Guide to Starting Your Own Record Label
Texas Music Office
Getting Started: Building a Music Business Plan
Practical steps and resources to help you learn the basics, research your market, and outline costs before you launch.
Step 1: Read these books first
- Brabec, Jeffrey and Todd Brabec. Music, Money, and Success: The Insider's Guide to Making Money in the Music Business (New York: Schirmer Trade Books, 2008; sixth edition)
- Kusek, David and Gerd Leonhard. The Future of Music (Boston: Berklee Press, 2005)
- Passman, Donald. All You Need To Know About The Music Business (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012; eighth edition)
- Review: Copyrights, Trademarks and General Music Business Information.
- Visit a local bookstore or library and pick at least one “How To Start A Small Business” book. If your library doesn’t have what you need, request it through interlibrary loan (ILL).
Step 2: Get hands-on experience
Intern or work part-time with at least two of the following: a record label, record distributor, radio station, or record store.
Step 3: Begin your business plan
Key cost areas to outline:
- Recording
- Manufacturing
- Marketing
- Distribution
- Publicity
- Administration
- Travel
- Labor
- Website development
Key questions to answer: How many releases per year? What resources/collateral do you have? Where will investors come from? What local resources can help you prepare your plan?
Texas Secretary of State offers Business Organization FAQs. The Governor’s Office Economic Development and Tourism provides information on starting a business in Texas and assistance for small businesses.
Step 4: Research your plan
- Talk with independent label buyers at local record stores. Ask which distributors they prefer (and why).
- Talk with distributors in Texas and across the U.S. to understand terms and costs.
- Assess foreign markets for export or licensing opportunities.
- Discuss your ideas with other independent record labels in Texas and nationally.
- Call five CD duplicators for bids for your first-year release schedule.
- Call at least five recording studios for bids for your first-year recording schedule.
- Estimate two years of rent and recurring overhead.
- Decide how you want to structure your business. Once you have a draft plan, review it with a CPA or an organization like Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts.
Step 5: Use TMO resources
The Texas Music Office provides contact information for musical acts across the state.