In his weekly Indie Mixtape email, music critic and author Steven Hyden introduced the idea of a Record Label Draft. This is how it works: You are starting a record label. You get five picks. You can pick them in any order, but you must have one of each category, as listed below. Also: This is not an all-time draft — you are picking artists/bands as they stand right now. (You are not allowed to pick Led Zeppelin circa 1971.) The categories are below in bold with my responses below in bullets. My friend Ray over at raysmusings.com tagged me in this concept and I will do my best to rise to the occasion and obey the parameters. But no promises. I like what I like and don’t want to compromise haha!
Sacred Cow — A band or artist you sign purely out of personal love.
- There are so many possible choices for this one. Powerhouses is great renown like Alanis Morissette, Jennifer Nettles, Over the Rhine. This list could be endless in the what-ifs. But Nerina Pallot gets the choice spot. I have followed her music career for 22 years now. Seven studio full length albums. Three studio “tour albums” that are either covers or re-worked songs from the album she is on tour promoting. Twenty seven EPs and a smattering of non-album soundtrack compilations and non-album singles. She releases music in the way in which I consume it and for that she firmly secures the sacred position on my imaginary label.
Prestige Artist — Someone who doesn’t do big commercial numbers but gets great reviews and/or is a legacy act.
- Nikka Costa has never released a poor album. Even Pro*Whoa grew on me over time. Ranging from rock and funk to pop and lush string orchestrations she can do it all. Always a critics darling and a dedicated fan base she just hasn’t fully smashed the main stream yet.
High Streamer — Someone who is largely ignored by the media but does big streaming numbers.
- The band Garbage at the time of writing this gas 514,950,322 streams on Spotify since their music was added in 2011. I know from my forum memberships most of their fans buy the physical product and being slightly indie those sales figures are harder to locate and not worth my time for the means of this blog. Everything they release contains a quality level unmatched by other bands of the 90s and early 00s and I would find it to be the greatest honor to have them on my label and allow them to make exactly the kind of art they want to make. With all the wild promotional tactics that make them memorable.
Solo Artist 28 Years Or Younger — A person with a lot of potential upside that you can lock in for a long time.
- Jensen McRae had the voice, the presence, the words, the musical knowledge and Melodie’s to be a household name. She is only on her debut and still garnering so much press and becoming an absolute critics darling and dream. I am excited to see what’s next on the horizon for her as the album of songs she released this year were all written in 2017-2018. Following her on TikTok we know she has almost 3,000 songs written and demoed from her bedroom studio. She won’t hurt for content in her career I can assure that.
Band with three or fewer albums — Same as above but a band. (I take "same" to refer to potential upside rather than 28 years or younger).
- The super group Pistol Annies (Ashley Monroe, Miranda Lambert, and Angaleena Presley) secure this spot. They have three studio albums and one holiday album. I cannot accept the holiday album as a breaking point for the three albums or less metrics because it’s not exactly something that can be played year round and so shouldn’t be counted in the summer when I am writing this. These ladies have the vocal chops, the song writing ability, and are an absolute master class in self promotion and drawing in their fan base. They have never done more than a three date tour as their band and I think that is a loss. I have seen them on tour doing a 25-30 minute set during Miranda Lambert’s arena tours and let me be the one to inform you that the whole arena erupts with joy. It’s a palpable sweeping feeling throughout the venue when they take the stage. The cheering and screaming is louder. The amount of singing along is stronger and louder. These ladies could easily tour as a trio based off their material and the songs they’ve co-written for their solo albums. Hands down I would bring them onto my label and help them start booking a true tour and spread their gospel to the world.
