I’m launching a record label and I need producers. Is that you?
Record Labels make stuff happen. There are gigs, videos, interviews, tours, magazine articles, festivals, merchandise. Remixes and collaborations too. Thinking of what I do as a record label/ artist is a great generative metaphor?
If I think of what I do as a record label, am I creating or joining a scene? Do I need to make promotional videos for my releases? Who are my influences? What are my gigs like? Is there another style of music we have beefs with?
This metaphor is great. Let’s keep going and see where we end up
As a creative I need producers. I’ve spent the last few years practising my scales and chords and writing some lyrics and songs. But when I get in the studio I need a producer else I just play rubbish. Many bands you know have no idea what their good stuff is. A good producer gets bands to make the best stuff, throw away the crap, and extracts the best performances.
I need the same. I talk to people and we say the greatest things that we’d never otherwise say. Ideas come from messing with reframes.
Problems can be dissolved after a whole bunch of reframes leaves you thinking about something in a totally different way.
New ideas arrive the same way.
As a record label I’ll need an office. The sort of place with the right vibe - even if it’s a spare bedroom full of boxes of 12” singles.
Some record labels have a vibe, a style, so you know a release when you see it. And if you’re like me, you might buy stuff because you trust the label.
A record label is like a creative container for a whole load of output.
Here is a huge visual of the things that could be connected to a record label and artist. It’s much more than an artist creating records - but it’s all related to that.
A record label is a creative container for releasing and promoting stuff that people want. (Hey who are my people. What do they wear? Are they the cool kids or the nerds)
So that’s why an artist/record label a great metaphor for what I do. There are lots of analogies for releases, gigs, magazine interviews, critics and beefs in the world my visual work lives in.
This image is based on the first image, but mixes up what I do with what a record label releasing music might do.
And then this image.
So I’m thinking of running my Visual Consultancy and Coaching business, mikehaber.co using the metaphor of a record label.
What might this mean?
Well it might look a bit like this:
I write up ideas for workshops. These are like record releases.
I run workshops. These are like gigs.
I have hugely helpful conversations with people that produce ideas. This is what producers do. Should they get a credit?
I make youtube videos. Music videos.
Podcast interviews? Maybe.
Meet-ups are like gigs too, but with free pizza.
For me, with my interest in record labels this metaphor is super helpful.
Let’s see how this goes. Let me know if you can help with production and creating a scene.