This week we’re talking with Reed Watson, a founding partner at Single Lock Records. Single Lock has released a litany of successful projects from the likes of Lera Lynn, Nicole Atkins, Erin Rae, Penny & Sparrow, Cedric Burnside, and many more.
Reed walks us through what a label release plan looks like, answers that ever-pressing question of “how do I get signed?”, and offers his advice to artists looking to take the next steps in their career.
TRANSCRIPT
Frank Keith 00:05
Hey, everyone. I’m Frank Keith, and welcome back to Music Rookie. This week I’m talking with Reed Watson, a founding partner at Single Lock Records, launched in 2013 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and recently expanded to New Orleans, Louisiana. Single lock has released a litany of successful albums EPs and seven inches from the likes of Lera Lynn, Nicole Atkins, Aaron Rae, Penny and Sparrow, Cedric Burnside, and many more.
Reed’s gonna walk us through what a label release looks like. answer that ever pressing question of how the hell do I get signed to a label, and he’ll offer his advice to artists looking to take the next steps in their career. He was a drummer by trade. And that’s actually how we met several years ago, probably, gosh, almost 10 years ago, now. He’s a good friend of mine. And I’ve been keeping up with Single Lock over the years. And it seems like everything they touch turns to gold, at least from where I’m sitting. Reed might have a different opinion of that. But I’ll let him speak to that as he’s on the other side of the line. But enough rambling, let’s jump right in and see what Reed has to say.
So let’s start with the basics view in Single Lock. Is it fair to call you guys an indie label?
Reed Watson 01:31
Absolutely. In probably more of a specific sense of the word than most labels would. I think that indie is sort of a word that pertains more to style these days than it does to actua,l like nuts and bolts. I believe we are very small, we are independent, we are independently funded. The only real thing that we have outside help on when it comes down to it is distribution. And independent distributors distributes us, which is secretly distribution out of Bloomington, Indiana. And so we’re really proud, you know, for the first time in a long time, every facet of what we do is an independent action. So that’s pretty cool. Helps us not get lost in the weeds and you know, stay focused on what really matters about this business. So yeah.
Frank Keith 02:40
Yeah, well, let’s talk about A&R for a bit. I know that’s a bit of an antiquated term. But what does that look like for you guys? How do you guys find new potential artists for your roster? And how big is your roster right now?
Reed Watson 02:56
We have, let’s see, probably around 15 active artists now. We have six records coming out this year. It’ll be when we release everything this year we will have released 53 releases in the length of the company’s history, which is about seven years. A&R is a weird thing. We’re different than a lot of other companies because we’re run by musicians. And, you know, I spend most of my time on the road, as does most of the other folks around here. And so a lot of our A&R honestly just comes from seeing other bands play out in the world. And, you know, I mean, like, I live in New Orleans now. But I go back and forth between New Orleans and Muscle Shoals. And, you know, I mean, especially for the Muscle Shoals contingency of the label. I mean, there’s not a lot of bands that come here to play a lot of shows, right, they come here to record and they leave. It’s just not a large place. New Orleans is a little bit better for that. But A&R for us is, is who we see out in the world when we’re out doing our other jobs. And also, you know, I believe, I believe really strongly in the trusted source, you know, and my most trusted source are my friends like you, you know, like people that I know that, you know, I mean, if they’re excited enough about something to share it with me, then we’ve probably got something worth talking about. I try to respond to everybody that sends, you know, cold calls to our info box and things like that. But we’ve never signed anything that way. We usually either know somebody that knows somebody or we happen to see something that’s excellent. And that’s pretty much how that works. There’s no real process to it. But we tend to look for and respond to things that could exist in multiple genres. We call this a post genre label, I hate genres and things like that, I don’t think that you know, music that’s interesting really falls into one box. And so that’s what we’re after. That’s what we’re looking for. And usually, that stuff finds you before you find it.
Frank Keith 05:35
So 53 releases in seven years might not sound like a lot to someone who’s super green.There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into each and every one of those releases. What does a release plan look like for you guys? Typically?
Reed Watson 05:55
Well, you know, I mean, that many releases, that’s, that’s a full album, seven inches, singles, things like that. But all of those things have a process to it, right? I mean, we focus really hard on our full album releases, physical and digital. So these days, especially in COVID, that’s about a six month lead time that you need to make sure your product is manufactured and ready to go. We sit down, and like I have these long questionnaires that I’ll make artists fill out, you know, like, asking things from like, you know, what is your ideal piece of press, to what’s in your refrigerator, or what’s in your closet, you know, just, what I’m trying to do is sort of pick out what are some things and methods and ideas that we can use to help tell your story and help get people to understand what it is that you’re trying to communicate for your art. And then we build a campaign around that, you know, I mean, and we bring in, obviously, publicity. Rarely do we bring in radio these days. But we do from time to time, we’ll get somebody to come in and shoot video, photo. And all of this happens after of course, the record’s been made. And usually the records get made next door, we have a studio here in the Shoals. And that’s usually where we make our records. But sometimes we go, you know, outside of here, like I just, I just made a record with Cedric Burnside, at Royal Studio in Memphis, with Blue Mitchell. And we’re really proud of that one. You know, so it doesn’t always have to be here.
But all in all, from the minute somebody walks in the studio to the minute, they have a record in their hand, I mean, that’s usually about a year. And we try hard not to rush it, artists really want to get it out. And I totally get it because I’m a musician too. And I like to see our stuff out into the world. But these days, you really need to take your time, and make sure that all your T’s are crossed, and your I’s are dotted. So you can, you know, I mean, get people to care, because there’s so much music in the world. And there are so many reasons not to care. And so we spend a lot of time trying to pinpoint, you know, what are the 10 reasons why you should care about this? And how do we best communicate that to people in 15 seconds, because that’s about how much time you have with anybody. And that’s hard, we’ve gotten better at it. But it is not something that we have mastered.
And it’s a group effort, we do that in consultation with our artists and, you know, with these full teams that we take a lot of care to build around musicians and artists that we feel like have something very special to communicate to the world. And that is a huge responsibility that we take very seriously. And it is very, very difficult to say the least. It is a challenge every single time. This year has been especially challenging, obviously, but it’s also been sort of an opportunity because we’re not touring. So we have time to put out six records this year. You know, maybe even more than that, because we’re not out on the road and normally I’m doing this work from the backseat of a van or from you know, an airport lounge. Yeah, yeah. Are you know, I mean, I’ve taken conference calls on the drum stool during soundcheck just with earphones and just listening on mute. I mean it really like, it’s a lot of multitasking. But yeah, short answer. It’s about a year. It’s about a year process to fruition.
Frank Keith 10:01
So many people come to Rachel and I. and publicity is like the only thing they want to pay for. And they just think, okay, we’re gonna get in Rolling Stone, and then we’re good, we made it, done. Or they’ll want to label, dive the plan in place. And they’ll say, okay, we’re gonna put this on hold until we can find some label’s support. At which point, you know, we’re thinking, well, the record, it’s gonna be next year at that point, right?
Reed Watson 10:29
Yeah, I think platforms like this are really important. Because people don’t, people need to be educated about what they’re trying to do. You know, I mean, like, the music business for so long, has thrived on keeping artists in the dark. So that they are beholden to you, you know? I mean, and you can’t blame people for not knowing what to do.
I mean, one of the things that we’ve always tried very hard to do single out, not only is do honest work for people, but also like, educate. This is what we’re doing, this is how it works. This is why it’s gonna take a little bit. And, you know, if you’re not, if you’re not comfortable with that, or you don’t feel good about that, then you do it yourself. I don’t fault anybody for doing it themselves, I would do it myself. But we’re not a typical label. And that’s, I think, why we’ve been successful is because we approach everything with 100 honesty. It’s a straight down the middle financial split all the time. And that’s sort of, that’s how we do it. But you know, there is a, there is a real benefit to having experience. And that is you can save a lot of money with experience, a lot. And you can spend a lot of money, if you don’t know what you’re doing. People will gladly take your money in this business and screw you over. And so one of the things I hope seeing a lot is sort of a buffer between that it’s sort of a safety net for artists who, you know, maybe we have artists who have tons of experience, we have artists who have zero experience, but we try to manage their careers, at least on our side of it the same. And that is by, you know, how can we, we’re not cheap, but we’re not loose. You know, it’s like, how can we take this $1 that we have that, you know, it we’re lucky to have? And how can we make this? How can we spend this money in a way that would be worth it for this artist, because the money we spend the artist is spending to, at the end of the day, and so that’s, that’s really important to us.
And, you know, I mean, like, it’s, people have to understand and learn, and we’re there to walk them through it, the best we can. At the end of the day, we’re trying to spread out and spread joy to people, right? We’re trying to, you know, it’s not really about dreams coming true. It’s not about making it, it’s about, it’s about impacting people in leaving where you are better than you found it. That’s what art is. And that’s what art in my mind is about. That’s, that’s how I get excited about it. I’m sure we could connive ways to make a lot more money than we do. But I just, we’re not, I’m not that interested in that part of it. You know, I, I love the fact that, you know, when I’m dead and gone, there will be records that still exist in the world that we had a hand in. I think that’s really cool. And that’s not something you necessarily have to be on a label to do. Anybody could do that.
It’s just hard work. It’s really hard work. And there’s so much pressure involved in it because you’re dealing with people’s very, most precious thing, you know, and so, and I know you feel that as a publicist too who you know, it’s like, there’s just so much riding on it for people. And you know, I mean, this has been doing this for like, seven or eight years now. And I’ve been playing music as long as I can remember. And, you know, at the end of the day, we’re not not brain surgeons, no one’s gonna die. But any effort is good effort. And it matters.
Frank Keith 14:48
Okay, so lightning round real quick. What would you say to an artist who’s like, okay, we have to have a label to do this.
Reed Watson 14:56
I would ask that artist, do you need a label? Why do you think you need a label? If the reason you think you need a label is because you need someone to flip the switch for you, and do that magical thing that’s behind the curtain that nobody understands how to do? Well, there isn’t a magical thing behind the curtain, the magical thing is just really hard work, and consistency with that work and that message. So if you’re looking for the magic key or whatever, that’s not what a label does, and you will always be disappointed.
Now, if you understand the mechanics of how music is released, and you want a label involved to act as a bank, that’s a good reason to have a label, we have much better interest rates than a bank. And people need funding, this is a very expensive business still, to sustain yourself in. If you are familiar with the process of getting really excited and putting your song up on Spotify, and there being 18 plays over three weeks, and wondering why things didn’t work, you might want to get a label involved. Honestly, at that point, I’d say you want to get a manager involved before you get a label involved.
If you want to tap into accrued knowledge, I think that is a reason to be involved with the label. Because, you know, the music business is basically just, it’s a business of relationships, you know, and people that have been doing this for a while they have found the relationships usually, that you need to tap into, and they know who is legit, and who is, you know, full of it, that’s a very valuable thing to be able to draw from. You know, if you’re the kind of guy or girl that can multitask and has a very, you know, solid and direct idea and understanding of what they want to do and how they want to do it, how they want to release things, you may not need a label, maybe you do have funding on your own, maybe you don’t want to have anybody else’s voice in the process of putting your music out, I completely understand that. But I would caution that there are very few success stories down that line. There are a whole lot of stories of 28 Spotify plays in a month.
You need people around you, I believe like in the strength of community. And I think that’s something that we try to provide here, too. We want all of our artists to feel like they’re a part of the community and community where they can ask questions, and they can tap into other bands’ knowledge and have a conversation and play shows together and what works on this one? Did this work at all? Was this bad? Was this good? You know, that’s really important. I just don’t think I don’t think you should go necessarily seeking out a label. I think what I would, if I was telling an artist how to build it, I would say keep doing it yourself until you literally can’t do it anymore. Until you’re overwhelmed. Because when you’re overwhelmed, that’s when you need help. Before that you really don’t. You just need a good manager.
Frank Keith 18:18
Yeah, I think that’s a good process goal to set. You know, there’s that old cliche, like, Alright, I’m gonna put a band together, we’re gonna make a record, we’re gonna drive to LA with Tom Petty, we’re gonna get signed.
Reed Watson 18:33
Yeah, there’s a lot. There’s a lot of stories like that. You only hear about the good ones. But you know, I mean, like, I think, and I mean, I will just say that I have seen what happens when artists hit the overwhelmed stage, and get stubborn and just think they can keep on doing that. And it usually falls apart. You know, there comes a point in anybody’s artistic life where if enough people care about it, you need some help. And I think that’s why labels will always exist in some shape or form. Because there’s a lot of freakin work.
Frank Keith 19:15
Well, I appreciate you, Reed. Thanks for taking the time.
Reed Watson 19:18
Yeah, man. You got it.
Frank Keith 19:22
And there you have it. Thanks again to Reed for taking the time to chat with me. If you’d like to keep up with the happenings over at the label, navigate on over to singlelock.com and thank you for listening.
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