The music industry is tough to break into, since it’s constantly changing. What was popular just a few months ago is now old news, and staying relevant in an industry that’s this fast-moving takes enormous amounts of foresight, cultural awareness and business skills – especially when it comes to a genre like EDM, which is moving at a hundred miles per hour in time with constant technological innovations. So, if you’re aiming for greatness with an upcoming EDM label, you’re going to need all the help you can get. Read on down below for two of our most valuable pieces of advice for growing your record label into a successful enterprise.
Create a Strong, Unique Identity
It’s a well-known fact that the music industry is full of young hopefuls waiting for their breakthrough. As more and more of our listening habits have moved online, a much bigger variety of genres have become available to audiences – and reaching them has become easier than ever. This means that today, there’s a long list of labels catering to even the smallest of niche genres, including EDM.
So, if you want to gain the recognition it takes to stand out to EDM listeners, you’ll have to start with creating a strong, remarkable brand. If you don’t know where to start, creating a name that stands out in the music industry is a solid first step. This is because brainstorming requires you to dig deep and zero in on what makes you unique so that you can put it into words. Once you’re aware of this, creating the rest of your business identity will be much more of a no-brainer – since all you have to do is expand upon what you offer that no one else does with graphics, copy, social media channels, etc.
Be Aware of Your Competition
Next, before you start signing artists, it’s important to look into what your competitors are already offering or have in the pipeline right now. As an upcoming EDM label, this means that you must know which upcoming artists are blowing up right now in order to either tap into it or offer something that completely subverts expectations – offering a fresh take that listeners will take note of.
What is also crucial when looking into your competition is seeing how listeners are reacting to their moves. If people really like the style of EDM they’re putting out, perhaps leaning into a similar style with your own touch might be a good idea. It’s completely fine to get inspiration from others, as long as you’re still making something original and unique.
Another reason why acknowledging your competition is important is due to the gradual powershift currently happening in the music industry. While labels of course still are the ones offering deals and not the other way around, hyped artists have so many options to choose from now that they have more of a say in the terms they sign under than ever before – and more of them can now afford to turn you down if you’re not offering what they’re looking for. So, as a record label, it’s important to value the talent you snuff out and make them a mutually beneficial offer that they’ll appreciate – before another EDM label swoops in and signs them instead of you.
