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It’s easy to think of terms like “the music industry” and “record labels” in the same vein as some evil faceless corporation that plays the role of the villain in a spy thriller. In fact, there are probably plenty of big labels that are thoroughly deserving of such infamy. But it’s not all just businessmen in suits looking to make money, there are plenty of smaller labels out there that are dedicated to helping artists grow and sharing great music with the world. Normally I don’t pay too much mind to labels, but when you see the same name pop up time and time again besides artists you love you suddenly start to sit up and take notice. I spend plenty of time writing about the music I love and the artists I admire, so I thought it was high-time I gave a shout out to the labels that keep the wheels turning and make sure all that great art reaches our ears. Continue reading
For years I had the same routine every Saturday. I would head into town for a spot of lunch, look around HMV and the record stalls in the market, buy the latest copy of NME and chill for an hour or so in my favourite cafe. Over the course of a very large pot of loose leaf tea I would read every last article and feature. That seems like an age ago now. Pardon the nostalgia, but with the announcement that Britain’s most iconic music publication will cease printing by the end of the week after 66 years in circulation, I’d rather remember it as it used to be rather than what it became. 
To say that this year’s festival season has been a bit of a shambles would be a massive understatement. That’s like saying the Sahara Desert is “a bit warm”. Between Y Not being totally unprepared for rain (i.e. a normal British summer) to Hope and Glory being several thousand over capacity, it’s been one hell of a year for shamefully poor organisation… and the less said about the horror show that is Fyre Festival the better. All of them cut corners when it came to security and facilities, all of them showed utter disregard for their patron’s safety, enjoyment and well-being. Anyone who has been to a half decent festival will know that all these problems are easily avoided. 
You all know the type; once an album has been released the record label will keep flogging it for every penny it’s worth. In today’s modern music industry, during what is probably the most unpredictable time since it’s inception, the business side of things plays a bigger role than ever before. With streaming becoming the dominant form of music consumption, but offering little in terms of monetary rewards, labels have to go to greater lengths to try and push sales for physical copies of albums. One of the biggest, and most irritating ways that they do this is by releasing “deluxe editions”, packed to the brim with content that, if we’re honest, no one asked for. 
Belwood Music 