I have, and my label went down for the exact same reason. I'm still paying off the debt to this day. You know what I learned from it (and even moreso afterwards working for legitimate businesses)? Keep money in the bank! Sure there is a certain amount of artistry behind a music label, but people forget this is still a business industry. It's not all about playing gigs, taking trips to ibiza, and doing loads of coke. A smart businessman keeps money in the bank in case something goes wrong. This is the second time this has happened to Damian, don't you think he would have learned to do something different the second time?
In any industry there is always a downside. This happens to be one of them and you have to accept that you could take a huge loss at any instant. Like I said, if you're smart you can be ahead of everyone and make sure your ass is covered. Damian is a lot more fortunate than the smaller labels on Amato's list. He actually has the ability to come up with some cash which can be stashed for these kind of scenarios. There are a lot of smaller labels who can't afford to pay their artists because they don't make that much money in or outside of music. Those are the people I truly feel for.
Pheek, from a morale standpoint I completely agree. In this sense I truly feel for Damian. I think anybody who has stuck in this game for the long run will tell you they still have the "WTF" bouts on a weekly basis. Even the small tedious stuff in this industry is enough to overshadow the amazing perks of being an international DJ and producer. If closing the label is simply a case of morale, I hope Damian finds the inspiration he is looking for because it's a damn good label (but not as good as he likes to brag about.
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From a business standpoint, he kind of screwed up. Distributors going under (especially these days) are an extremely real possibility. It's stupid not to have a plan in case something happens (the music becomes "uncool" to buy, distributor goes under, etc.). A high-profile label owner may think "Well not my distributor, I'm a big label and we have things locked down" but take a look at Prime. The were on the brink of going from a big indie distributor to a small major distributor. They went under and some of the industries biggest labels, producers, and DJs lost waaay more backstock and money than Damian did. You say, "but Thomas, you have no proof!"
Common sense, logic, and looking at sales from the past will tell you there is a lot more backstock sitting around. Some of the heavy hitting labels on Prime easily surpassed the 10,000 mark on the debut of the release, with represses numbering in the thousands frequently. To pull off those sales these days are pretty difficult. Pheek, you're well connected it seems to ask a couple label owners at some point how the sales are compared to 2000ish. Labels that did 10,000 regularly are now happy with 2,000. They fell harder and they're still here today. My point is, Crosstown is a big label but I highly doubt they pressed up the sheer amount of numbers that these older labels did. I back up my assumption with the fact that Damian admits CR is starting to sell more MP3s than vinyl. I have to be honest, Beatport pays pretty damn well and they pay exactly on the week they say they will. So at least Damian has that money coming. How much can really be lost?
I'm not here to argue with you or anyone else. I'm also not hear to say "whoopty do Damian, big deal." I'm sorry if I come across as negative (some of it is I guess), but what we're dealing with here is easy Business 101 basics. And for Damian's sake, I really think it would be wise for him to keep CR going. The fans love it and it's what keeps him relevant. He's not a producer so without a label he's just a DJ. While he's a fairly decent DJ, there's a million others out there (and plenty on this board) who can do the same thing.
nice read and i can only agree with you. What was your label?