|
D and M Records
changes the face of the standard record deal
At a time when the
music industry is undergoing change (and many would
agree it’s about time) as the major labels are
downsizing and finding their music sales plummeting
quarter after quarter, there’s an independent music
company and record label that is experiencing
unprecedented growth and fast becoming the premier and
most prestigious independent music company and record
label in the country.
Founder and CEO of
D and M Music, Dave Warren, with years of experience in
the music industry and a world-class vocalist and
entertainer in his own right, is all too familiar with
the difficulties faced by today’s independent musicians
and the pitfalls and dangers disguised as blessings
encountered in signing with a major label. Mr. Warren
explained it was his dream to offer affordable,
professional-quality products and services to
independent musicians who for too long have been
exploited by an industry focused not on the welfare of
the hard-working independent artists, but on the bottom
lines of the major labels and promoters. The creation
of D and M Music was the first step in realizing this
dream.
Among the many
unique and innovative services D and M Music offers to
assist independents in getting their music heard is CD
Production, including re-mastering of tracks, custom
design with thermal imaging, UPC, and shrink-wrapped –
CD’s ready for sale online or in brick and mortar stores
for a fraction of the price an independent artist would
pay just to have a track or two recorded through the
“normal channels.” The artists also have the ability to
purchase all the CD’s they need for sale at their gigs
for a low wholesale price – and they can buy one CD or a
thousand – there are no minimum orders.
Beginning with
just a few services, Dave Warren explained that D and M
Music grew and added new services in response to
requests received from independent musicians. For
example, Mr. Warren stated, “we added a songwriter’s
page because someone asked if there was a way we could
help him sell his songs.” The creation of an
entertainment database to assist with bookings, a music
store, offering digital and physical distribution are
among the numerous services being offered today by D and
M Music at prices an independent artist can afford
without having to make the huge personal sacrifices
which were necessary in the past.
D and M Music
offered exciting opportunities to artists within several
genres to get the exposure and promotion they needed by
producing compilation CD’s. Country Fest 2008 and Jazz
Fest 2008 have been huge successes and are offered to
country and jazz festivals as giveaways for the
promotion of the winning artists included in the CD’s.
The CD’s have also been submitted to numerous radio
stations for airplay and many of the songs from these
compilation CD’s are charting very well on internet
stations and several major internet music sites.
The production of
Country Fest 2008 and Jazz Fest 2008 was the springboard
for the creation of D and M Records, with a number of
the winning entrants being among the first to be offered
a record label contract. In the world of record
labels, major and indie, D and M Records is unique –
indeed, unheard of in its simplicity as it offers an
easy-to-read and understand contract which includes a
very impressive production, promotion, and distribution
package at no cost to the artist. Dave and Mary Warren,
owners of D and M Music and D and M Records say the
questions they hear most often are, “What’s the catch?”
“Where’s the fine print?” There isn’t any catch or fine
print.
D and M Records
has formulated a business plan and contract which is
brilliant in its simplicity and designed for the benefit
of the fortunate artists they sign. If there is
anything that can be construed as a “catch,” it’s that D
and M Records is very selective in who they sign,
welcoming only the best of the best into the D and M
Records Family. Mary Warren explained that being
selective and protective of the reputation of D and M
Records is paying off as they often hear from radio
stations, “We’ll take everything you’ve got.” “Our
artists,” stated Ms. Warren, “are the best we can find
within the genres we produce, and because we enjoy a
reputation for having a commitment to excellence, our
artists are known to be the best and that’s a benefit to
them as well.”
The word is
getting out that D and M Records is a different kind of
record label that truly has the best interests of their
artists at heart and we’re told the company is being
inundated with requests for record label consideration.
Mr. Warren stated, “We take every submission very
seriously and carefully evaluate each one because the
artists making those submissions work hard and are
serious about their careers. They deserve to be
listened to and taken seriously. While very few are
selected, they at least know they’re getting a fair
chance.”
D and M Music/D
and M Records seems to have positioned itself in the
right place and time to fill the void which is growing
larger by the day in the evolution of the music industry
– some of it due to the industry’s less than honorable
business practices and also due in large part to
changing technology. The days of the “big labels” and
maybe the “superstars” seem to be numbered, but there
will always be great music and great artists who will be
heard. The music will be delivered in different ways
and great artists will be recognized because of their
talent and the quality of their music and that will be
decided by the fans who are listening to and buying
their music – not by the corporate giants who are
backing only a few who may or may not be as good as they
think they are.
www.dandmrecords.com
|
