Interview with Andrea Oliva:
How did you come to do what you do? When did the first idea of creating the label came out?
I was very young, and everybody was listening to punk and hip hop, but I discovered electronic music and since then I’ve been totally love. The idea for All I Need came three, four years ago. I worked in record distribution, I had record stores, I was a promoter back in Switzerland, I had an event agency and I’m a DJ and producer. So the most logical thing is to close the circle with the label. I had a lot of role models in my career, and they all had a label, and they all signed new artists, and they all supported new artists. This is how I got a lot of help. It’s also what I want to do. And that’s why I am carrying on.
Some statistics, since the label was created , how many releases have you made?
3 releases so far!
From which country do most of your buyers come from?
It’s depends. I think when you have massive Ibiza season, the buyers come from all over the place. Then when you do a South America tour, suddenly, I have a lot of people from Argentina. I don’t know the stats about from where people can buy my music. I think it’s more it’s more a question of where you tour, and through the media, you promote your music. The more engagement you have on your social media from a certain country – they also buy your music.
What is the release of which you are most proud of?
I’d say the Deetron remix, and it’s also going to be Kevin Saunderson’s remix. The next release is going to be on December 3rd. And we have a remix of Kevin Saunderson. All of those remixes I’m very proud of because Deetron is someone I really respect and admire as a producer. And Kevin Saunderson is the freakin’ creator of our music. So it’s a very proud moment to have him on my new label.
Can you describe to us what a typical day at the office means to you?
Well, a typical day in my life – because the office is my life, or my life is my office. So, I wake up, if I can I go to the gym, then I get home check emails. And then cook, I love to cook. And then I do my calls with my agent, with my management and with friends and everything. And towards the night, I go to the studio, because I’m only productive in the night, actually. That’s a typical day.
Where do you find hungry and ambitious artists?
It’s very difficult, especially in this time, because if you’re an up and coming artist, you have like five, six shows a month. And that’s really good actually. And maybe you do like 3, 4 or 500 bucks per, so you do maybe 3k it’s only enough to live. And then the pandemic hits. And they must find a job, they don’t go to the studio anymore, they can’t find motivation. And so for me, it’s very hard to find young artists who are motivated and everything, but you also find a lot of young artists who have one super amazing track.
What impact does streaming with Spotify have on the economic situation of an indie label?
The biggest, but only if the label is yours, and only if it’s also your own production. Then you can get a little bit of money. Spotify is paying very bad. But now Spotify is so important because streaming is important. The leading streaming platform is Spotify, let’s face it, and they have the power. That’s also why they don’t pay so much to artists, and to labels. I think it looks a little bit better if you own the label, and it’s your own production, and you don’t give your publishing away. And then maybe, if you have millions of streams, you can you earn money, otherwise you don’t earn money.
How would you describe the style and vision of your Label?
My label and my brand has to be a platform for open minded artists. I’m going to try to be an example now because I’m releasing all of the tracks myself. I’ve said before in interviews a few times, I try to release techno, I try to release house, I try to release melodic, I try to release dub tracks. So everybody will understand, and I can release any kind of electronic music. If I like it, I’m releasing it. This doesn’t have to be like the typical tech house label, or the typical techno label. It’s not a fashion hype label.
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?
Make sure to find out the address. And be creative in how you send it. Maybe send USB, maybe send a tape? Joking, but I mean, just be creative. Sending demos, stressing people out labels out on SoundCloud and on Instagram and emails – it’s not working anymore. I would be more creative, I would send a nice packet, like I would send an envelope, I don’t know. I’m from Switzerland, I’d send them cheese, I’d send them chocolate, I’d send them a USB stick. I’d send them a cheese USB stick, telling them greetings from Switzerland! Everything you do, you need to make a difference. You need to have that X factor which is going to stay in the head of the people from who you seek attention.
