I have been a musician, band member, songwriter all of my life and believe me I know how hard it is and how expensive it is to find promotion in this industry. It has led me to a point where I have to believe that the number of labels, promoters, producers, and distributors out there who are in their trade simply for the love of music and belief in the art of it are few and far between. Their goals are commercial success, and I say good for them. After all this is America.
The label I am building is being built on the foundation of the love, the appreciation, and the respect for the creative artist. The goal and basic premise of this label is to help aspiring musicians and writers obtain some help in promoting their craft with little, or no cost to the artist. I am hopeful to perform a drop/ship type manufacturing setup where CD's are manufactured and shipped to the customer by one distribution company with no upfront costs to the artist. The distributor is paid his cost through the sale, the label will be paid it's cost through the distributor (which will be a small percentage to be reinvested in further promoting artists who are selling under our name), the artist receives the balance. These terms will be presented to any artist added to the roster to sign a simple distribution form, or contact me at wayne_underwood@yahoo.com for specifics.
The name Choice Records came about under the simple premise that it will be the artists' choice to belong. We will not be genre specific, but of course there will be guide lines to follow concerning artists we will promote. The first, foremost, and ultimate rule is: Nothing distasteful, I am not racist and will not promote it; violence will not be promoted; hatred will not be promoted; we will reserve the right to place a rating on certain language used in lyrics, or certain phrases concerning sex. It is not a Leave It To Beaver world we live in, but there are certain lines that should not be crossed.
As this formation progresses all that are involved with founding this label will be listed with their own personal contact info, including artists. No matter how big anyone becomes I don't believe they should hide behind whatever company they work with and should remain accessible, as much as possible, to the people who built their success.....their fans and the public. That is not a rule, but my own personal belief.
Wayne Underwood
