diary of a record label

This is where I recount my tales of confusion, excitement and woe as I try and figure out how to release records. Who knows what might happen? Certainly not me.

Another long overdue update...

This blog was a great idea but is coming sadly unstuck thanks to my constant bad luck with computing related things. I've only had a working computer AND working internet for about half of the last six months. so, yes, my 'new' computer has died and I am back on my grumbly old computer minus all my new files which are still on my other HD. Gah.

Despite this, or maybe because of it, things are really starting to get on, record-wise.

Will you believe me if I tell you I now have a large parcel on my desk addressed to GZ and ready for posting? Well, 'tis true!

To carry on from where I left off:

I sent my money back to the MCPS and duly received an actual license to manufacture which was kind of exciting, despite just being a bit of paper. It appears they charge money on a scale relating to song length? This seems a bit nuts. No wonder the Yummy Fur started writing longer songs. More worrying, Declan still hasn't received any of this £36. So where is it Mr MCPS? Eh?

All the other bands were mightily happy with their masters so we got Kenny to turn up the volume on the Uter track and all was well.

Then I hit a snag. Namely, WHAT DO I DO NOW? Both the GZ site and the excellent Jonson Family guide were strangely quiet on this bit. Did I need to send the money now? How much exactly was it? Do you have to get an order number first? etc etc. So I emailed GZ and got a fairly quick response advising me to stick CDs and forms in the post and then they send you a proper bill, wait for the money and then ON WE GO.

So I have spent most of this evening finishing off the forms, copying the label artwork on to CD and labeling all the CDs wrongly. You know when you're doing important stuff like this and you keep thinking "OH NO wouldn't it be awful if I got the CDs mixed up and the pressed Record 1 with Record 2's labels, I better be REALLY CAREFUL". And then you go right ahead and write just what you were telling yourself not to write. Thankfully changing 1 to 2 is not hard. Sometimes I think my brain likes playing hilarious jokes on me.

So tomorrow I will set all the alarms and make sure I get myself to the post office before it closes and send this off. And then wait expectantly. I have yet to give much thought to where I'm going to put 640 records when they arrive. Not to mention 320 BOXES.

I'm also currently hassling the bands about their insert artwork and have managed to get half of them (the US half) so far an they look fantastic. I still haven't manged to get to the printers for a quote yet though.

I guess the main priority now is getting the BOXES (no doubt the company will have stopped making them since we first looked into months ago) and seeing what they're like so I know whether I need a rubber stamp or stickers or what to go on them. And the TROUBLEZINE which will be going in the box. I wish I had Pagemaker or something at work so I could think about design ideas there. I also wish I hadn't accidentally thrown out the CD with Pagemaker on it, duh.

I also need to confirm our RECORD LAUNCH PARTY. More details once I have done this.

posted by marceline on Friday, May 21, 2004