Labels and Promotion.

On 2011-09-12 20:53, Basilisk wrote:
I'm not sure if this was mentioned but these days it appears to be important to have a specific label sound, as Parvati, Nano, Zenon, and other successful labels do. This is in complete opposition to the diversity of the major labels in the 1990s; just think of Blue Room or Matsuri, for instance. There were some common threads running through their catalogues but many risky and experimental releases as well. I founded Ektoplazm (the label) with the goal of releasing a very diverse range of psytrance, taking a cue from the old school giants. There is no "Ektoplazm sound", nor do my sets conform to any particular style (my specialty is diversity, mixing between styles instead of within them). This, I have found, is not a great promotional strategy for the Internet era. For whatever reason, psytrance consumers dislike surprises; they want new music that fits previously established parameters in exchange for brand loyalty (e.g. blind purchases, increased prestige). Focusing on a single sound, to me, seems appallingly boring; I couldn't imagine spending year after year promoting small variations on a theme, DJing pretty much the same thing over and over again. But I'm in the minority, I suspect. Organizers want a dependable, standardized product. On some level this seems antithetical to psychedelic culture... but of course it makes good business sense. For this reason, focusing on diversity as a label owner or DJ is not something I would recommend to anyone seeking success in the psytrance world. Specialization, just like networking, appears to be essential to getting anywhere in this scene.

On 2011-09-12 21:03, Beat Agency wrote:

Quote:

On 2011-09-12 20:53, Basilisk wrote: I'm not sure if this was mentioned but these days it appears to be important to have a specific label sound, as Parvati, Nano, Zenon, and other successful labels do. This is in complete opposition to the diversity of the major labels in the 1990s; just think of Blue Room or Matsuri, for instance. There were some common threads running through their catalogues but many risky and experimental releases as well. I founded Ektoplazm (the label) with the goal of releasing a very diverse range of psytrance, taking a cue from the old school giants. There is no "Ektoplazm sound", nor do my sets conform to any particular style (my specialty is diversity, mixing between styles instead of within them). This, I have found, is not a great promotional strategy for the Internet era. For whatever reason, psytrance consumers dislike surprises; they want new music that fits previously established parameters in exchange for brand loyalty (e.g. blind purchases, increased prestige). Focusing on a single sound, to me, seems appallingly boring; I couldn't imagine spending year after year promoting small variations on a theme, DJing pretty much the same thing over and over again. But I'm in the minority, I suspect. Organizers want a dependable, standardized product. On some level this seems antithetical to psychedelic culture... but of course it makes good business sense. For this reason, focusing on diversity as a label owner or DJ is not something I would recommend to anyone seeking success in the psytrance world. Specialization, just like networking, appears to be essential to getting anywhere in this scene.

You nail it and this is exactly why this scene is down the drain IMO. There's very little room for experimentation IF you seek gigs or releases on labels. Of course if you could not care less and just wanna have fun in the studio then you should flip the bird to the whole scene and do your thing

On 2011-09-12 21:03, Beat Agency wrote:

Quote:

On 2011-09-12 20:53, Basilisk wrote: I'm not sure if this was mentioned but these days it appears to be important to have a specific label sound, as Parvati, Nano, Zenon, and other successful labels do. This is in complete opposition to the diversity of the major labels in the 1990s; just think of Blue Room or Matsuri, for instance. There were some common threads running through their catalogues but many risky and experimental releases as well. I founded Ektoplazm (the label) with the goal of releasing a very diverse range of psytrance, taking a cue from the old school giants. There is no "Ektoplazm sound", nor do my sets conform to any particular style (my specialty is diversity, mixing between styles instead of within them). This, I have found, is not a great promotional strategy for the Internet era. For whatever reason, psytrance consumers dislike surprises; they want new music that fits previously established parameters in exchange for brand loyalty (e.g. blind purchases, increased prestige). Focusing on a single sound, to me, seems appallingly boring; I couldn't imagine spending year after year promoting small variations on a theme, DJing pretty much the same thing over and over again. But I'm in the minority, I suspect. Organizers want a dependable, standardized product. On some level this seems antithetical to psychedelic culture... but of course it makes good business sense. For this reason, focusing on diversity as a label owner or DJ is not something I would recommend to anyone seeking success in the psytrance world. Specialization, just like networking, appears to be essential to getting anywhere in this scene.

You nail it and this is exactly why this scene is down the drain IMO. There's very little room for experimentation IF you seek gigs or releases on labels. Of course if you could not care less and just wanna have fun in the studio then you should flip the bird to the whole scene and do your thing

On 2011-09-12 20:53, Basilisk wrote:
I'm not sure if this was mentioned but these days it appears to be important to have a specific label sound, as Parvati, Nano, Zenon, and other successful labels do. This is in complete opposition to the diversity of the major labels in the 1990s; just think of Blue Room or Matsuri, for instance. There were some common threads running through their catalogues but many risky and experimental releases as well. I founded Ektoplazm (the label) with the goal of releasing a very diverse range of psytrance, taking a cue from the old school giants. There is no "Ektoplazm sound", nor do my sets conform to any particular style (my specialty is diversity, mixing between styles instead of within them). This, I have found, is not a great promotional strategy for the Internet era. For whatever reason, psytrance consumers dislike surprises; they want new music that fits previously established parameters in exchange for brand loyalty (e.g. blind purchases, increased prestige). Focusing on a single sound, to me, seems appallingly boring; I couldn't imagine spending year after year promoting small variations on a theme, DJing pretty much the same thing over and over again. But I'm in the minority, I suspect.

The one,s who are able to stay float are those who are constantly striving to create something new.

On 2011-09-13 13:20, disco hooligans wrote:
I love diversity of the best kind... This is why I reach to different labels that specialise in each style and push forward in a certain direction and yield the most interesting results.
That is from a listener's point of view that knows what's up.
If I was cluless about what I like, I would not mind a site that has a bit of everything. Not saying that cluless listeners is what Ektoplazm is best for, just saying that people that follow the music, know where to go to quench their thirst for variety, of the best kind.

Peace out.

On 2011-09-13 12:21, disco hooligans wrote:
I believe that labels with a certain direction have more chances of getting a fan base that will blindly buy their releases because a lot of listeners do know what they want. Ektoplazm's output is a lot more "random" than the output of Blue Room for example. It ranges from Dubstep, to 170+BPM madness.

On 2011-09-13 12:21, disco hooligans wrote:
Having a label with a certain output does not mean "limitation" it means "direction", which is very important in order to have a dedicated fan base that will support your efforts.

On 2011-09-13 22:26, supergroover wrote:
And how much did that promotion cost them? And how much did they make with the release?