Jagermeister AIR Charts | Featured Label

Tracks Of The Desert

1) Where are you based in Australia?

Tracks of the Desert is based in Alice Springs (Northern Territory), which is where our office is. But we record albums on location in various Aboriginal communities and homelands all over Central Australia. A lot of the recordings have been in the Pitjantjatjara area of North West South Australia. Our primary market for sales of albums are Aboriginal people in the middle of Australia, and so the places where we mainly sell the music can be between Port Augusta, Darwin, Kalgoorlie and Mt Isa. That also means that we spend a lot of time travelling through these areas.

2) What year did you start up?

We started in late 2002.

3) What genre/s does your label specialise in? A

Aboriginal Gospel music. This can be any style of music (eg.country, hip hop, rock etc), but so far the recordings have mainly fallen into two broad styles - contemporary group vocal singing (if you head south from Alice Springs), and country gospel music (if you head north from Alice Springs).

4) What is your current artist roster?

At the moment we distribute 20 albums from 15 different artists. Sometimes the 'artist' is a group of singers from the local church in a particular place, and who is in the group can be very flexible at times. We have about another 10 albums in the 'pipeline'. See http://www.tracksofthedesert.com/catalogue.php for a map of where some of our albums are from.

5) How did your label start up?

It grew out of the work of some linguists/Bible translators, who had recorded songs for people over the last couple of decades. They bought some recording equipment and I joined in with them to give the recordings a bit more of a serious focus, and it's just kept growing from there. I think the man upstairs had it worked out, as it was the combination of the linguists who had the contacts with lots of musicians around the place, and I had the music/recording background, and it's worked a treat!

6) What’s on the horizon for your label?

We need to do a few things. One is to consolidate our primary market, which is in the middle of Australia. The second is to expand into the tourist market (which flows straight through Alice Springs) and connect up with people overseas who are interested in our music. The third is to keep recording the music of Christian Indigenous people around Central Australia - there is just so much music that could be recorded but we can't keep up with it all!

7) Where do you think the independent sector is at in Australia at the moment?

I don't really know where the general sector is at, but re independent music in the Northern Territory... I think it is very hard for musicians to 'make a living' out of their craft, but there are lots of possibilities. There are quite a few very talented Aboriginal (and non Aboriginal) musicians around but they need to be linked into the music industry in a very deliberate way if they are to gain much personal or financial gain from their music. I think the music sector needs to move away from government and other support in the NT, as this type of support can change very quickly (in a detrimental way).

8) And where do you see the independent sector being in 5 years from now?

2014 in the Northern Territory? - well probably not too different to where we are now. The media will have changed. Cassette tapes still make up a proportion of our sales (yep - it's true, but when you live down a corrugated dusty dirt road, tapes are more useful than cds, and they are tougher!). Tapes will be gone though by 2014. I think most musicians will be struggling still to be making any money from their craft, though there will be a couple of labels that will be even more stronger and larger in what they do (Skinnyfish Music, and possibly a new label not yet formed?).

9) If you could sign any artist/group in the world, who would it be and why?

I'd sign up who we have already! I feel so lucky to be working with artists who are so positive (most of the time!), and who in many ways get 'dumped on' when it comes to social realities (racism, cost of living, govt policies that are detrimental to their families/communities etc). It is great to be able to work with these musicians who are in these situations.

10) What is another Australian independent label you admire and why?

There would be two other labels that I admire most. One is Small House Records (www.smallhouserecords.com.au), because it strives to support their artists and their music with integrity... integrity is sometimes hard to come by these days. The second would be Skinnyfish Music (www.skinnyfishmusic.com.au), as they know what they are doing!

Vitamin Distribution

1) Where are you based in Australia?

Head office Mullumbimby and office in Melbourne.

2) What year did you start up?

1999/ 2000

3) What genre/s does your label specialise in?

No genre, we tend towards career artists or artists with potential to release again and again. Artists that build strong back catalogues and remain relevant.

4) What is your current artist roster?

Lucie Thorne, David Lane, Kat Frankie, King Tide, Tina Harrod, The Millers Tale, Jesse Younan, Liz Martin, Tony Buck +Jackie Orszaczky.

5) How did your label start up?

I felt there was a need for a label that was more about long term success rather than shorter term commercial success - although that would be good. David Lane and I were a bit drunk and he wanted me to call it vitamin. I actually don't like the name anymore but a bit late to change it now.

6) What's on the horizon for your label?

New albums from Tina Harrod, Mr Percival and Sara Tindley in the next 6 months.

7) Where do you think the independent sector is at in Australia at the moment?

I think it's really healthy but we need to stop the so called industry representatives claiming that CD's are not selling and everything is turning sour. We should be standing tall encouraging Australians to support Australian music by going out to stores or jumping online and buying music, go to gigs and go to music festivals. Support music retail stores and online purchasing. Educate the younger audience about the need to support artists and the need to contribute to artists existence and sales will continue and even increase. Negative talk is really just that.

8) And where do you see the independent sector being in 5 years from now?

Stronger again as there is a change happening. There will be winners and losers. I can't see the major labels winning so that's inevitably a win for the independents.

9) If you could sign any artist/group in the world, who would it be and why?

Tin Pan Orange - their new album 'the bottom of the lake' is eally special - out August 17. out through Vitamin Distribution.

10) What is another Australian independent label you admire and why?

Elefant traks - they have integrity and good roster.

Monthly Feature Label

Good Cop Bad Cop Records

1) Where are you based in Australia? Perth

2)      What year did you start up? 2008

3)      What genre/s does your label specialise in? Rock/Indie/Punk but generally anything that sounds good to us.

4)      What is your current artist roster? Sugar Army, Harlequin League, Schvendes, Eleventh He Reaches London, Kill Teen Angst

5)      How did your label start up? After submitting to numerous Eastern States labels some of our artists were finding it hard to get anything back but a generic rejection letter or tenuous answers of ‘we will keep an eye on you but we don’t have plans to add to the roster at this given time’. One of the artists had been in touch with Inertia regarding distribution and once they heard a few possible additions to a potential label were willing to help us out with distro. Since then we have released what we think is some of Western Australia’s most deserving, hard working and interesting bands.

6)      What’s on the horizon for your label? Eleventh He Reaches London release their second album in the next few months, Kill Teen Angst their debut album not too long afterwards and at least one other long player for 2009 is being discussed with another roster band. We are also talking about looking a little further afield as to a signing this year, eastern states or possibly an international if we can all agree as to who!

7)      Where do you think the independent sector is at in Australia at the moment?  At the moment it is f@#*ed, with a particular national retailer having a new buying policy denying smaller indies a large national retail outlet for EPs and centralising buying, there is no ‘hometown knowledge’ with the buying, increasing the need for larger marketing budgets so one person sitting in Melbourne/Sydney is aware of a particular release and it’s value. We all know EPs don’t make a heap of (any) money but they are the stepping stone to LPs and national audiences. This also has a definite negative impact for consumers and music buyers who may want to purchase said releases.

8)      And where do you see the independent sector being in 5 years from now? There is a definite change that has been happening for the past few years, there is a bit of a ‘doom and gloom’ mentality out there. “CD’s are dead etc etc’ but then again there was a time when radio was said to be the death of records. New formats and savvy marketing may be the way to get the music out there, and it’s interesting to see that (apparently) vinyl is on the increase again. Something has to be done in regards to performance and songwriting royalties on the internet, for the artist’s and indie labels sake, look at myspace that builds the majority of it’s content around independent acts, and what do they get in regards to royalties? Nothing. It’s like an employer telling an employee that without them they wouldn’t have a job, when in fact without the employee, they wouldn’t have a business. Most indie labels have never made much (if any) money, but has been a labour of love for those involved, wishing to see good music reach more ears, this will never change.

9) If you could sign any artist/group in the world, who would it be and why? I’d travel back in time and sign Led Zeppelin (with Bonham) and bring them back into the current era to show the kids how it’s done.

Good Cop Bad Cop Feature label

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