Interview received: November 18, 2016.
What is your name?
MO.
Where are you located?
Tokyo, in Japan.
Do you save any materials, digital files, emails, physical materials related to your netlabel? Are you interested in organizing or archiving them?
No. but I’m interested to do it, just not yet.
How and when did you first learn about net labels?
This is when my artist friend’s released his works at Maltine Records which is one of the biggest net label in Japan.
http://maltinerecords.cs8.biz/_green [http://maltinerecords.cs8.biz/_green_green]
What was the first netlabel you heard of?
Maltine Records.
What are some netlabels that inspired or influenced you? Or that you admire?
Strikes back records”逆襲レコード[gyakusyu record]”
http://www.amenbreak.net/records/_green http://www.amenbreak.net/records/_green_green
It’s because all the artists there were very characteristic, and this is where i released my own works. Unfortunately it’s now finished though.
What made you decide to start your own netlabel?
At the beginning I just wanted to release my own works.
What were the reasons you had to choose releasing music for free? And why did you choose to not release physical albums?
I thought with this way, our musics will be listen more by people.
What is the name of your net label?
AnythingRecords http://anythingrecords.esy.es/ [http://anythingrecords.esy.es/_green]
Why did you choose the name you chose?
I meant it to be that you can release any kinds of musics as it says.
When did you start your netlabel?
From October 2009.
What is the focus of you net label?
To make people who love minority genre musics enjoy.
Are your albums released under creative commons, copyleft or copyright? Why did you choose the method you chose?
We don’t declare any copyright at this label. It’s because there are a lot of illegal sampling within musics that’s been released at our label.
So we are trying to avoid unnecessary troubles.
What is your relationship to the artists that you release? Do you maintain any contact once you’ve released their work? Do you help promote them outside of their release itself?
The artists who released works at our label belongs to the label, but there is no restriction or supporting from this. We respect artists’s free will creation and working without boundaries.
How do you decide what artists you want to release? Do you approach them? Do they approach you? Do you have any specific guidelines that you follow? Do you act as a curator or is it all luck of the draw?
Normally relationship starts from emails from artists who wants to release their works. We don’t have specific conditions or rules as to release musics, so we just release them unless it’s terribly made musics.
How many albums have you released?
As of now 18th/Nov/2016 we have released 82 works.
Who are some of your most notable artists?
Every artists has certain characters and charms, but I say DJ CLONEPA among them, his Breakcore/IDM is always well made and superb.
Which are some of your most significant releases?
Any004 PASDEDEUX [albm] by DJ CLONEPA
Do you release your own work on your netlabel? What do you think of that practice?
Sorry to repeat the same answers, but my first motivation was to release my own works at the label, so I do it. But I don’t think about it too deep.
What do you enjoy about running your netlabel? What do you get out of it?
To be able to meet new unknown artist or genre, that’s the best.
What are some difficult things about running the label? Or what are some challenges?
It’s not that difficult i think, anybody can make net labels. If i have to say something, you may need some knowledge about internet or server system, wordpress etc. I guess. Also, there are a lot of net labels appearing nowadays, it might hard to find artists too.
Has anything about it been disappointing or frustrating?
There isn’t much. I’m enjoying!
How much time do you put into running the label? Approximate hours per day, week or month?
When there is nothing to release, I enjoy something else.
Can you describe all the work that you do on a regular basis in order to run your label?
To check download amount of released works.
Where do you share your releases? On your website? Free Music Archive? Internet Archive? Et al? A combination of these things?
By our website.
What do you do to promote your label?
Using twitter or other SNS to announce our activities.
Do you send releases out for review? If yes, is it traditional media review sites, magazines, blogs, etc. Or are there nontraditional methods?
Sometimes introduced by other blogs. Also, you can check listeners reactions from twitters.
How much success have you had in getting people to review your releases in magazines, blogs or websites? Any frustrations regarding this?
We normally don’t ask other media to review or introduce.
Have you had success in getting people in general to listen to your releases?
I don’t know how many people you need to call it success, but at least we have listeners although it’s not many.
Do you feel that the lack of a physical object vinyl, cassette, eight track, etc. is a hindrance to building an audience? To getting any media to pay attention? If yes, why do you think that is the case?
I don’t feel problems.
In addition to promotion, publicity and releasing albums do you organize live performances or festivals for your artists?
No we don’t.
How do you finance your netlabel, including the labor you put into it?
We’ve been running with very few budget, so we are managing to make it run with our own money. (Also we are enjoying doing so we don’t care much about labouring ourselves)
What do you think about Bandcamp and any similar music hosting sites?
I think these are good services.
Do you think netlabels are sustainable? If yes, what do you think the future is for them? Should there be more?
There are a lot of net labels that’s closing down because or losing of motivation, or not being able to achieve artists etc.. But unless these things happens, I think it’s sustainable for sure. And yes, if you can establish unique and characteristic net label, I welcome, and I want a lot to exist.
Does your netlabel align with any political or philosophical positions or thoughts? Do you get involved with politics at all as a net label?
I prefer not mentioning.
How do you feel that netlabels as a phenomenon overlap with any other artist practices cassette trading, mail art, etc? Is there any overlap with podcasts, podfiction/netfiction, or any other art that is distributed for free?
I don’t know about it.
Are you aware of a chronological history of netlabels? If yes, what is it?
If you want to know about history of net labels in Japan, please have a look at this website:
http://www.jarchive.org/akami/aka051.pdf
http://www.jarchive.org/akami/aka051.pdf_green
netlabel interview project 