www.salinrecords.com | bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud
How did you come to do what you do? When did the first idea of creating the label come out?
Hi. We have been married since 2008 and have always been connected by our love for art. Christoph had his first experiences as a DJ and producer in his youth (mash-ups, bootlegs, edits). Daria started painting in 2009. Since then, we have supported each other to go deeper into the respective subject and to make progress. At some point, we wanted to share our work with others. We wanted to share the positive moments and the special atmosphere we experienced here at home. We also wanted to invite other artists to become a part of it. So we founded Salin Records.
Some statistics, since the label was created, how many releases, how many vinyls and how many packages/parcels have you made/send?
In 2018 we teamed up with a distributor and launched our first record. In September 2020, we published our 10th release. In 2021, 4 more releases are planned, 2 of them on a new sub-label. All releases are also digitally available, though releasing on beautiful-looking and sounding vinyl is a quintessential feature of Salin Records.
To answer the question of how many parcels we have sent…Mainly the vinyl is sent by our distributor. But all Bandcamp orders we prepare and send ourselves. They know us at the post office ;-) Personal contact with our supporters is very important to us, which is why we always include a special goody in the package.
From which country do most of your buyers come?
It’s hard to say. Our records are in record shops all over the world. Our distributor does a great job. We sell a lot to France, the US and the UK through our Bandcamp shop. But we have also sent some packages to Australia, Russia and even Vietnam and Japan. We also have our loyal fans in Germany.
What is the release of which you are most proud?
We are always most proud and euphoric about what comes next.
Can you describe to us what a typical day at the office means to you?
It all depends on the phase we are in. When a release is just out, we are always very happy to spend more time in the studio and be creative. However, when a release is coming up, the days are dominated by marketing work. Keeping a studio updated and being responsible for accounting also takes a lot of time. One of the best things is the contact with the artists of our label family and working together on new music.
To be honest, as a label you have a lot of different tasks and sometimes it’s difficult to find a balance between these tasks and the time for creative work.
You could compare our business to a long, challenging hike. At times you are faced with huge tasks that seem like mountains and you don’t know how to conquer them. But in the end, you are happy that you have made it. It’s always challenging but at the same time, that’s the fun factor.
Who’s in your Team? Are you a Music Producer or DJ?
It’s just us – Daria & Christoph. Daria is responsible for the artwork and design, Christoph is a producer and DJ and is running his studio. We do the A&R work together and the jobs that are not so much fun, such as bookkeeping, we split between us.
Which distribution channels do you use?
Our distribution partner is Inch by Inch distribution. They take care of the vinyl distribution as well as of the digital distribution. You can find us on nearly every digital platform, you can even use our songs for your Instagram story.
Did you use youtube and how strong/weak the impact?
We have our own YouTube channel and we team up with several YouTube channels for the premieres of our releases (Thank you so much guys for all your support of our label!). YouTube is an important platform for people to discover new music.
Have you ever helped yourself with buying clicks & plays on Soundcloud?
No. We are very happy that 100% of our followers are real followers and therefore also real supporters.
Where do you find hungry and ambitious artists?
Until now they’ve found us. :-) We get a lot of demos, but with the people we work with, we felt from the first moment that there is a special connection between us. The contact with these artists has been different from all the other contacts and we are very proud to work with them. It’s a family affair.
What impact does streaming with Spotify have on the economic situation of an indie label?
We could complain about how little money is paid out for streams. However, the truth is that with a small number of vinyl presses, record sales at best cover the cost of production. Streaming and digital downloads are the only sources of profit. As a label or artist, you have the opportunity to pitch your releases for Spotify playlists. Spotify is also aware of indie labels and supports them by including their tracks in official playlists. Streaming platforms are a great way to discover music. It would be nice to see a development in which the consumer shows more appreciation for music and does not perceive music as an inexhaustible, free source. In fact, we have the feeling that the Covid 19 crisis has contributed to the artists‘ and label work being appreciated more again.
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?
We need to feel a good vibe between us and the artist so that we want to include him in our label family.
How would you describe the style and vision of your Label?
There is a lot of negativity in life that can drag you down. Without being naive, we consciously focus on a positive mood. Salin Records is focused on House Music and its connected sub-genres. The Salin sound (and the whole package including the artwork) is known for its special positive mood. Our releases are often inspired by jazz and disco. However, we recently founded a sub-label called Salin Deep to focus on even deeper, rawer and more dub-influenced music.
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?
First – no blind copy to a thousand labels. It is important for us that the artist has researched our label and knows our names. And telling us the reason, why the producer wants to be a part of our family, should be a part of his initial reach out. Also, we prefer listening to three or four tracks (or even less) that showcases the producer instead of getting a long playlist of demos.
