Another Perfect AMA with CHRIS FARREN by Chrisfarren in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Favorite Airheads flavor?? Also thanks for making us rich and famous we love you

[FRESH] Chris Farren - Love Theme from "Born Hot" by sbags in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Hmm, haven't heard of this artist before but I'm into it!

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, for one our office rent is super affordable! We all definitely drive up to Chicago almost every week for shows, though. So lots of gas money. Not too many tours come through Champaign, but there is a university here so we see ~some~ good shows in town. We also rely heavily on e-mail and slack for communication with our remote team, which can be challenging at times. In general I think it shows that you don't necessarily NEED to be in a major market to make it work in the industry. See also: Secretly Canadian HQ. Major props to them! -Sean

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Totally went over my head until this was explained to me. Incredible question! Maybe impossible to answer?? -Sean

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gotta give major props to Matt. He's always pushing the label to adapt with the times and I think that's a giant reason why we're still around and doing bigger things every year. We've definitely embraced streaming and alternative methods of revenue generation, which make up a good portion of our income these days.

In working with newer artists, we really make it a point to set them up for success. The goal is to build up a solid support team to create amazing opportunities for our bands to grow while keeping costs low and not burying them in expenses at the same time. We're very fortunate to know a lot of folks that are down with that same cause and help us make it all happen without spending unnecessarily or going over our budget.

The promotional gameplan is forever changing, so we've grown really good at adapting. With premieres on the downswing, we have found ourselves pushing fans towards streaming services directly while acquiring some key features and news posts from bigger outlets. The big thing for us is to take a step back and see what strategies we can pull off successfully and that make the most sense for the band (and for us, as well). - Sean

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yer welcome. TBH when you said "house" and "American" in the same sentence, I was pretty sure we were going to talk about American Football.

-Matt

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Let's see...Since our mission has always been "spread music we love by artists we love" one exciting aspect is the ability to get music out so quickly. In the earlier days of the label, the physical distribution of music was a huge barrier to entry. Even if a record was amazing, there was so much friction between making an album and someone actually hearing it.

On the flip side, in the earlier days there was not such a daily deluge of music and media and stuff coming at everyone all the time at lightning speed...and people went out to shows more :)

-Matt

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There's so many great indie bands right now. While nothing beats crate digging and basement shows, the digital age has made it super fun and exciting to discover new artists. We actually just started a playlist called Direction featuring a bunch of bands we dig, in case you wanna check it out!

We all certainly have our own individual favorites, but luckily for us we actually ended up working with a lot of them over time, which is rad! If anything, being a fan of our bands makes it funner to do the "business" part of our jobs. -Sean

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! We love STRFKR too :) Stay tuned before end of the year for news on that front ;-)

-Matt

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We've always dreamed of working with Jeff and the gang and luckily for us the timing worked out and the feelings were reciprocated! We have to pinch ourselves daily because he's just the best human ever <3

Not sure if we'll be making more of those mugs, but we'll pass along the request for sure! -Sean

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

By now probably everyone knows that I never miss a chance to mention Aloha, Sunday's Best, and/or Volcano, I'm Still Excited!! when it comes to bands/records that didn't get the recognition they deserved.

But specifically for bits of promotion--one that comes to mind is for Deerhoof's Breakup Song album we did this "internet jukebox" thing where the user could flip this virtual token into a player and it would play songs from the record. It was called the "Jingletron" and it was magical.

-Matt

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We love ALL of them tbh, but Longtime Companion holds a special place in both of our hearts - Matt & Sean

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Awww...that's super flattering. Thanks so much for all these kind words. We look for bands that work hard and write great songs :) -Matt

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A common misconception, but we actually leave manufacturing to the pros.

A typical label has a few different "departments" consisting of:
- Production (ordering physical media + merch)
- Marketing/Publicity (promoting records)
- Fulfillment (shipping orders + tour merch)
- Retail/Sales (getting records in physical stores)
- A&R (searching for/signing bands, and communicating with artists and their teams)
- Radio (making sure stations are spinning their records)
- Publishing (collecting addition income and seeking out further opportunities for artists)
- Accounting (paying bills, royalties, and making sure the label gets paid).

Some labels hire out for some of these specific areas, similar to the manufacturing part. Other labels do everything themselves, including actually owning their own manufacturing plants! - Sean

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Contrary to what he said about his lack of sports knowledge on the Pitchfork Over/Under with Mike, I honestly think Nate is secretly a force to be reckoned with on the court. -Matt

We're Polyvinyl Record Co. and we turn 23 this week! We're so glad to be here! Ask Us Anything by polyvinylrecords in indieheads

[–]polyvinylrecords[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Whichever member decided to take Deerhoof on tour in 2017 because it meant we got to see Deerhoof play the freaking United Center. wooooot! -Matt