(Hypebot<\/a>) – In recognition of indie week, SoundExchange spoke with a number of indie label executives concerning the state of the industry. Here they interviewed Daniel Glass of Glassnote Entertainment Group, a leading indie label whose roster includes groups like Mumford and Sons and CHVRCHES.<\/p>\n

Guest post from SoundExchange<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: In recognition of Indie Week, SoundExchange spoke with numerous executives at independent labels about the state of the industry. This interview is one in a series of those discussions.<\/p>\n

Starting a new business is never easy. Starting one just before the economy implodes is even harder.<\/p>\n

Daniel Glass had no idea a recession was right around the corner when he launched Glassnote Entertainment Group in 2007.<\/p>\n

Ten years later, Glassnote has become one the world\u2019s leading indie labels. Much of that has to do with the quality of the recording artists signed to Glassnote \u2013 including Mumford & Sons, CHVRCHES, Childish Gambino and Phoenix.<\/p>\n

And much of it is due to Glass himself, a tireless industry veteran whose career includes stops at Chrysalis and SBK Records.<\/p>\n

SoundExchange:<\/strong> Indies are gaining market share a little bit each year. So are things looking up for indies?<\/p>\n

Glass:<\/strong> I think the world gets better and better every day. I think the distribution partners we work with are very open, fair and accessible to independents. One of the issues we had when I started Glassnote 10 years ago was access to radio.<\/p>\n

Radio was one big hurdle. One guy changed that, and that\u2019s Bob Pittman (Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia). He changed the culture, and made it fair and accessible to be heard.<\/p>\n

SiriusXM is a great supporter of us as well. Their programmers are amazing, and I bet we have more than half of the airplay on SiriusXM. The major labels still dominate, particularly in pop but we have great relationships across the board, especially as Childish Gambino tops the Urban charts and is crossing over to Top 40.<\/p>\n

As far as the digital services, I think we\u2019re fine. Independents get treated really well.<\/p>\n

SoundExchange:<\/strong> Glassnote is a relatively young label, and any new business faces challenges. But you launched just before the recession in 2008. Would you have launched the label if you had known there was economic carnage right around the corner?<\/p>\n

Glass:<\/strong> When the seeds of this were planted, 11 or 12 years ago, it was absolutely the worst time to enter the music industry. Everyone said, \u201cdon\u2019t do it.\u201d All you heard about was stealing, file sharing and piracy. I used that as inspiration.<\/p>\n

It was not a pretty time to be in the business 10 years ago, but we weathered the storm, and you can\u2019t do that unless you have hits. The first record we released was Secondhand Serenade. We sold over two million singles in a very tough market, and for a little indie that\u2019s very good.<\/p>\n

SoundExchange:<\/strong> You also signed some great bands that just killed it, and that helped. But it didn\u2019t happen overnight. It took a while for Mumford & Sons to gain traction in the U.S. With Mumford & Sons, was it a matter of developing a strategy, putting that strategy into play and then being patient?<\/p>\n

Glass:<\/strong> The strategy was simple. What hooked us was their live show. It was these four, passionate people who were playing American music better than many Americans at the time.<\/p>\n

All we had to do was invite people to see them live to convince them that this was something different, something fresh and something that could work for their radio listeners.<\/p>\n

Then the momentum started.<\/p>\n

The industry was scratching their heads thinking, \u201cWhat are these four English guys doing with a kick drum and a banjo singing alternative folk rock music?\u201d<\/p>\n

People had a hard time with it, which usually happens with big records. A few years earlier \u201cOh Brother, Where Art Thou?\u201d came out of nowhere and sold millions of copies. No one saw that coming. It was different, and it was great.<\/p>\n

With Mumford & Sons, it was a great band that was great live, and their records were made exquisitely with emotion so they resonated. If you look at every success we\u2019ve had, each one of them took a long, patient path.<\/p>\n

Not one of those trajectories was a huge spike. People think these things are overnight successes, but it was a long haul and the band worked very hard. I think patience and persistence were the keys.<\/p>\n

SoundExchange:<\/strong> Let\u2019s not overlook Phoenix, CHVRCHES, Childish Gambino and the many others you\u2019ve signed. You\u2019re on an impressive run and have become arguably the most prominent indie label in the business. How do you maintain this impressive pace of success? Good people? Good luck? Both?<\/p>\n

Glass:<\/strong> I think we have the best team in the business. Most of them did not come from the record business. It\u2019s a very interesting group, and only a couple of people have industry experience. They\u2019re just good and love being around music and artists.<\/p>\n

SoundExchange:<\/strong> What\u2019s the takeaway for executives at a young label? Is it all about good A&R? Is it about having and implementing a good plan?<\/p>\n

Glass:<\/strong> I think A&R is the most important part. You\u2019ve got to sign great talent. You\u2019ve got to have hits. I believe in having the best producers, the best mixers and the best engineers.<\/p>\n

After that you have to decide what game you want to be in. Do you want to compete? Do you want exposure? Do you want to try to get on Saturday Night Live and the Graham Norton shows of the world and KROQ and KIIS-FM?<\/p>\n

Then you have to spend money and hire the best people.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had some wonderful moments here, and it doesn\u2019t happen overnight. We work really hard to get the feature stories written and the artists to play Madison Square Garden, Lollapalooza, Coachella and Bonnaroo. That\u2019s what we aspire to, but that\u2019s also what we project.<\/p>\n

We want to be number one on radio and we also really love headliners. So the band has to have ambition. I look at them before they sign and say \u201cAre you sure you can do this? We\u2019re kind of intense.\u201d<\/p>\n

All those bands have the same DNA \u2013 they\u2019re great live.<\/p>\n

The takeaway for a young executive is great A&R, but you\u2019ve got to work hard and you have to get out of the office and meet with people in person.<\/p>\n

SoundExchange:<\/strong> Changes in technology have changed the industry so much in the past few years, certainly on the consumer side with streaming and fans opting for access over ownership. On the business side, are you comfortable that streaming is benefitting artists? And what has been the impact of streaming on indies?<\/p>\n

Glass:<\/strong> It\u2019s been wonderful. We first saw it with CHVRCHES, Childish Gambino and AURORA. The digital services have hired great people. Amazon recently hired some of the best people in the music industry. They\u2019re great to Independents.<\/p>\n

I think streaming has been a God-send. It\u2019s immediate gratification. This is an amazing time. Independents have a history of being insecure, intimidated, scared, uninformed \u2013 I think there\u2019s no excuse for that today.<\/p>\n

Your size should not be a disadvantage. We can pivot in a second. Major labels can\u2019t pivot like we can, so I think we have a lot of advantages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Hypebot) – In recognition of indie week, SoundExchange spoke with a number of indie label executives concerning the state of the industry. Here they interviewed Daniel Glass of Glassnote Entertainment Group, a leading indie label whose roster includes groups like Mumford and Sons and CHVRCHES. Guest post from SoundExchange Editor\u2019s note: In recognition of Indie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stc_notifier_status":"","_stc_notifier_sent_time":"","_stc_notifier_request":false,"_stc_notifier_prevent":false,"_stc_subscriber_keywords":"","_stc_subscriber_search_areas":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-label-publishing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n