The press cycle is dead 💀 (and Mike from Centripetal Force agrees)

Mike Mannix from Centripetal Force joined me for a conversation that basically turned into a therapy session for small label owners. We're both seeing the same thing - great press coverage, crickets for sales. The math doesn't math anymore. But here's what does work: getting smaller to get bigger, creative partnerships with artists (yes, we're talking about those 50/50 deals nobody wants to admit they do), and actually showing your face instead of hiding behind a logo. Mike's been killing it with multi-label releases and his "hey, I'm in my backyard" videos. Meanwhile, I'm still figuring out how to respond to emails without a three-week guilt spiral.

We also decided to blow up some sacred cows - like why the hell are we still treating release dates like funerals? Mike's letting artists sell records at shows before the "official" date. I'm shipping Singulars orders the second they come in. The old rules are dead, let's make new ones.

Check out Mike's label at centripetalforce.com - he's got that new Michael Hicks (Nashville Ambient Ensemble) coming September 17th. Or earlier even…

Cheers,
Sam