Fuck labels – support your favourite BANDS….

“Support small labels – stop buying from conglomerate record companies,” is an oft-heard battle-cry heard from those striking out on their own in the indie market. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for these smaller, hungrier labels carving out a niche in a market dominated by Machiavellian mass-production but when they and their adherents start dictating whose distributive services I – the music fan – should procure, that’s when I feel the need to cross swords with them. I mean, are they suddenly gonna sign all my fave bands onto their books? Are all my favourite artists gonna agree to their terms and conditions?

If the answer is in the negative, as I suspect, then these labels and their lackeys have NO business telling me to sacrifice MY musical tastes for THEIR profit…..

I mean yeah – by all means promote your product to myself and the uninitiated masses; use any means of marketing to generate interest in – and sales of – your artists and their musical wares. However, don’t piss and moan when people support their favourite bands who happen to be on major labels. It’s like inferior competitors throwing a bitch-fit over the success of Microsoft et al. Seriously, don’t expect me to sacrifice my preference (and music is preference after all) on the altar of your profit margins….unless of course you can satisfy all my preferences. Got that?

Besides if everyone was buying off these indies, wouldn’t they eventually grow to become the majors they despise? Hang on….

~MRDA~

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4 Responses to Fuck labels – support your favourite BANDS….

  1. el_jaynus says:

    Exactly. People nag me to buy from tiny little labels just starting out… it may sound selfish to them, but I’d rather just buy records by bands I like/want to listen to, no matter what label they’re on. I’m not going to buy a load of stuff from a little label for the sole purpose of “supporting” them.

    • MRDA says:

      Uh-huh…. as peeps who say “support X indie” are only marginally less anoying than the spackers (love that term) who say “Support British bands!” simply because they be Brit. I feel another rant coming along…watch this space….

  2. lousy_timing says:

    Echoes.
    This sounds much like how businesses here in my wee town operate. They want those of us who live here to support the local businesses, but the local businesses have crap for selection, are never open during their posted business hours, don’t return your phone calls, charge too much for their products, and the stuff they have is so old and ill-tended that it’s barely safe.
    In this summary as well as with indie record labels, independent record labels, et al, it’s about meeting the needs of your customers. All of the big labels started out small and new what they needed to do to stay alive. I don’t know if I would have agreed with every business decision they made, but they’ve been profiting, so they’ve so right to claim they’ve done well, right?
    I know of several small business operators who have figured out that you don’t stay in business if you don’t meet the needs of your customers. Some of them even figured out that your customers sometimes move, and if you want to remain open, you must move, too. They’re the ones that now have stores and internet sales and are making profits from both.
    So, no- no one has the right to dictate to any of us where we spend our money, especially when it’s a service based on preference and not on need.
    Hmm- just like journals, right? *wink*

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