“How do I start a record label?” That is one of the most asked questions when someone comes up with the crazy idea that they would like to start selling their music.

That’s the question I had nearly 9 years ago. I had no experience in either setting up a business or even any experience about the music industry. I’m just a music fan.

I’m not a musician of any sort, nor could I write lyrics. As I mentioned before, I just like music. Sorry I mean “love” music.

So, when the idea of starting a record label came up I was weary and excited at the same time, as any one in their right mind can just imagine that selling music is not the most stable of career choices.

One of the many experiences I quickly learnt about starting a record label all those years ago was the spiraling costs of every thing you do. Especially when you’re just starting out. It was expensive to get a contract drawn up, expensive to book studio time, expensive to release a record and not to mention marketing costs (if you knew what you was doing).

And if you’re on a tight budget, you’ll start to wonder where all the money is going to come from to get you to be successful. Before you know it, you end up sounding like some hopeless dreamer that family and friends tell to get a “proper” career (God forbid)!

Now, I know many people juggle normal life with life as an artist quite well, but eventually something will have to give and ultimately one thing or another suffers.

So, what do you do? That is the million dollar/euro/pound question. What I did was segment my time between my day job and my time building my network of music industry links.

Yeah,I know, that might not suit everyone, but that is what worked for me.

Once you have go good handle on your time and you need to get some rest as also, you need to prioritize what it is you are trying to achieve – Are you doing this as a hobby, or do you want to get serious?

This, my friend is what I will leave you to think about for a minute.

At least until next time…..

Before you start selling your music or any of your labels merchandise, you have to realize that you are not only a musician, but also a company. I would say that making the music is 20% and the business side is 80%. Knowing exactly how to set yourself up as a company and having a company structure will allow you to get the most out of your record label.

Use the steps below as a guideline to help you get on your way:

• Have you registered as a business yet? The first step that you must take to building your company structure is registering with the government or relevant business registration organizations. When doing this, you will have different options for the type of business you will be running depending on what your budget is like and what you long term goals are. This will be defined by whether you have partners working with you or whether you want to pay taxes with a specific set-up. You can always use a consultant to assist you with this part or can find information on your government’s main website or business names registrations website for help and advice when trying to decide what route you want to take.

• Where is your development plan? This will get you to the next step of laying the foundations of your company. Your development plan will include business plans, maintenance plans, marketing plans and financial plans. All these will be needed to be a part of the company setup. When you set up the structure and take the time and steps to put those plans in place from the beginning, you will have a clearer view of where you are heading. You will also want to find ways to make sure that your music stays within copyright and music licensing laws before you start to sell. You will either want to get help from the relevant music organizations or advice from a lawyer in order to get the help that you need, so you don’t fall outside of the law.

With these basic steps, it will be easier for your company structure to take off running and to reach it’s full capacity.

Stay tuned! We will be bringing you more business tips that every recording label has to know!

In the mean time, if you’d like to get the full picture and startup and run your own record label, check out “Start Your Own Record Label – The Ultimate Assist For The “New Ere’ Indie Label