After two years in operation, DFTBA Records has now sold a total of $1,000,000 in music and merch. Two YouTubers founded the company in 2008 who wanted to make being a full-time musician an attainable dream for their fellow video bloggers and performers.
Hank and Alan, the founders of the label, ran the numbers and soon figured out that if they “could dramatically increase the amount of money artists make per CD they sell," and let their 'artists' authenticity increase the listener-to-purchaser ratio, 'musician' could suddenly be a real job for a lot of people." Reportedly, the duo succeeded.
As a business, they focus on providing services for emerging artists. Given that the successful ones are already good at creating content and growing their audiences, they opt-in and handle the details. Since they only have the goal of creating professional musicians—not Lady Gaga—they're able to operate with low overhead, as well as, produce and distribute creative, independent projects.
At heart, they're a community-run record label that desires to ensure that as much of the payoff as possible goes to the creators that they collaborate with. This has allowed them to thrive. In 2009, Mashable named them the “Best Online Music Label" of the year. And the team says things “are just getting started."
In the coming weeks, Hypebot will pursue an interview with this duo and see what we can learn. Are there any questions that you'd like us to ask them?
Hank and Alan, the founders of the label, ran the numbers and soon figured out that if they “could dramatically increase the amount of money artists make per CD they sell," and let their 'artists' authenticity increase the listener-to-purchaser ratio, 'musician' could suddenly be a real job for a lot of people." Reportedly, the duo succeeded.
As a business, they focus on providing services for emerging artists. Given that the successful ones are already good at creating content and growing their audiences, they opt-in and handle the details. Since they only have the goal of creating professional musicians—not Lady Gaga—they're able to operate with low overhead, as well as, produce and distribute creative, independent projects.
At heart, they're a community-run record label that desires to ensure that as much of the payoff as possible goes to the creators that they collaborate with. This has allowed them to thrive. In 2009, Mashable named them the “Best Online Music Label" of the year. And the team says things “are just getting started."
In the coming weeks, Hypebot will pursue an interview with this duo and see what we can learn. Are there any questions that you'd like us to ask them?
