RTP Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 OK so I want to do a real compilation ... and this shall be the thread where I document the important things. It will be my note pad and the source of general info your you admins and possibly other select few in case I fuck up badly or anything happens to me ... not that I plan anything like that, but I wanna be as transparent as possible because this is the best way that this project is done for me imo. Kindly ignore this if you are not interested ... kindly feel free to reply if you are or if you have input FIRST UPDATE: Idea: A psynews anniversary compilation by me to wrap up the last 20 years (it's just 17 for me I think) for me personally, from my perspective. I want to do it as it (probably) was made "in the older days" ... not oldschool but "middle school" ... mix of progressive and "mild fullon" if you can say so? ... with artists of that era and possibly also tracks of that era ... it may span a broader time frame though, so it can also get modern, if modern stuff is good ... which in my opinion it is rather seldom... I want to give something back to this wonderful forum that has accompanied me for so long and to its people ... which is why I wanna make this compilation. If you make a contest, a CD with the winning tracks can and should be included as a second CD. Maybe: 10 tracks on the compilation, 10 tracks from the contest = 20 tracks, one for each year. Good? Budget: Out of my pocket: 2000 dead ABSOLUTE MAX. Less is better. I try to lay aside 200 per month from Mar till Dec. Calculations: 200 releases shall be made in first run ... idea is CD ... no digital 10 Euros per Release plus 20% tax makes 12 Euros ... idea to make it 15 Euros flat including shipping in bubblewrap. If we sell all 200, we make 2000 dead = my budget (if all goes well). So ... of these 2000: I calculate 300 Euros risk buffer (to the ppl I tell that I want 300 EUR for Psysurfeur ... but in truth it's risk buffer) CD pressing is calculated by me with 2 Euros per piece ... why: because I want thick booklet which may be a little extra AND because we might make plus copies for the artists (promos, so to say ... meaning every artist will get a CD too ... and a few more) = 400 That leaves us with 1200 to 1300 for the tracks. Not included yet are mastering costs and artist fees for the ppl who make artwork... Legal stuff: I doubt we can buy tracks with all rights. I say: leave rights at the artists & only buy rights for 200 pressings ... makes it cheaper ... rebuy if repressing is done for same price Rule 2: the artists are asked to leave us for example 1 year exclusively with the track ... then they can go to other label Deadlines: Deadline 1 = Tracks closing = September 2019 ... meaning "in" September Deadline 2 = release complete = Nov 30th 2019 ... no xmas stress plzthx Deadline 3 = jubilee: the exact date will be 2020-01-11 ... all orders should be shipped till that day Stuff done so far: Artists asked: S-Range (maybe in), Etnoscope (maybe in), Atmos (no answer), Magnetrixx (IN), Shiva Chandra (OUT), Matenda (no answer), Feuerhake (OUT) ToDos: Collect tracks Get contract Sign contract with artists Pay artists Mastering Cover artwork Booklet text (even if only small) Take preorders Do the Release (press CDs) Ship out to customers Collect money don't knoes: do I need a business? what about tax? what about receipts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penzoline Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Welp. I guess you really did want to do this. I figured the money would be a bigger issue (as its for me) but you're going balls deep. I don't mind the 2000-era sound. It can contain a variety of styles of course but remember our core is goa, though all of our comps were all over the place. Look at the original Psynews compilation tracklist and see if anything piques interest. I want an old Artha track in there. "Cover artwork" I could potentially do this. "want thick booklet" What does this mean, exactly? "Mastering" OOOD? I mean we have a lot of original Psynewser who could probably give either a discount or freebies. We could also sell the comp as any potential profit (not including fees) is going towards either psynews hosting / charity. Though your calculations seem to suggest all we can do is break even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 Hej, cool to see you reply I WANT to do it ... but if I don't get any tracks (or "ask the wrong artists" who don't give me any) it still goes down the drain. I got a plan for a variation though as in: release only an EP (with 2 or 4 tracks) if it's not possible otherwise (track wise). If it was done on vinyl, it would gain another type of vintage "sexiness" I presume. Maybe an EP is even more fitting because I don't wanna get "cocky" and declare to have made "teh psynews jubilee compilation" when it in fact only contains tracks selected by me alone Would also be easier on the money. 2000 is my bet, but it won't hurt me to have to go a bit less all in. Yes we focus on goa on psynews, but I think that the sound on this will not be that much "goa" ... which is why it's very important to highlight that this is _a selection_ of artists that got dear to me over these years. I am not trying to recreate oldschool sound or dig out lost oldschool artists ... I leave this to other people who know better (there's a lot out there and my support goes to them!). I am more focussing on the "bridge" that connects this oldschool to the new sound (which I do not like so much the newer it got) ... it's that borderline territory I was frequently roaming around in these past years. That - and I won't be of any help contacting goa or psy artists that I don't (music-wise) love thoroughly and got 100% acquainted with, meaning, listening their material practically all the time ... it would just feel wrong to me doing a half-baked move. "Cover artwork" - my idea would be to do a painting, but I have no real clue how to picture it all togehter, so I would be pleased to get some help with it. "thick booklet" ... well I pictured to write a small story (a page) for each track, why the artist was selected and whatnot ... but leave that aside for now, because I don't yet know the full picture ... an EP would need no big booklet "mastering" - naive as I was, I thought, well, I just ask the artists for mastered tracks and that's it ... but now psytones brought me on the subject of volume differences ... I will have to even these out. This, however, could probably done in the Skeletone studio if I ask my friend nicely and bribe him with a good Scotch But if a track really needs to be mixed down, duh, I wouldn't know. How early do you think we should inform Colin that we would maybe need his help? the "super emergency" EP release as of now would be: - the Magnetrixx track- an S>Range track ... got an emergency idea on thin ice for it (Anthony doesn't know of it yet ) as there is something out there unreleased that I know of- an Etnoscope track - because I hope Razz is in- (if we need a 4th one) a Pusherstreet track I have lying around, have to ask Razz and Liam if I can release it though cheers RTP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 Update: The S>Range idea I had is not gonna happen as the track I picked may be released in another form anyway ... I have to pick another track, but I have no clue what I can choose from yet, Anthony hasn't mentioned anything yet. Tricky, as the artist S-Range has a release planned anyway. We'll have to see ... maybe I can only take the leftovers after the new album? More and more signs in my head point to a release as a single. A full compilation might have been too ambitious a statement. I will be content with 4 tracks - that means, I'd be happy if I even get these together. And I won't be in "balls deep" money wise ... just one half. I hope... Release as a vinyl would be cool for me (I want OLD stlye - vinyl is old style) - 4 tracks can fit on one vinyl - BUT it is expensive! I found a pressing plant in CZ ("Gramofonove Zavody") that makes 250 Vinyl for 720 EUR in the "DJ Pack" or 986 EUR in the "standard pack" - which probably means sleeve & booklet and such ... that plant is the cheapest so far that I could find. There are a few plants left that require contacting them to make an offer - I don't know if they'll be cheaper - I will have to ask, when I have some time on my hands I might do it. In France (vinyldeparis.fr) they take smaller orders, but they want 625 EUR for 100 pcs ... too much in my opinion. What would people pay for a 4 track vinyl? It depends on the contents ... if those are good, we can charge about 15 EUR, maybe even 20 ... but if these are bad, it'll rather be 10 EUR, not including shipping... Let's see ... "in emergency" it's going to be: S-Range, Magnetrixx - and maybe Etnoscope, Pusherstreet but I still have to talk to them 2 I will not do it without S-Range ... I have already stated to him: S-Range I consider to be an integral part of the RTP character (which is me). As soon as S-Range and Magnetrixx are onboard, it'll be a "go", no matter who's coming along or not. Let's do the minimum calc: 10 EUR minus tax is 8 EUR ... 4 is pressing costs (if we take "standard pack" because I want a cover), then we have 4 left. If we sell 200, we have 600 EUR winnings (because 200 are lost because of the remaining 50 not sold copies). With these 600 we have to pay artists ... 4 * approx. 120 EUR per track (if it is 4) = approx. 480 EUR ... so we have a 120 EUR left for psysurfeur --> Good. So I can offer 120 EUR per track. (If there's not enough potential then I'll just release it as a CD single because: cheaper) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 Atmos isn't answering on Soundcloud. His site and accounts on myspace were long not updated ... so I tried soundcloud, he still was active there until some time ago. His Twitter seems to be hacked (strange pictures). I thought about asking around here, but first I wrote a mail to his booking address, hope it still is valid and he will get back to me... If I get no reply I'll ask people here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 Long time no update, well I've been busy, but here's the status: I ditch the compilation, I will make a 12" definitely. Currently I concentrate on Magnetrixx and S-Range ... Etnoscope would be nice but I want to have those 2 on board 100%. Flight's not gonna take off without S-Range or Magnetrixx. Want them both! However, it's a bit tough to get a hold of them, let's put it that way. Anthony said he'd send me a track but it seems to take longer ... Magnetrixx doesn't answer lately. I have written to the guys at austrovinyl to negotiate a pressing, unfortunately the guy does not answer... seems to be 100 pieces minimum. But I will not worry! I either have Magentrixx or S-Range or the 12" will not happen. It will be a private thing for the 100 pieces, I will not found a company for that. I'll just send them out via mail. As soon as have the tracks and the artist's OKs, the pricing and the timeline, I will post it here publicly and hope that people recognize, so I will not keep sitting on too many of them that don't sell. IF it goes well, I will NOT make it a "main thing" for the jubilee, but it IS a theme. Let me count, if we can do 300 EUR for the tracks, 400 for the pressing (don't know yet!), 300 for Psysurfeur ... and 100 EUR for rest of expenses (label printing on the cardboard ), maybe including a bottle o' whisky for the guy that does the mastering if necessary - we'd be at 10 EUR per piece without tax n shipping. Doable I'd say? If we sell 70 we're even and all above is a gift. ... ? cheers RTP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 OK dear readers ... I get no replies on Soundcloud anymore, neither from Magnetrixx nor S-Range... I am willing to bring out a 12" and will talk to the two artists as soon as possible if the communication flows again, that is my plan. But for the jubilee of psynews I think we need to do something slightly different - I will open a new thread for that. Updates on this project will continue to flow in this thread here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 Nine months later... ... I have not given up. I think I now have the definitive idea. I am going to name it "The Psynews Anniversary Series". And it's going to be a series of 12" releases with 2 tracks each, mostly. The big advantage is, that this way the project is sliced into tiny enough chunks that I can manage it comfortably. I will start with the first vinyl with "my own favourite artists" basically, and then I may broaden it and also listen to suggestions ... point is always: if I get the money back from the release, then imma go do a "next one". My prophecy is that it's going to be stuck already with the first one, hehe, but we'll see -- other outcome is that it'll be going well and this will be the Genesis of RTP Records!! The project shall be completely private in the first stage -- "RTP's Private Release" basically. I will license the tracks privately and then do a private "giveaway" of the release to the users in exchange for an equal part of the cost ... think like 20 EUR per vinyl plus shipping. There will be no actual SALE. I want to avoid having to found a company (it needed to be a GmbH in Austria if I don't wanna be liable with my own private money if somebody breaks the vinyl and cuts his neck with it or suffocates with the wrapping plastic - and to found a GmbH I need 35.000 EUR which I ofc don't have)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padmapani Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 11 hours ago, RTP said: (it needed to be a GmbH in Austria if I don't wanna be liable with my own private money if somebody breaks the vinyl and cuts his neck with it or suffocates with the wrapping plastic - and to found a GmbH I need 35.000 EUR which I ofc don't have)... your information is outdated. they've reduced the cost significantly a few years ago. founding a gmbh (for a one person company) is in the range of 100€ now. and to my knowledge the "beschränkte haftung" rather applies to who pays for the liabilities when it goes bankrupt (but i could be wrong there). but even then i don't think it would be worth the effort to found a company if you don't expect to make a significant amount of money with it. on the other hand you could deduce lots of things from tax if you do have some sort of company (doesn't need to be a gmbh). so your new hifi system would be at least 20% cheaper depending on your income. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi - jep, the cost of founding - the fee - is about 100 EUR indeed for a one-man GmbH ... but for the founding it is required that a minimum of 17.500 EUR needs to be deposited somewhere (this is for a "GmbH i.G.") and the money has to be upped to 35.000 EUR once it's operational. "Stammkapital" this is called. This has not changed according to my info. Source: https://www.wko.at/service/wirtschaftsrecht-gewerberecht/vereinfachte-gruendung-gmbh.html I have, however, spoken to a good soul who was active in Austria as a label owner and he confirmed to me that I will probably be able to do this project without the hassle of founding a company and still be fully legal by stating it as a "personal project" ("Liebhaberei" in german, there's no real translation for that) - yes, I will not be able to deduce any tax from the stuff that I buy, but I will also not be liable to found a company or have any other work with it. And that's a good thing. I'll keep it transparent and re-invest what I get in future releases - or, if really successful, then I'll really found an official label ... as of now, I am very much thinking there won't be any gains and it's just going to be a fun project that will eat hopefully not the entire money away, but who knows ... let's continue this talk if I really have done this release; I have learnt that the winds can change easily - one moment you are actually working up to sign a first track, next thing happening is no answer anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padmapani Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 ah, sorry, i missed that. but according to the wko link you can reduce it to 10000€ if you like and only have to deposit 5000€ in the first 10 years. still the "liebhaberei" thing is probably the best option anyway. if you don't make a nice profit in a few years they'll reclassify it as such anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted May 13, 2021 Author Share Posted May 13, 2021 So here's a bit of an update on what I am up to right now. I consider this "compilation project" as a FAIL - maybe it would have been working if I had been less lazy, but I have to admit that I don't think it's entirely my fault, I just had quite little luck reaching the artists that I wanted to be on there. Now some of you may have heard of the idea that I wanted to make RTP RECORDS. Well, bugger, because I have just discovered, that there is another RTP RECORDS out there which are around already since 1991 ... they only have released so little that they are not very known in the wider world and it had not reached to me... That is crap. I will ask these guys if it's OK to keep my project name. I just like RTP RECORDS. I have dreamt of this name while showering ... for years... I am not giving up though, also project-wise I have still a few ideas and I'd like to give a sneak-peek about them. Ever heard of NFTs? Non-fungible tokens. These things are really interesting - it can practicaly be what you want, but the practical use is to prove ownership of digital art ... such as images or, in a case relevant for us, tracks. The cool thing about them is, that they can be sold smart-contract-based, so nobody could lie. The idea is to make artists do a track, I sell it as an NFT and if someone buys it, the artist can have the money that was agreed upon initially AND profit from every future transaction that is done with that piece. So if I went for that, I could also change the name of the project very easily This then also would go in tune with the remark that @psytones did, namely that maybe "RTP Records" is not a really fitting name when I don't release any RECORDS ... well, that'd be even more true if that NFT plan came to reality... And what if people don't sell me any trax? Well, hehe, I have an escape mutation ready for that aswell ... it don't need to be trax for NFTs. I can also turn images or other content into them ... and if I turned into a small-scale little "investor" that pays a few bucks to underground art projects to make an NFT out of art I like and make them partners in the NFT sales, so everybody will be happy once something sells, I'd be freakin' happy aswell. Only thing that I want to get back in are the listing fees, otherwise it's a deficit project. But other than that ... I just want to be known as a friendly guy who's givin' back into the scene. I don't mind so much in what form it'll be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 Well, that went well so far, didn't it? .... NOT To be fair, I don't think it was my fault entirely, I could have been way more of a sting in the flesh for some people on my part, but I wouldn't have felt good doing it. I'd have released a Magnetrixx track, but he vanished ... Etnoscope went completely No Answer (yes, that's a track from them and I did that remark for the pun, but it's true) ... and S-RANGE has no new material for me till now. I have come to the conclusion that I will just let that release project chill and do it differently from now on, maybe dig up some lost material that's lying around here and gradually upload some stuff, not commercially and only as long as nobody opposes... Usually things go better when you don't wanna enforce them. And if not, I have my peace with it anyway If anybody wants to release stuff on Spotify, itunes, YouTube --> hit me up, I can arrange it, I still got the distribution account. But I'm not enforcing anything. cheers and have a good one -- I leave this thread online as a reminder for myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTP Posted March 20, 2023 Author Share Posted March 20, 2023 Decided to doxx all of this right now - I see no need to keep it internal and, if nothing else, it may serve as a guideline how to (not?) do it... ...feedback welcome. I also renamed this here to the project area. There's more to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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