Interview: PressPlay – the record label that prioritises talent

As an artist, the earliest stages of your career can often involve difficulty in getting your music heard. Despite your level of talent, this will always be one of the biggest hurdles that must be overcome in order to move forward. This is where PressPlay comes in. The firm is making a huge impact on the careers of upcoming artists who have all the talent to succeed but don’t have the contacts or the visibility required. Being able to reach a large audience is one of the biggest goals for upcoming artists, but can prove incredibly difficult on your own. This is why enlisting a label like PressPlay is so important in furthering your career as an artist.

PressPlay is at its core, a record label. But don’t be fooled, it isn’t your average label. PressPlay prides itself on working with talented artists to enable them to achieve their goals in the music industry. The label is founded on the belief that talent is what counts, and that talented artists shouldn’t be restricted by lack of contacts in the industry. Major labels often don’t support talented artists who are yet to reach their peak and instead focus on those who have already made a name for themselves in the industry, circulating music from the same artists on repeat. This isn’t the case for PressPlay, who focus on an artist’s abilities rather than previous successes.

As an artist, it can be incredibly frustrating to be held back by your lack of contacts and marketing strategy. In order to be spotted, you have to already have a strategy in place and have a number of influential contacts to help you reach the right people. But what if you were able to approach the label yourself? At PressPlay, you can approach them, regardless of the stage you’re at in your career. They won’t be put off by a lack of streams, they’ll assess your talent and explore methods for enabling you to reach a much bigger audience. With their expert marketing knowledge, they know exactly how to get you in front of a much bigger audience, allowing you to expand your influence and experience an exponential fanbase growth.

Often, artists can feel mislead by their labels, and be unsure whether they are being promoted as much as they would like. This is why PressPlay makes sure to offer real-time statistics on an artist’s success. They believe in full transparency and that the key to improving and succeeding is by learning from your statistics. Without looking back at data, it is difficult to really move forward and excel as an artist, making this aspect of the label key to its overall desirability.

Based in the heart of Amsterdam, PressPlay is an ideal option for producers who are struggling to get the reach they deserve in the music industry. As an artist, it is important to explore all of your options in order to make sure that when you sign with a label, you’re getting the best possible deal for yourself. We spoke to PressPlay about the basis behind the label and their strategy for helping artists to reach their potential.

What is PressPlay?

“We are the new channel for building up a fanbase for music artists. PressPlay Records is a label, a publisher and foremost, a matchmaker. We enable song writers to play their music to a large audience on (social) platforms to build up a fanbase and to monetize their music.”

What made you decide to create PressPlay? Was it a service you felt was lacking at the time?

“We are born out of necessity. Rule number 1: if you want to be a music artist, your music needs to be heard. The traditional music distribution channel is allowing only for a few song writers to become an artist. The rest is waiting in line and hoping for signing deal with a major label one day. At PressPlay you skip the line and perform immediately in front of a large audience.”

What would you say to an artist who is unsure whether to enlist your services?

“Working with PressPlay is risk free and hassle free. We work with artists on a song by song basis and we won’t limit their freedom in signing up with major labels or other publishers.”

Can you give us an example of a project that you worked on that you’re most proud of?

“We have recently started working with a well-known artist that already has great traction in the traditional music distribution channel. He signed new tracks to PressPlay to launch his music on social channels to target a specific audience to grow his popularity. Great to see that also established artists are working with us to increase their exposure. We have become a tool for new and established artists.”

Why do you feel that your music distribution strategy by using social platforms is successful?

“Video content makers are looking for great music that is exclusive to their channel. At the same time songwriters want to reach a large audience to build up a name and make fame. Both of them are gaining traction with our model.”

What are your future plans for PressPlay?

“We will continue to grow our international footprint by connecting with more major global social channels to give our song writers even more exposure and help to target specific audiences.”

Find out more about PressPlay here.