Profile: Daytrotter.com

Website name: Daytrotter
Origin: Rock Island, Illinois
Founded: 2006

Daytrotter describes itself as: "The source for new music discovery and free MP3 downloads from the best emerging bands."

Daytrotter is a website where bands and musicians will come into their studio, The Horseshack, in Rock Island, Ill. and record live versions of their songs. They record four songs by a band everyday, releasing twenty-eight songs each week, most of them for free download. Some of their recordings are not located at The Horseshack but at music festivals South by Southwest, in Austin, Texas and Pop Montreal in Montreal, QC, Canada.

These recordings are live in-studio. The recording process is analog and there no editing or overdubbing on the songs. Each song is performed with the instruments a band has at the time and how they are on the particular day they come in for a session. It is an honest representation of the artist during the session.

The website was started by Sean Moeller, from Davenport, Ill., who writes the accompanying writings to each Daytrotter Session. The other people who make up Daytrotter are Mike Gentry, from Moline, Ill., Johnnie Cluney, from the quad cities, the Daytrotter Illustrator, and Phil Pracht, from Davenport, Ill.

Part of Daytrotter's "about" section is what inspired the description of this blog. It says, "We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands."

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Not many people have heard of Daytrotter but it is a wonderful website. But Daytrotter is not the only site promoting new music or a new way to showcase music. I sent out a message through my Facebook to my friends looking for new music sites they enjoy.

Emily Linstrand: http://stereogum.com/
"I like the content it has. I can find interesting info about a lot of the bands I like. Plus, the Listomania section is fun."

Shayla Behling: "There are two! I love Stereomood because it's like pandora, only organized for what I need it for. The Music Maze is awesome as well and especially good for finding new artists."

An Introduction To A Record Label

What is a record label? This a question that I have heard from many people before. In my record label profile on Sub Pop Records, my friend Steven commented, "Great to finally put a name to the label behind Nirvana's early work and The Postal Service!" Reading this I thought, not many people know what a record label actually is.

Not many people know who is behind all of the albums they love. There are certain times when a band or an artists self-releases an album of theirs but that is usually early on in their careers. As they grow to notoriety the are able to release their albums on a record label.

A record label, as Wikipedia states, is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Urban Dictionary says a record label specializes in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats. Dictionary.com states a record label is a company that produces and sells records, CDs, and recordings.

Which of these are right? Well all of them. A record label producers, manufactures, and distributes music. But not all record labels are the same. There are two categories of record labels: major and independent.

A major record label is a large corporation managed by a parent company. There currently are four big major labels: Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group. These labels are parent companies. Warner Music Group for example is the umbrella company for the Atlantic Records Group which is then the parent company for Fueled By Ramen Records.

A independent record label is one that does not have the financial and corporate backing of a major label. An example of an independent record label is the label Steven commended, Sub Pop Records, Saddle Creek Records, and Equal Vision Records.

These labels are the "men behind the music". They do not take part in making a band's music but are able to give it direction. This is the case with some major record labels. These overarching companies for bands are what give them funding for their albums, tours, merchandise, and other promotional tools.

I wish more people knew what a record label actually was. In my dorm room there are three different people in here, excluding me, and only one of them knew exactly what a record label was. My roommate Chanel was part of this group and knew what a record label was from a structural standpoint and exactly what they did in the music industry. I asked the people in my dorm if they knew what the two types of record labels and they did not.

The idea of a record label is vague to those who are not in the middle of the music industry. Knowing what a record label is can help in knowing where some of the money that is spent on band's merchandise and ticket sales are going. As Steven said it is "Great to finally put a name to the label..." If only more people were seeking this information or already knew what it was.

Profile: Sub Pop Records

Record label: Sub Pop Records
Origin: Seattle, Washington
Founded: 1986

Sub Pop Records is an independent record label with acts from the indie, alternative, and rock genres. The label was founded by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. They rose to fame when they signed Nirvana and Soundgarden. Nirvana's album Bleach, the band's first album, has gone platinum gaining the label commercial success.

Since then a number of their artists have had successful records. Flight Of The Conchord's self-titled album has gone platinum and The Postal Service's Give Up and The Shins Wincing The Night Away have both gone gold.

The label started as a fanzine called Subterranean Pop by Pavitt while has was attending Evergreen State College in Olympia,Washington. The fanzine was shortened to Sub Pop on it's fourth issue. After the ninth issue Pavitt stopped publishing the fanzine. In1986 when the record label started he started releasing compilations from underground rock bands.

In 1996 Pavitt and Poneman had disagreements about the future direction of the record label resulting in Pavitt leaving and being able to spend more time with his family. Pavitt and Poneman did not speak for seven years after the disagreements.

2006 marked the year Sub Pop became the first Green-e certified record label. The following year the label started a sister label Hardly Art. The imprint label's unofficial motto is "Quality records for quality people since very recently."

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I love this record label. I listen to many of the artists that are signed to the label. Sometimes I will find new music I like through the label and other times I will find new music and realize they are signed to Sub Pop. I find the artists to be an eclectic group of independent artists.

Some of my favorites from this label are: Iron & Wine, The Shins, Band Of Horses, Vetiver, The Album Leaf, and Fleet Foxes.

Music Industry Terms

Okay, so I feel I need to define some terms for the reader's out there. I am just going to list them out.

Band: A group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music.
Solo artist: A musician who usually performs alone.
Musician: A musician is a person who writes, performs, or makes music.

LP (long-playing record): Ten to fifteen songs.
EP (extended play): Three to seven songs.
Album/record: A collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public.

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sales certifications:

• 500,000 units: Gold album
• 1,000,000 units: Platinum album
• 2,000,000 or more units: Multi-Platinum album
• 10,000,000 units: Diamond album

Record label: Companies that manufacture and distribute recorded music and promote that music.

• Independent label (indie labels): Independent companies that do not have a corporate backing.
• Major label: Large corporations often owned by a parent company.

Currently the "big four" major labels are:

1. Sony Music Entertainment
2. EMI Group
3. Warner Music Group
4. Universal Music Group

A&R (Artists and Repertoire): A division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and the artistic and commercial development of the recording artist. It also acts as a liaison between the artist and the record label.

Press Release: A written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. In terms of the music industry, record labels put out press releases for new albums or tour plans from their artists.

This is all I have for now. If there are others I will add more to this list or make a new one.