#5 DIY Labels Panel (English)
Pros and cons of DIY Labels compared to Indie and Major Labels.
Speakers: Ilias Dahimène (Seayou Records/AT), Thomas Morr (Morr Music/D), Nuri Nurbachsch (Brand Manager Warner Music Austria/AT), Benjamin-Zsolt Zombori (Musician/Bensh/AT). Host: Stefan Trischler (a.k.a. Trishes/FM4/AT)
On the 3rd of October, four experts discussed the differences between a DIY and an independent label at the Waves Vienna Festival & Conference.
Benjamin-Zsolt Zombori (Musician/Bensh/AT), owner of a DIY label, breaks down the distinction on a personal level. It is about the will to take everything into your own hands and to have a vision in which direction you want to go with the project. It takes a lot of responsibility, discipline and above all, a realistic view of your own capabilities.
Of course musicians of an indie label have to know what they are getting themselves into and what they want from their career. Nevertheless, according to Thomas Morr (Morr Music/D), it is easier to build a network with a label. Nuri Nurbachsch (Brand Manager Warner Music Austria/AT) sees the great advantage of a label in the possibility of also being able to work and tour internationally, which is hard to accomplish alone without any support.
Morr also states that it was much easier in the early 2000s to exist in the market as an independent label. Not only were there larger sums of support, the market itself was not as crowded as today. Nowadays much more work is needed in PR to receive attention. Zombori can also underline this point. There are the same difficulties in the DIY area, but due to online social platforms it has become easier to assert yourself as a self-made label.
In conclusion, all agree that there has to be a tremendous self-fulfilling drive to entirely devote yourself to your project, so to speak, to go “all in”. And this instinct will not be lost, nor intimidated by any obstacles. In the end even the smallest successes can cause a feeling of exhilaration.
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[Photocredit: Maria Hammer ©]