeh Records released a typical mishmash of the era — popular and specialty songs — until it had a fateful hit in 1920 with Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues,” often credited as the first-ever blues record. Recognizing an opportunity, Heinemann began recording more African-American music, eventually hiring the pianist and singer Clarence Williams as director of “race records.”

After becoming a division of Columbia Records in 1926, OKeh went through a series of changes, branching out from jazz and blues. Among its pop hits in the ‘50s were “Cry,” by Johnnie Ray, and “I Put a Spell on You,” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. In the ‘60s the producer Carl Davis, working with Curtis Mayfield, gave the label a soul makeover. Dormant during the ‘70s and ‘80s, OKeh was also resuscitated in the mid-‘90s as a blues label, releasing albums by Keb’ Mo and G. Love & Special Sauce, among others.

For now, at least, the new OKeh will be explicitly a jazz label and only deal in new releases. (Its back catalog is the province of Sony’s Legacy division, which last year released “Louis Armstrong: The OKeh Columbia & RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933,” a 10-CD boxed set.)

And while its first batch of announced artists consists entirely of Americans, that’s not likely to be the case for long. The revamped label’s slogan is “Global Expressions in Jazz,” and Mr. Müller, who lives in Madrid, stands behind it. “What I want to achieve with OKeh,” he said in the news release, “is to build a home for jazz and jazz-related music of the highest quality, whatever its origins are.”

A version of this article appeared in print on 01/11/2013, on page C2 of the NewYork edition with the headline: OKeh Jazz Label Gets a New Life.