So, you want to start a record label or self-release your own music? Then this is the resource you need. You are looking at the ultimate guide to starting, running and growing your independent record label. You will learn all about the music industry business and how to navigate the tricky dos and don’ts. You will finally understand and take control of your music copyright and get to grips with the legalities involved. You will build your label effortlessly, learning how to professionally market your music and artists – allowing you to reach thousands of fans. And, essentially, you will learn how to create multiple label revenue streams to create an established record label.
The Label Machine: How to start, run and grow your own independent music label is the first book to give music artists practical step-by-step comprehensive instructions for setting up and running an independent music label.
It features a detailed breakdown of how each part of the industry works, including copyright in the UK and US, record label set-up, record releases, and royalty collection.
Provides in-depth guides on marketing, covering; traditional PR, Facebook and Instagram advertising, Spotify playlisting, and fan growth. Includes templates for record label and management contracts, marketing and promotion schedules, press releases, and fan email automation.
Quotes
“Nick’s constant source of advice and knowledge gave us the backbone on which we run our label; he knows his stuff!” The Prototypes (Get Hype Records)
“Having founded and run many successful indie labels over the years, Nick Sadler has all the knowledge you need to start your own imprint. His record label knowledge is so vast he has literally written the book on it.” Matt Ryan (Par Excellence Management)
“Nick’s breadth of knowledge of the music industry has been invaluable to me over the years, especially while navigating the business aspects of the industry. He totally takes the headache out of distributing, marketing and selling music.” Molly Beanland (former artist on Island Records)
“This is a great resource, and it has a lot of information that is compiled into one place that’s easy to find” Roy Lindsey (Dapr Music)
“It gave me a lot more direction and I knew what to focus on. Everything is so easily mapped out” Dave Strickland (Sensible Recordings)
“I love the fact I have a step by step formula. It was all laid out in an easy-to-follow and concise way.” Greg Rose (Franklin)
“With this system, I can keep my focus clear. You are correct when you say to me: when you’ve set it up, then it’s easy.” Nenad Ruvidic (Parallel Audio)
“It’s just a good framework that doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else. It’s really useful, really positive” Paul Twomey (Obliviate Records)
“It’s really well organised and everything seems easier like this… the strategy and organization are really nice. The checklists were really important in my opinion, really useful” Sergio Abraço (Tribe in Live Records)
“Nick’s training and mentorship are amazing, the amount of content and diligence is incredible. Big love to you!” David Mérismé (Glockwork Records)
“I would highly recommend to any artist and/or producer, new or experienced, there is a lot to gain from The Label Machine” Gemma Dobson (Siren)
“You make it so easy to understand every task and your help is always there.” Mario DS (Self Made Click Records)
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Shipping to mainland EU typically costs between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD, Royal Mail and Parcelforce for the UK, and for international orders it's either DHL, FedEx, UPS, Royal Mail or Parcelforce depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we aim to dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Since April 2020, the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer. There is absolutely nothing we can do about this, unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
So, you want to start a record label or self-release your own music? Then this is the resource you need. You are looking at the ultimate guide to starting, running and growing your independent record label. You will learn all about the music industry business and how to navigate the tricky dos and don’ts. You will finally understand and take control of your music copyright and get to grips with the legalities involved. You will build your label effortlessly, learning how to professionally market your music and artists – allowing you to reach thousands of fans. And, essentially, you will learn how to create multiple label revenue streams to create an established record label.
The Label Machine: How to start, run and grow your own independent music label is the first book to give music artists practical step-by-step comprehensive instructions for setting up and running an independent music label.
It features a detailed breakdown of how each part of the industry works, including copyright in the UK and US, record label set-up, record releases, and royalty collection.
Provides in-depth guides on marketing, covering; traditional PR, Facebook and Instagram advertising, Spotify playlisting, and fan growth. Includes templates for record label and management contracts, marketing and promotion schedules, press releases, and fan email automation.
Quotes
“Nick’s constant source of advice and knowledge gave us the backbone on which we run our label; he knows his stuff!” The Prototypes (Get Hype Records)
“Having founded and run many successful indie labels over the years, Nick Sadler has all the knowledge you need to start your own imprint. His record label knowledge is so vast he has literally written the book on it.” Matt Ryan (Par Excellence Management)
“Nick’s breadth of knowledge of the music industry has been invaluable to me over the years, especially while navigating the business aspects of the industry. He totally takes the headache out of distributing, marketing and selling music.” Molly Beanland (former artist on Island Records)
“This is a great resource, and it has a lot of information that is compiled into one place that’s easy to find” Roy Lindsey (Dapr Music)
“It gave me a lot more direction and I knew what to focus on. Everything is so easily mapped out” Dave Strickland (Sensible Recordings)
“I love the fact I have a step by step formula. It was all laid out in an easy-to-follow and concise way.” Greg Rose (Franklin)
“With this system, I can keep my focus clear. You are correct when you say to me: when you’ve set it up, then it’s easy.” Nenad Ruvidic (Parallel Audio)
“It’s just a good framework that doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else. It’s really useful, really positive” Paul Twomey (Obliviate Records)
“It’s really well organised and everything seems easier like this… the strategy and organization are really nice. The checklists were really important in my opinion, really useful” Sergio Abraço (Tribe in Live Records)
“Nick’s training and mentorship are amazing, the amount of content and diligence is incredible. Big love to you!” David Mérismé (Glockwork Records)
“I would highly recommend to any artist and/or producer, new or experienced, there is a lot to gain from The Label Machine” Gemma Dobson (Siren)
“You make it so easy to understand every task and your help is always there.” Mario DS (Self Made Click Records)
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Shipping to mainland EU typically costs between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD, Royal Mail and Parcelforce for the UK, and for international orders it's either DHL, FedEx, UPS, Royal Mail or Parcelforce depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we aim to dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Since April 2020, the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer. There is absolutely nothing we can do about this, unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
