Do we really need record labels?

I was very sad to hear that one of the better bands in metal, The Project Hate MCMXCIX, parted way with their record label, Vic Records, after only one record because they didn’t have the money to record their latest album. I guess it’s not easy to have a band on your roster who doesn’t tour.

The new album is written and just needs the funding to get recording. One great thing about Lord K, the main man behind the band, is that he cares a lot about the sound quality. The music sounds so much better in flac than in mp3 and proper speakers / headphones of course helps a lot 🙂 *hint* Slayer and Metallica.

The band has been searching for a new record label, but has decided to try a donation experiment to see if they can get the money needed to do the recording through generous metal heads instead of a record label. I suggested that he tried kickstarter, but I guess he just wanted a low-tech email solution.

It is going to be extremely exciting how this works out. The internet and p2p networks has to a large degree in the mainstream media been associated with destroying the music industry. This is our chance to show that it can also be used to create music.