Why A Trance Label Is On Patreon
To some it could seem odd. A music record label joining a platform that generally offers a stage for independent artists, not only in music but in a lot of different forms of art. Don’t labels generate millions of $$$ a year?
Sure, some do. The very big ones, mainly. But for a pioneering label in an already very specific music genre, it can prove a hard task to even generate any income. That’s when you need to look at other solutions, of which Patreon is one.
Why it’s hard to claim a spot
In electronic music, similar to the global music industry, a few big labels dominate the market. So, for a label starting independently from scratch, without the backing of a big parent-label, it’s hard to gain a foothold. Premier League Recordings is exactly that. Big in ambition, but very small in coverage.
This means, everything has to be build up from zero. The name and brand, the contacts, social media, funding, releases, artists, remixers and so on. Which all costs a lot of time and money to invest, if you want to do it right, and even then, there are no guarantees.
Big labels have their artists and DJ’s already. DJ’s have radioshows, are connected to events and that’s where the public hears the music. Sure, they can discover it by themselves on Spotify and the like. But with the large amount of music it’s nice if a DJ pre-selects the good stuff, and you just have to follow them, their podcasts or their Spotify playlists. So, to actually get heard, you need support from them. But they push releases from the labels and artists they are connected with first. You really have to stand out if you want to find support as a newcomer.
All about the money
The question is, how do you stand out? One thing would be a large social media following. But as a startup, it’s almost impossible to get that overnight. Unless you are willing to pay for a lot of fake likes, but they don’t add anything towards long-term engagement.
Another one is really good and original music. But if no one bothers to listen to it anyway, how do you convince people to listen? How do you reach them? You need someone better connected than you. This is where paid promo comes in. But prices can be quite heavy, and easily become a waste of money if you still end up with no sales. Promo is given to DJs for free. You still need people actually buying and streaming your music after promo is done.
Dare to be different
The label is a bit weird really. Why would someone, in his right mind, start up a label, in an electronic music sub-genre (trance) that is declining in popularity and saturated in supply? And even if so, why not take the popular trance sound and build from there? At least it would give the label a lifeline!
It’s simply not the ideal PLR wants to pursue. The label started based on the idea of preserving trance music with a heart and soul. Creative tracks, original compositions and also quite long in playback. Not a copy+paste template factory. We also try to be as open as possible to new talent, or underrrated talent. Not copying a success formula and push out the same big name artists every time so no slot is left for anyone else. It’s fine other labels do it that way. We just choose to be different.
Why we need Patreon
Being such an outsider means you have to work even harder to find and reach your fanbase. So we push on quality. We try to maintain a high level on our tracks, sign established remixers on the release and promote the brand as good as possible. We even might look into licensing trance classics for re-release in the future. But it would be impossible to get that done all alone.
That’s where Patreon came by. A platform that offers some kind of monthly crowdfunding for creatives. You can generate stable resources. And in return, you offer exclusivity. Early access, interaction, specials. That way, it works both ways and you can really build an engaged support.
That’s why we have set up a unique label subscription on Patreon. It’s a small offer really, to give real and engaged people early and exclusive access to releases and a bunch of other benefits, in return for a stable base to grow on. Because, with additional income from subscribers on Patreon, we can grow as a label. We can make bigger investments. And we can do more fun stuff. Like offering real CD or vinyl releases again. Or getting a high profile remixer or vocalist on the label. Which should improve the experience for our supporters again, as well!
Support courage
The more support we get from Patreon subscribers, the longer we can continue to be headstrong. To be different. To offer our unique approach on trance music to you. We will also be able to work on another goal. Being a fair label to be part of as an artist. We want to change the fact that no money can be made in trance music.
We want to pass on some of your support to our artists as well. That’s why we pay revenue to the artists who release on our label, from the subscriptions we get on Patreon. And we will update you regularly, what has been distributed. Also a part of being fair.
So, if you feel in any way that you want to become part of this, please subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/premierleaguerec
We are grateful for every support we can get, and will do our utmost to make it an awesome experience every month for you as well!
Thank you for your support!
Marco Svarda
Founder, Premier League Recordings
Want to hear some music? Our first release: Mykynes — Any Given Day, is out now on Beatport and Spotify.
