Something to write home about...

To some extent, independent labels have always traded on reputation, the most successful of whom become taste makers within their locality, scene, or genre through no more than putting out consistently good records. This builds a level of trust between the label and the fan, who knows that any record released by the label will have a stamp of quality.

In the early 1980s, Sub Pop Records began as a fanzine (Subterranean Pop), before taking their first steps in to becoming a record label by issuing compilation tapes alongside the fanzine. However, it was with the Sup Pop Singles Club that the label cemented its place in history. The first release on the singles club, that sent subscribers a single on 7" record on a monthly basis, was the debut sing'e by small Aberdeen, Washington band Nirvana - their cover of Love Buzz, originally by Dutch band Shocking Blue. At its peak the singles club had over 2000 subscribers and paved the way for Sub Pop to be the premier label in the grunge scene.

The 2000 plus subscribers to the Sub Pop Singles Club were not aware of what records would be coming their way, but they trusted the label's taste and quality control.

During the 90s, a period that saw many many independent labels becoming imprints for major labels, and punk, grunge, and rock now firmly placed within the mainstream, the power of the independent label to become taste makers in the way that Sub Pop had wained. However, with the rise of the internet, and the increased inviability of old business models, we can see that independent labels' role as curators is returning.

The first example of this that came to my attention was Big Scary Monsters and their 'BSM '10 Collection'. For £17 customers would be sent one mp3 per week, 52 mp3s over the entire year, from both Big Scary Monsters' artists as well as new music from artists who are on other labels, and even some unsigned music. No tracklisting was announced at the time of the launch, and fans were essentially asked to place their trust in BSM to provide them with music that they would love on a weekly basis. The label has been going for nearly a decade and has recently celebrated it's 100th release. Over that time it has cultivated a reputation as one of the best independent labels in the UK, allowing a project such as this to be successful.

While BSM has shown that it is possible to use an already established reputation to make money directly from the role of curator, Northampton based label Lazy Acre Records are running their "Full Stop to Bad Pop" campaign. Full Stop to Bad Pop is a monthly record club that releases digital downloads of records for free. Here Lazy Acre is using the role of curator to build the reputation and become a taste maker. It is a no risk investment, both by the label and by the customer - digital downloads allow for cost free distribution, and the customer is able to try out the service without paying. It is the hope, on the label's part, that if the customer enjoys the records in the club, that they will form a relationship with the label and check out future releases.

Culturally I believe it is essential that we have these curators operating within the music industry. It builds relationships between artists, labels and fans, and what could be more culturally important within music than people sharing music that they love with each other? It is how most music fans discover new artists, and the desire to share is a massive part of being a music fan.

Without the rise of the internet we may not have seen this return to the role of labels as curators and taste makers. Digital distribution allows even the smallest label to begin to build reputations at zero cost, whereas more established labels can use digital technologies to build new business models based around the role of curator.