MilkBoy's new 'label' gives musicians career control
Bobby Goodwin
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Amusement
On Nov. 14, MilkBoy Recording announced the launch of "The Unlabel," a marketing, recording, production, design, management and distribution service for independent musicians.
Following the launch of The Unlabel, Amusement got the scoop from Director Tom Laskas at Milkboy Recording, and Jamie Lokoff, a partner at Milkboy Recording and The Unlabel, on what this means for today's changing music industry scene.
Amusement: What's the story with MilkBoy? What was the inspiration behind The Unlabel? How long did it take to get up and running?
Lokoff: We started out as a recording studio in Philadelphia in 1994. Two years ago we had the concept for The Unlabel … We saw the bands that recorded with us didn't have a place to go and didn't know what to do after we gave them their finished product (a CD). That's when we came up with this concept that seems to be all over the place now. Given the nature of the Internet and the state of the music industry, The Unlabel lets artists promote themselves without giving themselves away to a record label.
Laskas: The idea for The Unlabel started out informally to help out our clients. Bands wouldn't do anything with (their new record) and it would fall apart. So we decided to make it a more formal process. It took about three months to establish (The Unlabel) and work out the kinks. We were full force after that.
Amusement: That sounds like progressive thinking. What's MilkBoy's staff like, a bunch of 20-somethings?
Lokoff: There are about 25 employees. We're a pretty young staff, mostly between the ages of 18 to 27.
Amusement: The Unlabel sound too good to be true, like an iPhone minus the Cingular contract. How do you help out bands without completely taking over?
Laskas: We're teaching bands to invest in and support themselves. Nowadays in order to get a contract you have to appear as if you don't need one. You need substantial record sales as an independent artist to get industry eyeballs on you. The Unlabel gives bands the tools and resources to act as their own entity. If a band sells 10,000 CDs at $10 a pop, that's $100,000 going straight in the band's pocket. Usually, bands get 10 cents a record. It's all about budgeting. A lot of bands don't know how (or) where to spend their money. We have a lot of experience. Bands see that and want to be a part of it.
Following the launch of The Unlabel, Amusement got the scoop from Director Tom Laskas at Milkboy Recording, and Jamie Lokoff, a partner at Milkboy Recording and The Unlabel, on what this means for today's changing music industry scene.
Amusement: What's the story with MilkBoy? What was the inspiration behind The Unlabel? How long did it take to get up and running?
Lokoff: We started out as a recording studio in Philadelphia in 1994. Two years ago we had the concept for The Unlabel … We saw the bands that recorded with us didn't have a place to go and didn't know what to do after we gave them their finished product (a CD). That's when we came up with this concept that seems to be all over the place now. Given the nature of the Internet and the state of the music industry, The Unlabel lets artists promote themselves without giving themselves away to a record label.
Laskas: The idea for The Unlabel started out informally to help out our clients. Bands wouldn't do anything with (their new record) and it would fall apart. So we decided to make it a more formal process. It took about three months to establish (The Unlabel) and work out the kinks. We were full force after that.
Amusement: That sounds like progressive thinking. What's MilkBoy's staff like, a bunch of 20-somethings?
Lokoff: There are about 25 employees. We're a pretty young staff, mostly between the ages of 18 to 27.
Amusement: The Unlabel sound too good to be true, like an iPhone minus the Cingular contract. How do you help out bands without completely taking over?
Laskas: We're teaching bands to invest in and support themselves. Nowadays in order to get a contract you have to appear as if you don't need one. You need substantial record sales as an independent artist to get industry eyeballs on you. The Unlabel gives bands the tools and resources to act as their own entity. If a band sells 10,000 CDs at $10 a pop, that's $100,000 going straight in the band's pocket. Usually, bands get 10 cents a record. It's all about budgeting. A lot of bands don't know how (or) where to spend their money. We have a lot of experience. Bands see that and want to be a part of it.
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