– Hi Paul, how did you come to do what you do? When did the first idea of creating the label came out?
It was New Years Eve 2009 and I was at Christian Löfflers home listening to his new music when we decided to run a label together. It wasn’t planned at all but Christian was looking for a label to release his music for a while and no-one was interested at that time, so we had this “crazy” idea to run our own record label. :)
– Some statistics, since the label was created , how many releases, how many vinyls and how many packages/parcels have you made/send?
I don’t count to be honest. I think there are about 40 releases to this day. Not all are on vinyl but I think 80% are. We have about 600 orders per year coming in via our web-shop.
– From which country do most of your buyers come from?
That’s a good question, I think most customers are from Germany, followed by France, Belgium, the UK and the USA.
– What is the release of which you are most proud of?
Christian Löffler – Mare, a release that feels so good to hold in your hands and to listen on vinyl. It is really versatile and well compiled, it makes so much sense to me, together with the artwork and the story behind it.
– Can you describe to us what a typical day at the office means to you?
Most of the time I’m on the phone with either our distribution partners, promotion, the booking agency or the artists themselves. When I’m not on the phone, I’m standing in line at the post office. :D
– Who’s in your Team?
The core team that I work with on a daily basis consists of Juste doing the promotion, Amelie for merchandizing, Mitch who does all the social media stuff and our booking agents Ralf and Christian.
– Which distribution channels do you use?
We are with The Orchard for the digital distribution side of things (Apple, Deezer, Spotify, Youtube and so on) and with Indigo for physical distribution (vinyl and CDs). We also have another physical distribution partner in Belgium called N.E.W.S. Distribution, that’s basically it for the moment..
– Did you use youtube and how strong/weak the impact?
We do use Youtube as well as all of our artists using it. It’s a great tool to share, listen and also to discover music. Youtube has also made channels like Boiler Room or Cercle big. Both channels have really informed the electronic music scene and also gave a big push to our artists. Yeah, I like Youtube for what it is; a platform for creativity.
– Where do you find hungry and ambitious artists?
Youtube, Spotify or via mail :)
– What impact does streaming with spotify have on the economic situation of an indie label?
For us Spotify has the biggest impact, it’s our number one source of income.I’m not sure if this is the case for all indie labels as it might depend on the genre they’re in.
– When you look for new music to sign what are some key elements and factors you are looking for, aside from it being a great track obviously?
Nothing else matters to us, the music must be excellent.
– How would you describe the style and vision of your Label?
Obviously we are all about electronic music, but it has to have soul. Ki stands for melancholy and deep electronic music that tends to be timeless. I wouldn’t release music that is really trendy. It’s always important for us that the album will still be good when we imagine ourselves listening to it in 5 to 10 years.
– What are some sites or apps that you use to listen/ find new tracks?
I use Youtube and Spotify for that purpose.
– For producers out there sending in their demos via emails, what are some tips you would give them on professionally sending in their track to you?
It might sound strange, but sometimes sending a low-res picture of the artist with the email does the trick. Not many people do it, so the ones that do stand out. he style of the picture also gives the recipient an idea of the music behind the artist, and with it they can already partially judge if it’s suitable for the label or not. It’s like advertising your music and giving your first impression without a link but with a picture. I know that sounds superficial but it’s not! ;)
