The Canadian based record label Turbo Recordings founded in 1998 by Tiga is still going strong. On the first of April they announced a revolutionary new model for their music business. It would change the way of music consumption and distribution and would pave the way for world domination. Well maybe not that, but still, a very interesting message. We got in touch with Thomas von Party, who gave us more insight about the opportunities and pitfalls in the current business climate they are operating in. Oh and about that joke: we totally bought it, with our eyes closed we fell for it.
there's definitely a tendency to consume the new thing without having properly digested the last thing
You totally had us with your April fools messages about a new revolutionary music strategy! Even though that was a joke, are you guys thinking about the future of music distribution?
Yeah, there was a lot of truth to that joke. Everyone knows it's a tough business now, that the industry is in survival mode. To do well you have to basically branch out and run other businesses around merch, events, or management. It's incredibly hard to run a financially viable record label that does interesting stuff.
For now I just want to focus on our network of fans and supporters, by trying to offer them a better platform for our music. We just launched our own store with a subscription service that offers one week advances on releases, bonus exclusive tracks, access to a members only forum, etc. Check it out : shop-turbo.com.
I can't see a future where music distribution is much freer than it is now, but I do think that there is a way forward in creating niche communities around labels, artists and genres... I think some great blogs out there do that, and they are the model that labels like us have to follow, oddly enough, because that's what we're competing with.
We think your subscription service is a great idea, how did you come up with this and is it doing well?
I've wanted to do it for more than 2 years. We had a very hard time getting the site built. The original design was all in flash and quite elaborate. We had one programmer agree to do it and then break down and quit the project mid-way through. After that, we had a similar meltdown with another team, and in the end we simplified things a bit, made certain compromises, but were able to keep the essential qualities we had always wanted.
It's too early to tell if it will be financially successful. For me it's already a success because I believe we're offering the best possible experience for the real fans and supporters. You just can't predict if people are going to pay for music en masse these days, but I can guarantee that the ones that pay for our service will get their money's worth, and that means a lot to me. The Pro DJ package is really great... we give them music at the same time as we give to the star DJs... we'll also offer exclusives and sometimes guestlist, and basically just do our best to build a community out of it.
With music so freely available online, do you think it's still possible to make a decent profit out of music?
Depends what decent means to you. It's very tough. If you run a label and you are also the artist and you produce a load of tracks then, yeah, maybe you could make a good living. Otherwise, you better hope people pay to see you play with your computer on stage.
Radiohead chose to let the fans decide how much to pay for their album Rainbows. Would you ever consider doing something similar?
For some reason, that always bugged me. Of course it was brilliant publicity, and cool because no one had done it before, but it smacked of charity to me. I prefer to think there are ways to offer a better experience of getting music and that some people will feel they are still worth paying for.
It seems so many artists are pushing themselves trough the same channels that we sometimes feel overwhelmed by the huge amount of blogs and social networks. Can you still use these channels to find new blood?
Yes, absolutely. You should never blame the medium for lack of inspiration. All the blogs and free access to music are incredible stimulating, though they can also hinder real appreciation... there's definitely a tendency to consume the new thing without having properly digested the last thing. There was something to be said for days when you bought a new tape and you listened to it over and over because you didn't have so much music... you got everything you could from it. Nowadays people download complete discographies but they'll have a very hard time experiencing what all of that music means.
As far as A&R goes, it's absolutely shocking how many crap demos we get, but again, I believe great artists are out there waiting to be found in the sea of myspace. We found Proxy that way!
the endless droves of myspace profiles just makes you rely on your instincts more, and to be really ruthless
Aren't you afraid that you 'miss out' on great artists due to the huge amount of artist and profiles out there?
Not really. I listen to sooooo many demos... I honestly don't feel that I've missed THAT much. The endless droves of myspace profiles just makes you really on your instincts more, and to be really ruthless. If it doesn't feel special for you then move on.
Obviously I hear a lot of records that I wish were on Turbo but for the most part we've gotten almost exactly what I want to get out there. Obviously, when a band like MGMT comes along you kind of think to yourself... hmmm... would have been cool to have signed THEM, but for the most part, I feel good about our choices. Sei A was another one like that, but it looks like we may be signing his next album :)
Are there any online tools/social networks that you use to keep in touch with your fans?
It'd be funny if we didn't... yes, we're on EVERYTHING. It's so stupid... myspace, facebook, twitter, even regional ones like hyves, or loser ones like imeem... we're on all of it.
What is 'music' to Turbo? (the actual record, performance, social bonding perhaps?)
Music is a thing that makes you go hmmmmmm....
We came across the podcast series of the Sid Lee collective "Sid loves Turbo", what's the connection between you and them?
They're a Montreal based design agency / marketing gurus. Basically, they were fans of our work and we found a way to collaborate. They host our podcast and put out a few promotional CDs with all Turbo stuff on them in exchange for... I don't know... our COOL factor! Good deal for both of us, I guess... it's certainly nice to get a bit of support from that 'media' sphere.
We also saw that you've sent your Omnidance mixtape to Brazilian bal magician Ronaldinho. That seems quite random, or..?
Nothing could be less random... he's the coolest guy on the planet, no?
ps Omnidance isn't a mix-tape but an unmixed compilation ;)
Any plans for Turbo to branch out to other disciplines of creativity to maximize the spread of Turbo Charged products? Tiga doing stand-up or a talk show is inevitable.
I'd love us to have the chance to make more stuff... it's a little disheartening to focus so much energy on production of a totally archaic format. So who knows... CD cases, record bags, USB mini-subwoofers, energy drinks ;)
But yeah, comedy is probably the future...
