TruSource Technology DL2 Integrated Digital Mixer

EXEC PROFILE
BACKGROUND: Glenn Dicker
met Tor Hansen when they were
five or six years old. They played
in bands and worked at Boston’s
venerable Rounder Records,
where Dicker began Upstart
Records and signed Nick Lowe.
Eventually, he followed Hansen
to North Carolina, where the
duo formed Yep Roc. Despite
the odds, the indie haven will be
celebrating its 15 th anniversary
this October.
Glenn Dicker
Co-owner
Yep Roc
Years with Company: 15
Address: 449-A Trollingwood Rd., Haw River, NC 27258
Phone: 877-733-3931
FAX: NA
Web: http://yeproc.com
E-mail: NA
Clients: Chuck Prophet, Fountains of Wayne, Gang of
Four, John Wesley Harding, Josh Rouse, Jukebox the
Ghost, Los Straightjackets, Nick Lowe, Paul Weller,
Peggy Sue, Robyn Hitchcock, Sloan, Apples in Stereo,
the Fleshtones, the Minus 5, the Reverend Horton Heat,
the Sadies, the Soft Boys, the Soundtrack of Our Lives
“We’ve been putting out a record every two weeks; we haven’t always
done that, but we try to. There’s something about working with a
bunch of different artists that’s really appealing.”
Call First:
I was a music director at the radio
station where I went to college and
had this CMJ directory. When I got
to Boston, I looked in it for record labels.
I went to one independent and
just walked in. That was the wrong
move and I quickly learned I should
call for an appointment. I saw that
Rounder had a distribution company,
in addition to a record label.
That seemed like it would be a place
with more opportunity, so I went for
an interview and they gave me a job.
A Well Rounder-ed Education:
I started at the bottom and worked up
into all the parts of the warehouse,
receiving, shipping, then data entry.
Then I became a buyer for the distribution
company, which was a big
step forward. Then the label needed
a promo person. At that time, there
was one and they needed another. I
got that and learned about the label
side of things, promotions and stuff
like that.
Upstarting Out:
Eventually, I started a label [Upstart]
with the people in my band. Tor was
one of them. We put out or own record
because nobody else wanted
to. It was a complete DIY model; we
were booking shows, [doing] promotion,
the whole nine yards ourselves.
We had an opportunity to work
with Nick Lowe, and the Rounder
folks offered to help us get into business.
They helped set us up to do
bigger things, where before we had
just been putting out small records
that were actually, by today’s standards,
pretty big sellers.
Redeye Distribution:
Tor got a job at Rounder a few
weeks after me. He started working
in the warehouse, too, and as
he moved up he went into data entry
as well. Then a job opened up in
sales, so he jumped into that. From
there, he got hired to work with Hear
Music. They started out as a catalog
company and then started opening
stores.
They ended up being bought by
Starbucks. Then he got the opportunity
to work for Planet Music, which
was owned by Borders. That brought
him to North Carolina. Eventually,
Borders consolidated the whole operation
in Ann Arbor. He didn’t want
to move and that’s when he decided
to start the distribution company [Redeye].
Heading South:
[Upstart] was in a situation where I
wouldn’t be able to do exactly what I
wanted. [Rounder] had given me an
amazing opportunity, but at the end
of the day it wasn’t going to be exactly
what we wanted. So it seemed
like a good idea for us to part ways
and I partnered up with Tor. The label
[Yep Roc] started from that.
Essentially, we started out as a regional
distribution company. I came
right from the label experience, so
I wanted to keep that going. ... We
kept on pushing ourselves to expand
and handle more territories. We took
it one step at a time. We didn’t want
anybody’s help. We wanted to build
it one brick at a time.
Local Flavor:
At first, we were going to shows every
night so we could sign bands
that we liked. It was a very eclectic
mix to begin with, because we would
work with any kind of music. We
would work with a country-ish band
like Two Dollar Pistols and the Comas,
an indie pop-rock kind of band.
On Your Own:
We find out about something, check
it out and see if it’s something we’d
feel passionate about. The music’s
the number one thing—if it’s something
that connects with us. Also,
what are the people going to be like
to work with? Do they have a team
in place? We want to see people
who’ve developed something that
can go out on the road and have
developed a fan base on their own.
Nuts and Bolts:
We’re an independent label and
have very flexible contracts. Because
they’re all different, it’s difficult
to say how it all works out. Usually,
these negotiations play out longer
than you want them to. It’s up to the
lawyers to work out the details. We
usually go in feeling like: if everybody
wants to work together, we’re
going to find a way to do it. So we
try to be flexible. Our attorney is top
notch and he’s a music guy. We got
to know him because he was the
manager of a band that was on our
label. He’s a guy who wants to get
deals done. He’s not going to hold
up the process.
Longevity:
Hopefully, [our longevity is the result
of] a number of things, but number
one it’s the relationships we have
with our artists. It’s about us providing
real value as a label. We’re
able to figure out what the needs
are, how best to promote something
and connect bands with a fan base.
We’re going to have good relationships
with the artists if they’re happy.
—ANDY KAUFMANN
Starting Fresh:
[Chapel Hill is] extremely accessible,
beautiful, the people are fantastic
and it’s got a great music scene.
It’s a little more laidback, the cost
of living is different… It provided us
opportunities that we wouldn’t have
necessarily had. Also, moving to a
new place can be a good thing. You
get rid of your safety nets. Being in
Boston for 10 years, you kind of get
set in some ways and become comfortable.
Just taking yourself out of
that can be really useful.
A Stream of Content:
There are very practical reasons to
have so many records. One of them
is that, because we have our own
distribution company, it’s great to be
putting out records on a consistent
basis so that we always have something
to sell. We’ve been putting
out a record every two weeks; we
haven’t always done that, but we try
to. There’s something about working
with a bunch of different artists that’s
really appealing.
Artistic Freedom:
The most important thing is being
extremely artist-focused and artistfriendly.
We’re not the type of label
that gets involved in the recording
process. We don’t look for records
while they’re being made. We get on
board and we’re a go. Unless they
absolutely want feedback, we’re going
to take what they give us, put together
a marketing plan and do our
best to promote and sell it.
How to Pitch:
We try to sign one new-ish artist a
year, two at the most. [Send us] an
email with a link to something you’d
like us to check out, a YouTube link
or maybe some demos.
The Label Grapevine:
Develop your fan base, do as much
as you can on your own and labels
will come looking for you. That’s
usually the way it works for us. It’s
rarely from a band contacting us
directly. It’s usually a manager who
we have a relationship with or a record
store guy, some relationship
we have. That doesn’t mean don’t
send your music directly to a label.
If there’s something you’re proud of
and want to share, do it. Don’t send
a ton of stuff, though. Send something
focused that you think will get
your point across. You don’t want to
give the full-blown picture. You want
to create a bit of mystery and make
people want to dive in on their own.
The Indie Advantage:
We have to shape ourselves to maximize
every revenue source that’s
out there. Nobody’s better at doing
that than independent labels. We’re
small and nimble. We can react well
to changes in the marketplace and
serve the customer better than anybody
else. That’s what independents
are about—finding the best music
out there and making sure they’re
serving the customers’ needs.
22 September 2012 www.musicconnection.com