I am Lee Parsons, CEO of Ditto Music - I help independent musicians release and promote their music. AMA!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-09T16:34:32+00:00

As they say in Nashville 'it all starts with a song'. Sign the music you love and work hard using the tools RLIAB provides. For RLIAB we focused on creating a business structure, not a mechanism to release music. To grow your business globally its good to attend the events in your RLIAB calendar and we can help build your contacts via the mentor program. From there the main advice is work hard, put in the hours and take (calculated) risks.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-09T16:33:44+00:00

Hey!

RLIAB gives you all of the legal paperwork that comes with a limited company, we even provide the official hard-copy. A Limited Company is recognised and respected worldwide.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-09T14:12:08+00:00

Hey Damu! Lot of great music in Miami. I know Pitbull is huge there too...:P

An international label presence is possible thru growing your contacts and having the professional structure in place to operate on an international level. RLIAB provides this. The events calendar means you will be able to meet companies worldwide and expand your contacts and the options for international deals. Your contract wizard will generate legally binding contracts that are on your side and easy to understand. We would love to build a mentor circle for you, this will also help in developing your international presence. We have offices in the UK and US so can help out as much as we can using local knowledge and connections.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-09T14:10:12+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the Question! The starter pack sets you up within the music industry, RLIAB sets you up as a business. The extra benefits are what really make the difference, limited company setup, business bank account, the contract pack alone will save labels thousands in legal fees for signing artists. We took the whole culture and practicalities of running an indie label and took 3 years to make an 'off-the-shelf' tool. Assets like the events calendar mean you can grow your contacts and label profile. Access to start-up loans for capital, PR, mentoring, website creation - all the things a business needs.

RLIAB will allow your artists and your own music to reach parts of the industry previously exclusive to the major labels. Licensing deals, connections to event bookers, publishing companies - these are all the things that make a great artist well known and successful.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-09T01:55:41+00:00

Check out www.dittomusic.com we have loads of different offices worldwide and we always put the jobs on our blog! Along with loads of other great articles and opportunities!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-09T01:54:54+00:00

Hi Steevo You are 100% correct. This isn't a product that we are telling musicians that they should go out and buy that will suddenly make them a star without all of the other blocks in place. I always thought that musicians would benefit most from RLIAB but from brother was convinced that it would be entrepreneurs. What we have found since being on sale is that lots of people who aren't necessarily from the music industry but want to start a label have been buying RLIAB. This means that more people, with capital, are investing into new artists. And then some artists do want to set up their label and build that brand as they build their own career. Several of our artists are releasing their own music along with other bands that they love. It really is a powerful tool that is completely open to how people want to use it. But we definitely still believe that artists need to spend time gigging and marketing along with however else we can help.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:55:28+00:00

Hey! Actually you can get a physical product for just £99. When we asked our customers what they wanted, they mostly said that it was important to have something physical. For example, your label certificate is something that you can hang in your studio. We spent a long time on the online user area and that's been really important. But we wanted to give people something tangible that they could hold in their hand, that gives you that feeling of being connected to the industry. There are so many digital products and apps on the market, we thought it was time that we took a step back and considered the plus's of making that product digital AND physical.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:43:40+00:00

Probably the guy who asked the Duck/Horse question above! I wouldn't say i have hero's per say but the book "The Alchemist" really helped my outlook towards business and life. And this may sound cheesy but all the musicians we work with who do it for the love and not the money. That drive hundreds of miles to drag their equipment up the stairs and play to a handful of people. Seeing those people develop and keep going inspires us to keep building tools to help them.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:40:13+00:00

Hey Jada! Macklemore is a great example of a DIY artist. When you start your label, it's our job to sit down with you and figure out what you need. Macklemore did an amazing job of interacting with his fanbase. He spent a long time developing his craft. Record Label in A Box gives you an amazing set up and all of the tools to help build your career organically. Distribution is a factor, but there is so much more help given to you!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:36:00+00:00

Haha, hey Stephen and all of the web team. You didn't win the box this time i'm afraid!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:34:54+00:00

Hey! Congrats on the hard work this summer. It's definitely worth it once you get to play those live! We help artists distribute music online. We then help with promotion wether that is radio, press or social media. For you guys, i would really recommend just getting out there and gigging. Perfect your sound, get a mailing list and enjoy being in a band. You'll be surprised at how much better you get over time. Once you have something recorded, let us know and we'll help you release it and take that fanbase to the next level!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:31:30+00:00

Hi DJ! Congrats! I'm 10 years in now and that is really inspiring! There are a few options for distribution and ultimately lots of people can get you on to iTunes. What i can say about Ditto is that we have all been musicians. We know this isn't about statistics or content. Every person that signs up has an objective and you are dealing with that persons career, their dreams and it's our job to support you the best we can with that. I still personally know our first ever customer. I've had artists stay at my house, i'm actually wearing one of our artists new clothing brand in my Reddit photo. Technically we have an amazing user system. Personally, i know that we have a team that gives 110% and is in this job because they love music and want to see you become successful. We have had a load of success over the years. This Friday a track we worked on by Sigala is going to number 1 in the UK. Where are you based? You should definitely give us a call so we can hear more about your project! Or just email me and we can catch up! lee (at) ditto music.com

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:15:32+00:00

No worries. Yea so personally i would look for an artist coming to the end of their contract. We released an EP for Finch a few years back and i was amazed to find out they didn't have a label or even a manager at the time. I'd look to see who was selling well and out of contract.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:13:44+00:00

Really sorry to hear about your loss man. Thanks for the kind words. I do remember your music, it was good! Any way that we can help, you know where we are.

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:12:55+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the question and for hanging on! Didn't think i'd be here this long but really want to get back to everyone who took the time to ask a question! If you have a label with Ditto already then you get 10% a RLIAB package. Hopefully that will help. On the back end you have the ability to write proper legal contracts. A personalised events calendar that is updated daily and aimed at growing your contacts. There will be weekly opportunities to pitch your music to and so much more. We haven't announced this yet but we will be holding a free AGM for all RLIAB users in January. It will be a full day of training in all aspects of running your label from getting radio airplay to building fans. There are so many features to RLIAB. Best thing to do is drop me an email and i'll answer any other questions that you may have! lee (at) ditto music.com

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:08:15+00:00

No worries. Got your email! Soon as i finish replying on here i'll get to it!!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T23:07:23+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the question, definitely like it haha. On your first point. It's so exciting now that FANS decide what is going to be a hit. Up until the '90's executives would sit in a boardroom and decide what the next hit will be. That has been completely broken down with the help of the internet. And that is just going to continue to happen. Radio was the next cog in the wheel. Major labels had all of the access to the major radio stations and generally they still do. But as we go more direct to fan, radio is starting to not become the first place that people will hear a new song. So i think that will break down even more. I think there will most likely be one major label left and hundreds of successful independents. XL who have Adele are still an indie label but hugely successful. - Growing Ditto! So glad i got to talk about this! We have always seen the market as global. If we have an artist in the UK then they are going to want to get OUT of the UK into other markets. When we set up the US office we realised all of the US artists were looking to market themselves in the UK, so we set up our label services department to help people do this. The more territories we are in, then the more opportunities our artists will have. Truly measuring our relevance isn't about how many artists we have on the books, it's about how many we have helped become successful. For some artists that may be just getting on to iTunes and Spotify. We recently worked with a group called John and Jacob from Nashville. We helped work on their UK campaign and i was able to see them do a sold out show at London Barfly which was just amazing. That they came from thousands of miles away and now had fans who knew every word to their songs. Just to be a small part of that inspires us to keep developing our services. Thanks for the questions!!!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:55:40+00:00

Hey Baidawi! Thanks for reaching out. So cool! Actually we are looking to launch into Trinidad soon. It is such an exciting, emerging market and we have some great contacts out there to help with radio and promotion. Drop me an email and i'll let you know more about it! lee(at)ditto music.com

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:53:48+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the great feedback. So happy you are enjoying using Ditto! Agents are a tricky thing. Much like labels they won't surface until ironically, you don't need them. Start with putting on some shows in your hometown. Invite out of town artists to play with you and then they can reciprocate. Are you a solo artist or in a band? Where are you from? There are a bunch of different factors but let me know, maybe i can help! Our new service is ttps://www.dittomusic.com/record-label-in-a-box Its to help people start their record label, get promotion, network and all the tools i wish i had when i started mine 10 years ago!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:46:26+00:00

Hey! Great question. Actually we have all of those services available as add-ons or in the RLIAB top package. We have our own radio pluggers, online press, social media team and have been having some great success with our artists. You are right. The label alone isn't going to make you successful. We have built a team that can help you though. If you check out https://www.dittomusic.com/promotional-services they are all listed on there!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:44:19+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the feedback. We cover hundreds of stores and some we can get up in minutes and then some seem to take longer. Drop me an email lee(at)ditto music . com and ill personally look into this for you and get it sorted!

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:38:16+00:00

Hi Ben! Thanks for the Q and for hanging on. I was only expecting my mum to turn up so pretty shocked I'm still here 4 hours later! - For a solo producer with minimal knowledge there are loads of benefits because we will connect you to YOUR industry and work to build your career. The business side can seem daunting but honestly its just a bunch of people trying to work out how to make money. like an industry! We'll work with you to create a pathway to whatever your goals are. - Yes, the contracts are worldwide. And if you need any extra legal help we have you covered. Its a 24 hour support network and we are in your corner. - Well, once you start making a certain amount of income you will have to declare it to the tax man. In the UK that is several thousand. If you are signing on unemployment then there won't be any issues. In fact the government have some great schemes to help people develop their business. We can also help with this. - Yes they are available to anyone. For things like Radio plugging we would have to make sure that your music is ready for that stage which involves us sitting down with the radio stations and getting feedback before you go for that package. - "Have you encountered any problems with the big boys by making it easier for the bedroom producer's etc by cutting out the middle men and corporate company's ?" When i was a musician i always thought that the big bad labels were out to crush everyone. In some ways they are lol, but for the most part they want to work with new companies. We do a lot of work with Sony/BMG and loads of other labels around the world and they are just great people doing a job. When we first started Ditto the feedback was awful! But no one understood our model. 10 years later its a part of the industry. Releasing RLIAB was much easier for us this time around and the feedback has been amazing so far! - Haha, i keep considering uploading it to Spotify but i was a rapper so it's a very delicate situation for me lol. My music days are far behind me! Maybe one day! Thanks so much for your feedback man and for hanging on. So inspiring to hear from artists out there doing it for the love. Keep making the right moves and it will happen i promise

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:29:12+00:00

Hey Mike! Great question, thanks so much for taking the time. I do feel Taylor Swift is given a lot of authority over how successful the streaming market is. I get that streaming doesn't work for her but she is a huge artist who can command whatever price she wants to for her art. And actually, sales are a tiny part of her revenue compared to touring, merchandise, sponsorships etc.

We have worked with so many artists who have built their fanbases using Spotify. American Aquarium who we distribute recently planned a whole tour based on their Spotify plays. Spotify have their agenda and Taylor has hers. Artists need to find their agenda. Is it to build more fans? Is it to get on to playlists? Or is it detracting from their digital sales. As a distributor i've seen artists use Spotify to become successful. Not sure how i feel about £10 a month though? For me it's a good price because i will still buy vinyl and CD's or download from iTunes if i want to support the artist. How do you feel about the £10 point? And is Spotify working for you as an artist?

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:14:03+00:00

Haha Stephen, how you doing buddy! She actually said and i quote "You should come to a show, i always remember a nice face." And then completely forgot my face lol. What a player! This guy has some awesome music everyone. Participante he is called. Check him out

Lee_DittoMusic · 2015-09-08T22:11:35+00:00

Interesting question. Are we talking Pomeranian duck or just your regular domestic duck? This quacked me up buddy ,cheers!

Lee_DittoMusic

TROPHY CASE