I have been writing and performing music for 11 years. in 1999 I was ready to release my first record, and started the label for that purpose. I had just moved to San Francisco, and didn't really know anyone who was putting their own record out, so I just kind of figured out how the whole process works on my own. It was totally confusing and time consuming— the timing and details of how to promote a record. I learned as I went. I rarely dealt with a woman throughout the process. About midway through promoting my own record I had come to the conclusion that the label was going to support other artists as well.

I am very anti-mainstream music industry. The major labels have crippled any outlet we indies have for promotion. because of that, small independent labels and bands in cities such as San Francisco (where there is virtually no public support for local music) often need to resort to exclusive and competitive tactics to survive. It's totally understandable, given the climate here. But we're all struggling with the same obstacles, regardless of genre, your band has very little chance of getting even college radio airplay. Regardless of where you live, pressing and promoting your own record is confusing and expensive.

We're making the same mistakes and reading the same articles, trying to find something that works, so why not be sharing resources? So I started promoting the label. I have focused on the San Francisco area; it's my personal project now to make this city a great place for indpendent music. There is SO much talent here it's unbelievable, but it lacks the cohesiveness and unity to work. Slowly, we're getting there. Things are changing.

Everything is funded by me, out of pocket. I run the label from my home office. We used to joke about how nobody knows that the person who runs the label is just one girl, at home with a cup of coffee, typing in her pajamas! But that's the way it should be, you know? Driving around in my car, putting up posters, doing research online, meeting new people, going to pick up the stuff at the printer who agreed to let you do a tiny run compared to their typical clients... being the underdog. But it's fun...There's a lot of freedom that comes with being the underdog!

How do you feel about Napster and shared music files on th internet? I know lots of indie people who love it because it introduces their music to a new audience without MTV or top 40radio play. It even helps some indies SELL records, which is the opposite of the music industry's argument. What are your experiences?

I guess I'm just an old fashioned girl, but I like the process of going out into the world, going to the record store, and coming home with something to listen to. and flipping through the cover art and reading the lyrics on paper. So personally, it doesn't affect me. I think it's weird that people like to download, but these are weird times. Technology does that— it forces its way in and you just adapt. Change is always good.

As a musician and label owner, I don't do much online marketing. Soliciting downloads is a tool of "the business" that you can choose to exploit, or choose to ignore. For an independent artist to have an impact online, meaning to have a significant number of downloads to the point that it helps promote you or your band, you need to do online
marketing, which requires sitting in front of the computer for more time than I already spend, and I'd rather focus my efforts on other things. The people who are complaining about Kaaza (Napster, etc.)are people who stand to lose money from record sales, and I just could care less about their wallets, because these people are multi-millionaires.
the record companies are responsible for getting themselves into this mess in the first place... they are all going bankrupt not because of downloads (although that may be an ingredient), but because they're wrung every last drop of artistry out of the music that they promote. And to get people to buy that kind of music, and to make it a hit, they
have to market the hell out of it. and to make up for what they spend on promotion, they have to sell a gagillion records for like 18 bucks a piece retail. and nobody wants to pay 18 bucks for some little pop record that doesn't actually make them feel anything!

You remember when used CD stores started popping up, the record companies were like, "oh this is going to ruin us, they must bestopped!" and before that, when you first could buy a cassette tape recorder and tape copies they said the same thing. In the long run it didn't make any difference. When there is a precedent that new technology will only be allowed if all the major American corporations say its ok, things get dangerous. Technology behind recorded music isconstantly changing, and being in the business is all about that. They just need to step up and produce something that people actually want to buy.

Promotion is hard. What doors do you think are closed to indies ? I'd think that college radio, in particular, would be driven to play unknown bands if prompted by a kick-ass free CD in the mail. (When I was 18 I wanted to talk about bands that only I had heard of...) Is that not true anymore?

Oh my god I wish it were that way still! There is a lot of promotional money that goes into soliciting college airplay; it's not just about sending your cd in. It's done by labels of every level, but notoriously by mini-majors (medium sized labels that are part or mostly owned by majors, like matador or jive). For a long time, these labels have known that building a buzz starts on the college level, so they exploit that, and there ends up not being so much room for anyone else. They have the staff to make phone calls, the budget to hire independent promoters, people to scrutinize every last detail of promoting each record. But you find programmers who aren't into that whole thing, people who are truly looking for something kick ass, whether its got a buzz around it or not, and you work closely with them. The same goes for press; when the independent papers are being solicited by major labels for reveiws and articles about their artists, we just can't compete; we don't have the staff or budget. I hate to sound repetitive, but it's true. We indies are in a state now where we can either be paralyzed by it, or figure out new ways of getting our records out there. on the flip side, being small means we can switch gears at a moment's notice. We can change tactics or drop projects with one person's decision, we don't have to get permission from our shareholders first, and we can promote whatever we like.

If I were a girl musician, with my independently produced CD in my hand. What would I do next? How do I get the word out about my music and SELL records?

Play shows. Play anywhere you can. Go out and meet the musicians in your town. Go to their shows and invite them to yours. The thing that helped me was finding an "in" into an already established community of musicians. It gave me people to bounce ideas off of, to collaborate and put on shows with. Whether you're a girl or a boy, straight, queer,
black, white or purple, you have to understand the way that the business works. Read books about the business, articles, anything, just educate yourself. You can decide to go the moneymaking label route, and that works for some people, or you can go the independent route and do the work yourself. Either way, don't ever sign anything that you don't understand. don't assume that people want to promote your record because they like you. It is about money, and that can be ok if you look out for yourself and be smart.

It seems that CD burners are the printing press of the21st century— they democratize music so anyone can produce and burn a CD. Do you think that's true?

Actually I'd place computer-based recording equipment even higher on the scale as far as democratizing the process. the fact that I can record in my apartment and come out with a "professional" sounding CD is incredible. you have to remember that 10 years ago you just couldn't record without buying time at a studio, which is very expensive, because the equipment costs before computer-based recording were huge. each machine for each tweak you made to the record could cost the studio $1000 or more. Taking the cost out of it is key. Burning CDs at home is very cool, but I'm waiting for the technology that will enable us to print the CD face and the cover art at home, and burn a copy that looks exactly like a professionally manufactured release. Our major expense is having the CDs printed, because it's a time consuming process. But the technology is getting cheaper. Soon we'll be able to do the whole thing in the garage. And that's the way it should be.