At 9/24/15 03:34 PM, stratkat wrote:

At 9/22/15 11:35 PM, aliaspharow wrote:

At 9/19/15 12:43 PM, frootza wrote: Anyone have any experience working for a label or owning one?

Yeah i had experience with 5 Line Records which was started here and Voltage square. Could be of use

Can't comment on Voltage Square, but 5line from my perspective was a train wreck. At least I got an album cover, mastered track, and some vsts out of it, to their credit.
It started out with a face of professionalism, but it lost steam really quick.

Yes I completely agree but I wasn't part of the build. More like a good friend of the creators and I've learned much from their mistakes. Anyhoot my promotional connections in the upstate new York area, unrelatedly, is something I think the label could really benefit from. I even managed the nickstock rave "insomnia" in owego along side with Adam vanguilder which was extremely popular in my county

We're going to launch as a collective, @Tomfulp We'd like your blessing and permission to launch as NAC: Newgrounds Audio Collective

Initially we'll function as a non-legally established entity, simply to build a base and assets, so there's something to work with when we get into it. Just a brand, something to rally under. Stand by, and let me know if you want to be added to the skype group, my skype is ^Noizyxess.

At 10/2/15 12:07 AM, SkelaNG wrote: my skype is ^Noizyxess.

That name sounds like something...familiar.

At 10/2/15 01:26 AM, Noisysundae wrote:

At 10/2/15 12:07 AM, SkelaNG wrote: my skype is ^Noizyxess.

That name sounds like something...familiar.

You're the one biting my style bruh <3, I've had this name since '11, but I changed it because it was too...cheesy....
...not that your name is...*cough* uh so yeh, add me on skype lol.

At 10/2/15 12:07 AM, SkelaNG wrote: We're going to launch as a collective, @Tomfulp We'd like your blessing and permission to launch as NAC: Newgrounds Audio Collective

Initially we'll function as a non-legally established entity, simply to build a base and assets, so there's something to work with when we get into it. Just a brand, something to rally under. Stand by, and let me know if you want to be added to the skype group, my skype is ^Noizyxess.

This kinda feels like The Co-operative on this side of the world, but I like the idea. An entity for recording and producing and promoting music, based on equity. (Or at least that's what I think it is.) I really like that.

And incidentally, I missed the Skype conversation from last night, but I managed to read up a little more about it.

My few cents having worked closely with a successful non profit label that started in 04 and is still running.

Find artists with a visual presence who are willing to gig.
Follow the model of some mid size labels like Sargent House or go bigger with Fueled By Ramen's approach.

You just cannot expect to make the label grow if you are going to sign artists uncapable of delivering a visual or preferably physical presence. But I will definitely eat my shoe if you can pull that off.

Loads of rad artists here. But I hope you guys can think outside the bun on this one so that the idea doesn't just flop.

(pppps I brought this up yearz ago but mindchamber just wasn't the right guy to approach this with it seems. Still don't let it flop due to an unorganized start up that's my main advice here.)

At 10/4/15 09:44 PM, RealFaction wrote:

At 10/4/15 07:03 PM, frootza wrote:

That's not exactly fair considering a lot of artists on NG don't have the money for that type of stuff, me personally i can't afford the equipment and i want to get my music out there but you don't have to do live gigs to do that. Does it help? Yes, but many people get promoted by big youtube channels, the somewhat big names anyway. It is harder but it could work, just gotta have the right person with the right following.

(sadly nowadays there are more huge youtube channels that use music but don't give credit, and it hurts us)

Oh no don't get me wrong RF, I can't afford to do this stuff either, but a lot of people over think gigging, I should try to explain more via newspost.

My point is that what making NG a label is that there is so much pull here for the potential of having a strong visual presence, you know? I look at someone like Lich who would probably nail an awesome live action video with his gas masks (other folks like myself have similar helmet like themes for live DJ stuff), or Phyrnna's work being accompanied by an animation like the Gorillaz where the characters can come to life accentuating the music. This is just something that would set it apart and draw new talent to the label with these added bonuses.

Gigging is just something I think we should collectively consider as well, because having a bunch of Newgrounds artists on a lineup that went on some kind of mini tour (for those available and interested) would be legendary.

I do know that some artists here just aren't performers which is totally fine too, but it just accelerates the labels potential to be used as a strong marketing tool when there is a live element.

Hope you see where I'm coming from. This project as a whole shouldn't be leaving anyone out, but there are a lot of brilliant directions this could be taken into as everyone has been discussing already.

Unfortunately I haven't had time to see what's happening in that group chat there so I'm just trying to take what I know about business and throw it out here for everyone's consideration.

At 10/5/15 02:13 AM, frootza wrote: Phyrnna's work being accompanied by an animation like the Gorillaz where the characters can come to life accentuating the music.

Actually if you visit my Youtube channel you'll see that I've taken up making music videos lately, something that'd I'd love to do for others in this.

This is just something that would set it apart and draw new talent to the label with these added bonuses.

Agreed. Just like MonsterCat.

I do know that some artists here just aren't performers which is totally fine too, but it just accelerates the labels potential to be used as a strong marketing tool when there is a live element.

Certainly so. I think we can possibly pull something together.

Unfortunately I haven't had time to see what's happening in that group chat there so I'm just trying to take what I know about business and throw it out here for everyone's consideration.

Me neither. x_x

sup guys what kinda info you looking for specifically?

At 10/12/15 11:07 AM, gavkay21 wrote: sup guys what kinda info you looking for specifically?

Mindstorming on a business model that would best accentuate what NG has to offer if it was to transform one of it's limbs into a music label. How's the label been going for you so far? Can be a lot of work depending on the season eh?

At 10/12/15 11:18 AM, frootza wrote:

At 10/12/15 11:07 AM, gavkay21 wrote: sup guys what kinda info you looking for specifically?

Mindstorming on a business model that would best accentuate what NG has to offer if it was to transform one of it's limbs into a music label. How's the label been going for you so far? Can be a lot of work depending on the season eh?

Digital slave is history unfortunately. I never put enough work in to be honest. Happy to brain storm some ideas though i'd actually quite like to be involved with if it's going to be done right. Distributing the music it's self is easy the hard part is getting it out there and helping artists build up there audience. I personally think if a NG label were to be done it should be focused on building artists fan base's and helping artist's build a professional brand. That way the NG label could act as a stepping stone for artist's to move onto bigger labels ect.

The biggest difficulty a ng run label would have is QUALITY CONTROL. Everything released on it would need to be shit hot. You can't run a label that has hugely variable quality track by track it needs to have a standard quality. I would suggest reserving the label for the best of best NG artist's and developing a strict but fair demo policy/procedure.

The good thing about NG is that the ng audio portal already has quite a solid infrastructure and if the audio portal's features were tweeked and changed enough to incorporate a commercial ng label i think you could be onto something really special. A place were beginners can grow and learn and when there good enough eventully release there music onto the ng lable

What other label has something like the audio portal backing it? None! if it was done right and it took off expect too see the audio portal get swamped with people posting new music.

That being said genre's will be a big problem. A music distributor will send tracks to all the major download stores but it's up to the download store to accept said tracks and to simply put it obscure, weird, classical ect would get rejected from the majority of download stores. So for it to be viable you'd need to properly organize genre's perhaps releasing video game sound tracks separately from the more commercial EDM Tracks?

so i'll finish my post with a list of "must's"

- Anything released needs meet the standard quality
- Every release needs good artwork, mastering and promotion
- You need to be all over social media facebook, twitter, youtube ect
- Remove the forced download button from tracks (let people decide). no point trying to sell/demo tracks if you can download it for free.
- Have a good demo system, you'll get bombarded with demo's everyday and you need a good way to filter out the not so good stuff. Can't stress this enough you'll be listening to a endless stream of sup-par music if you don't have good demo system

This has huge potential if it's done right imo.

At 10/12/15 12:41 PM, gavkay21 wrote:

At 10/12/15 11:18 AM, frootza wrote:

At 10/12/15 11:07 AM, gavkay21 wrote:

Like everything.

Nailed it. Final point especially was very on point.

No worries on the label not working out. It's more than most can say they have even attempted and at least you can learn from your mistakes.

Some labels have the whole "send us an mp3 of your song" system but maybe NG could start using some sort of specialized demo reel method since lots of people have a ridiculous amount of songs uploaded.

*Might be thinking too much into this detail but where songs that are here can be spliced and faded in and out. Then this link could be sent out for review, and from there publishing and stuff like that and the steps in between. Maybe it's code-able but also maybe not.

I feel like it's going to be great. Wondering if any of the older heavy hitters who moved on wards from NG would think of jumping into the mix (lolol the mix).

Also feeling like there are going to be lot's of up-sides to getting on board. There is like a CRAZY amount of counsel on here where folks pass along their recommendations and wisdom. Gurus of mixing and mastering. Music consultation in general. That is pretty cool and exciting to think about!

Just thinking out loud...

Why do I want to join a label?
1. Money. I want to get paid.
2. Exposure. More people to hear my music.
3. Effective Marketing. Converting that pool of people into sales.

NG has the pool of people. (This is actually the hard part).

The job left to do here is put a system in place that brings music to the forefront of NG. And if they're going to get paid, then why not?!

Example: 15 - 30 second Music ads that play before games and movies load and even after. Youtube already does it, people are already programmed for it.

A weekly music Private Message to all users with a handful of feature artists.

Quality control is a must. I actually don't frequent the NGAP anymore because I got tired of clicking on tracks by people who illegally downloaded FL Studio 20 minutes ago and this was their first track. Maybe a committee of 2 or 3 people to approve artists.

Artists should also have a professional image. Professional promotion pictures, a well written biography and absolutely must have mastered tracks. If artists can't take it seriously then why should NG. In fact, I think a potential problem is changing the amateur stigma the NGAP has.

Finally, don't limit promotion to NG. Social media should be pumped too. Promo Promo Promo!

TL;DR Random thoughts that may or may not make any sense. What would Ari do?

Which also leads me to the topic of web-hosting. Eventually we're going to need an online presence, not just on NG, but also elsewhere for people to contact us who haven't encountered us before, and wouldn't like to go to a place full of flashy ads. Some of us already have our own websites, or are in the process of making our own.

How are we going to go about this? I have so many questions on this topic that I want to ask, but don't really know where to begin.

At 10/13/15 05:45 AM, Bafana wrote: Just thinking out loud...

Why do I want to join a label?
1. Money. I want to get paid.
2. Exposure. More people to hear my music.
3. Effective Marketing. Converting that pool of people into sales.

NG has the pool of people. (This is actually the hard part).

Yeah this is a huge avantage

The job left to do here is put a system in place that brings music to the forefront of NG. And if they're going to get paid, then why not?!

Example: 15 - 30 second Music ads that play before games and movies load and even after. Youtube already does it, people are already programmed for it.

intresting idea but i think adblock plus will kill this dead in it's track.

A weekly music Private Message to all users with a handful of feature artists.

Good idea this system is already in place just a little tweek for it too work with a ng label

Quality control is a must. I actually don't frequent the NGAP anymore because I got tired of clicking on tracks by people who illegally downloaded FL Studio 20 minutes ago and this was their first track. Maybe a committee of 2 or 3 people to approve artists.

Artists should also have a professional image. Professional promotion pictures, a well written biography and absolutely must have mastered tracks. If artists can't take it seriously then why should NG. In fact, I think a potential problem is changing the amateur stigma the NGAP has.

Like i highlighted these issue's will be most important. I like the idea of a 3 person committee that green lights tracks. A big problem with a few labels i know off including monstercat is only one person is involved with track selection. This means the labels releases are often tainted by one person's taste and opinion. Had this argument with quite a few people that run label's.

Finally, don't limit promotion to NG. Social media should be pumped too. Promo Promo Promo!

That goes without saying. Try to bring in more active audio user's. More users = more label support

TL;DR Random thoughts that may or may not make any sense. What would Ari do?

if you guys want i could knock up a business plan over this week. If a NG Label is going work it's obviously going to require co-operation from the people the run newgrounds. as much i have came back and forth to this site i don't really know tom fulp that much but i'd be happy to talk with him.

At 10/13/15 09:28 AM, gavkay21 wrote:

At 10/13/15 05:45 AM, Bafana wrote:
Example: 15 - 30 second Music ads that play before games and movies load and even after. Youtube already does it, people are already programmed for it.

intresting idea but i think adblock plus will kill this dead in it's track.

I know nothing of coding, but can it not be embed into the actual loading process of the movies/games. Most of them take 10 - 15 secs to load anyway. Might as well use this time if it can be done!

I also see that a BEST of September does not include Audio. Another avenue for promote. Also, the front page features could also have a featured label artist on rotation including interviews etc.

Contacting ex-NGers who have had some success might help too. They might throw a promo track into the mix. XKore & Mr FijiWiji seem to both have had success through Monstercat but their roots are NG.

Like you said, done right. This will work. But it NEEDS to be fully backed by the NG Gods.

I know nothing of coding, but can it not be embed into the actual loading process of the movies/games. Most of them take 10 - 15 secs to load anyway. Might as well use this time if it can be done!

I'm not too clued up about coding myself, i mean i HAVE done a taster course on dreamweaver and could probably knock up a simple wordpress site so i know the basics and know what can and can't be done. If ad's can be implemented it might be a source of revenue BUT i don't necessarily agree it's the best way to bring the £££ in to fund the project plus ad's are simply annoying and off putting you want people to have a good platform for there music, the goal should be to attract more users to the site. What i'd actually suggest is having a similar system to soundcloud, by that i mean have basic, pro and ultimate packages. basic gives you a limted amount off upload space (more generous than soundcloud basic) and limited features for free. The better packages offer more features and upload space for a small fee as like soundcloud but are ultimately much better value than soundcloud since NG already has a infrastructure where beginners can learn and devolp there skills where as soundclound offers no support like this or even a starter label that gives artists the initial support needed to build there foundations. I believe this would bring in much needed £££ more than ad's and besides a good lot of you are paid supporters of this site anyway how many people would be willing to pay for a better audio platform to post there music on? A lot of you that's what i'm guessing.

I don't know if any one has noticed but soundcloud has been going down hill for a while now i'm actually seeing artist's constantly on my facebook moaning about how lame it's become over the years hell i don't even pay for it anymore. There literately crying out for a new platform and the NG audio portal could be that new platform!

Soundclouds plagued with shitty comments like "cool song m808 check out mine". Infact the full site's became a spam fest with bought plays, bought fans, bought likes, bought everything! It's pretty much impossible to make any ground on the place without getting involved in this game and trust me on this anyone that's on a fairly big label or is trying to get on a label is doing this to some degree.

Newgrounds is different, instead of leaving a shit un-detailed redundant comment just give the a track vote. Want to give Track a detailed criticism the comment section it's there to use. Encourge meaningful comments, disable the ability to add links to comments therefore reducing spam.

I know i'v went on wild tangent here and you guys probably are wondering where a label would fit in this. This is where fits in. The label should be the starting point for artists that have come here learned to make good music and to advance to the next stage. Say someone can make good music but theve not got a clue about building a professional image, that's where the label steps in and supports them through this process. Say they needed professional artwork done? There's a user in the art portal that can help you. Need a music video? Here's a animator that'd be willing work with you. Got good music but no fan base? We'll post your new stuff on front page and utilize our networks to promote you. Want released on all major download stores, we've got you covered! See where i'm going with this? The NG audio portal could be a all in one package that supports musicians from there very first steps to making them a professional brand and the label would facilitate this progress.

I also see that a BEST of September does not include Audio. Another avenue for promote. Also, the front page features could also have a featured label artist on rotation including interviews etc.

Exactly

Contacting ex-NGers who have had some success might help too. They might throw a promo track into the mix. XKore & Mr FijiWiji seem to both have had success through Monstercat but their roots are NG.

Nevermind a promomix encourage them to come back to the audio portal and continue posting tracks. Enocourge them endorse the new and improved audio portal to spread to word. Who remembers how exciting it was when the likes of xkore was on this site posting tracks!? They should have never needed to leave in the first place! The audio portal should be the go to place for professional artists even if there not signed to the ng label. After all NG is where these big artists built there initial fan base, lets a build platform that helps other talented artist to not only do the same, but to keep them as a continuing user of the platform.

Like you said, done right. This will work. But it NEEDS to be fully backed by the NG Gods.

Exactly, without support of the NG god's all these ideas in this thread mean fuck all and a NG label without support from them is just another shitty digital label with no purpose. I'v been there and done it and it's not worth it until you get big and i mean really big. It's a really hard graft to become big but with what i'v proposed i think you'd be a unique label somthing no other digital label has and that's something i'd be willing to contribute to. If i wanted to make another label i could literately start right now and be able to release songs in about 4-5 weeks, but what'd be the point in that you'd just be like the million other labels out there. Support from the NG staff means creating something no one else has and i'd be willing to put money were my mouth is with a project like this. I'd happliy invest my hard earned cash into it to get the ball rolling. I'm not loaded or anything but reckon i could get the money together to start this off.

Just thought of a clever name too. Call the label "training grounds"

At 10/14/15 10:20 AM, gavkay21 wrote: Just thought of a clever name too. Call the label "training grounds"

hmmm I can see the word art play and logo in that, but I don't know if the word 'training' portrays confidence :S

Anyway this is more of a bump, interested to see where this goes. I have another Alias that I'm in the process of promoting myself so not interested in taking on more right now but I'll be watching.

PS
I keep forgetting your Friday Fox, remember this? :D
https://soundcloud.com/bafanamac/escape-ft-stickybud-thallie

At 9/14/15 10:03 AM, SkelaNG wrote: Musicians on NG, or indeed any indie community, are backed into the trap of thinking they need to be an independent producer more out of necessity than skill, KILLING output and strangling their ability to release regularly at a steady pace like a major label or content company.

This happened to me!!

Newgrounds was the first place I began to post my music and I found myself being highly praised and encouraged to start an actual album effort. I had a decent amount of songs written out for it and chosen. I blew a few handfuls of money on Reverbnation to release my music and before I knew it... I found myself trying to administrate my music pages and attempting self-promotion + social networking whilest juggling composing new tracks to trying to continue releasing new music AND do my best to mix/master them.

Nobody has that kind of time, especially not me with a full-time job, part-time college and trying to keep a social life.

I ended up not being able to release music regularly which ended up really disappointing a lot of people. The whole experience actually soured me on even writing music for a while and made me feel like an old man who didn't really have time for the things he loved anymore. Although I would honestly consider my solo artist experience a failure...

I actually learned a hell of a lot from the experience. I learned about how much one could expect from sales vs streams and how important multiple-venture social networking is for exposure(unless you get lucky and go viral).

I've had the honorable pleasure of being accepted into this community and would love nothing more than to give back in any way that I can to this project. Whether that be QA, creating OC or simply being a cheerleader on the sidelines I would love to be counted in on this wherever I could be :)

Here's 2 cents on all this so far:

@TomFulp is absolutely right, this project absolutely needs a project manager (And several assistants + many community volunteers) who would be willing to sacrifice a large amount of their time pushing towards the success of this project.

At 9/14/15 03:58 PM, Phyrnna wrote: I don't know about the single person idea unless there is someone who can fit that role. Otherwise I think we should be able to have multiple people help out, maybe even get some artists from the Art Portal or animators from the Flash Portal.

Newgrounds has one of the most unique pools of talent available on the internet. It is entirely possible if we had some strong, dedicated founding members that we could pull this off as a community, with a lead manager position being taken at some point in the future. This is overall an amazing idea. However it will take some very dedicated work to get it off the ground. Surely combined we have the ideas and experience to start up and help support this venture. Even if the label isn't financially backed by the founders of NG and is just a community effort with Fulp's blessing to use the name, a successful (Or even semi-successful) first attempt could prove to them this might be financially viable. Newgrounds has stayed afloat over the years because of the executive decisions of Tom and Company. If they've already kicked around the idea of creating some variety of label, it's because they know it could be a major opportunity not only for them but for the community.

NG is both an established internet community AND a digital brand . Sure, it's no Amazon or whatever, but if people see that little tank guy on a CD cover something in their head will click. I had a "Newgrounds" Tank sticker on the back of my car and had quite a few people comment positively on it over the 3 years I had it on there (Snow is not kind to stickers). If utilized correctly with genuinely killer content, the brand will grow. This will not only provide the project with more attention, but Newgrounds as a whole.

@RealFaction is on to something with the idea of a "Roadrunner Best Of" type thing. With some established artists from the portal signed on for a promotional release, it could show people we are serious about our goals. Plus their individual fans would be thrilled to know artists they love would be getting more exposure. This is entirely dependent on who would could gather for that promotional release.

The biggest question is: How could we help to make this as socially and commercially successful as possible?I believe we would be able to accomplish the dream and get this thing off the ground if we can come up with some unique ideas. We definitely have volunteers for important positions like QA and Talent Scouting. We would also need members administrating a Facebook page or a twitter account and random online promotional work would also need to be run frequently. If we don't have a single higher authority (project manager), then we would need solid, dedicated team members to run some of these tasks.

The project will probably require an infusion of cash in the beginning to get things up and running with production contracts. We could begin a kickstarter/indiegogo for the project if we could decide on the costs for for an initial album/set of releases. How much will it cost to provide benefits to a signer (get the songs on iTunes, Spotify, mixing/mastering costs if any, etc.) would factor into this.

I have some interesting ideas on how we could gain some attention as well as make money. Currently I'm just unsure of exactly where the project is in terms of being greenlit, so I'll hold back for now.

At 10/15/15 04:19 AM, Bafana wrote: PS
I keep forgetting your Friday Fox, remember this? :D
https://soundcloud.com/bafanamac/escape-ft-stickybud-thallie

Shit son! I forgot you took part in that remix comp back in the day. Awesome remix love revisiting old stuff :) You know ohm records was sold by my mate for a decent some of cash, he done really well with it.

At 10/15/15 04:56 AM, Burn7 wrote:

At 9/14/15 10:03 AM, SkelaNG wrote: Musicians on NG, or indeed any indie community, are backed into the trap of thinking they need to be an independent producer more out of necessity than skill, KILLING output and strangling their ability to release regularly at a steady pace like a major label or content company.

That's why if your running a label you have a backlog of tracks to be released of about 3-4 months ahead of time. You need a constant stream of music released at least fortnightly.

Newgrounds was the first place I began to post my music and I found myself being highly praised and encouraged to start an actual album effort. I had a decent amount of songs written out for it and chosen. I blew a few handfuls of money on Reverbnation to release my music and before I knew it... I found myself trying to administrate my music pages and attempting self-promotion + social networking whilest juggling composing new tracks to trying to continue releasing new music AND do my best to mix/master them.

This is what i was talking about in my previous post

Nobody has that kind of time, especially not me with a full-time job, part-time college and trying to keep a social life.

I ended up not being able to release music regularly which ended up really disappointing a lot of people. The whole experience actually soured me on even writing music for a while and made me feel like an old man who didn't really have time for the things he loved anymore. Although I would honestly consider my solo artist experience a failure...

I actually learned a hell of a lot from the experience. I learned about how much one could expect from sales vs streams and how important multiple-venture social networking is for exposure(unless you get lucky and go viral).

I've had the honorable pleasure of being accepted into this community and would love nothing more than to give back in any way that I can to this project. Whether that be QA, creating OC or simply being a cheerleader on the sidelines I would love to be counted in on this wherever I could be :)

Here's 2 cents on all this so far:

@TomFulp is absolutely right, this project absolutely needs a project manager (And several assistants + many community volunteers) who would be willing to sacrifice a large amount of their time pushing towards the success of this project.

At 9/14/15 03:58 PM, Phyrnna wrote: I don't know about the single person idea unless there is someone who can fit that role. Otherwise I think we should be able to have multiple people help out, maybe even get some artists from the Art Portal or animators from the Flash Portal.

Your right you can't do it yourself better with a close nit team that specializes in each area with a project leader directing the work flow.

Newgrounds has one of the most unique pools of talent available on the internet. It is entirely possible if we had some strong, dedicated founding members that we could pull this off as a community, with a lead manager position being taken at some point in the future. This is overall an amazing idea. However it will take some very dedicated work to get it off the ground. Surely combined we have the ideas and experience to start up and help support this venture. Even if the label isn't financially backed by the founders of NG and is just a community effort with Fulp's blessing to use the name, a successful (Or even semi-successful) first attempt could prove to them this might be financially viable. Newgrounds has stayed afloat over the years because of the executive decisions of Tom and Company. If they've already kicked around the idea of creating some variety of label, it's because they know it could be a major opportunity not only for them but for the community.

It at least needs promoted by them

The biggest question is: How could we help to make this as socially and commercially successful as possible?I believe we would be able to accomplish the dream and get this thing off the ground if we can come up with some unique ideas. We definitely have volunteers for important positions like QA and Talent Scouting. We would also need members administrating a Facebook page or a twitter account and random online promotional work would also need to be run frequently. If we don't have a single higher authority (project manager), then we would need solid, dedicated team members to run some of these tasks.

See my previous post's

The project will probably require an infusion of cash in the beginning to get things up and running with production contracts. We could begin a kickstarter/indiegogo for the project if we could decide on the costs for for an initial album/set of releases. How much will it cost to provide benefits to a signer (get the songs on iTunes, Spotify, mixing/mastering costs if any, etc.) would factor into this.

It's free to distribute music on these stores. When a label receives a demo they expect the demo to already be mastered and ready for release. Every professional label expects this it's standard. Kickstarter's is a good idea though a good budget for advertising, artwork, social media advertising ect is a really solid start for a label. I don't think you realize a lot of smaller labels are run by students in there spare time on a shoe string budget.

.................................................................................................................

A lot of you guys don't know me since i'v been coming back and forth from here over the years. I'm not blowing my own trumpet but i'v run a label before and i'v also A&R'd for several labels advising artists and the owners on how to direct their labels. I'v wanted to do a NG label for a while (since i helped NG publish the ng audio cd) and i'm at a loose end now so i'm glad i got told about this thread. Anyway i'm happy to contribute to this project and get it moving forward.

Think it would be a good idea to have Skye brainstorm session about this in the near future? It might actaully help to get to some solid plans.

Wrote a draft of what this labels realistic goals could be, some ideas I had in chat while on pills, and what might get the gears moving on this whole label idea.
http://www.mediafire.com/view/02pd5fz4frw6o31/Newgrounds+Label+Plan+1st+draft+stratkat%282%29.rtf