Even in the modern era’s rapidly changing music industry, driven more by content creator uploads and social media interaction, there’s still some necessity and some definite demand for the hometown independent record label, that often bootstrap-level champion and purveyor of indie bands and young, buzz-making artists.
But in an age when digital content rules and physical media has largely been pushed out of the mainstream, where does the indie label fit among the youth and the rising artists of the Oklahoma scene?
Well, just ask Cooper Anderson, founder and operator of OKC-based indie record label, distributer, and small-run production house Catapult Recordings.
He launched the label to unexpected success five whole years ago, when he was just 14 years old.
Cooper Anderson: The record label wasn't always the idea. I kind of just stumbled into it. I had a friend who basically had some tracks and wanted to put them out, and didn't know how, and came to me because he knows I work in tech. And so five years later, here we are.
Brett Fieldcamp: Even launching the label at that early age, Anderson was adamant about avoiding the usual, cautionary pitfalls of overbearing record labels and shady financial tactics that have driven so many artists away from the label-centric model.
Cooper Anderson: How can we make this appealing to the artist, rather than “oh it's this company that wants to come and take all my money and my masters.” Ever since I started this, I’ve just kind of tried to be a positive name in the Oklahoma City community.
Brett Fieldcamp: That’s meant collecting a roster of bands and performers across a wide spectrum of styles, with Anderson spending the early days combing through playlists and social media to find new artists.
But since the major citywide success of Catapult acts like pop-rockers Bee and The Hive, Anderson said the balance has shifted almost entirely toward fielding demos and submissions, even if the simple, personal criteria for selection has remained the same.
Cooper Anderson: I think there has to be passion behind it, and I think that's what most indie labels do, is they curate music. And while most indie labels have a sound, I really don't think ours have a sound.
Brett Fieldcamp: Fans have been responding to that passion as well, helping to launch Catapult into success through the recent resurgence in physical media like CDs and even cassette tapes.
But Anderson said the key to finding success in the crowded and cutthroat world of digital streaming royalties has always been the label’s diversity and range.
Cooper Anderson: Rather than ten songs that make a bunch of money a month on Spotify, having a hundred songs that each make a little bit helps.
But yeah, it's merch, it's physical music, it's definitely not streaming royalties, but a little chunk of it is. We actually sell more tapes than CDs.
Brett Fieldcamp: Hoping to extend that same homegrown support into the murky world of digital music distribution eventually led Cooper to develop the brand new Catapult Direct, a fully independent distribution platform for delivering music to streaming services worldwide, going head-to-head with popular corporate platforms like CDBaby and DistroKid.
And that meant wrangling some of the world’s biggest music companies into playing ball with an Oklahoma City teenager.
Cooper Anderson: After doing months of research, making contracts with, like, Spotify, Apple, you know, all those DSPs, we finally had a product that was like, “okay, this could be a real alternative to DistroKid, CDBbaby, TuneCore, and so on.”
A lot of conference calls, a lot of contracts and lawyers, it's a lot. I've always told people “if you're thinking about starting a label, go for it. If you're thinking about starting a distribution company, maybe think twice.”
Brett Fieldcamp: All of this, Anderson said, is part of a wider push for fans and indie communities to take back some control in the music industry and to better connect artists and fans on the ground level through physical album sales and direct ownership, all elements that for year seemed to be pushed out of the music world.
Cooper Anderson: We're all kind of coming to a realization that just because we pay for Spotify or Apple Music doesn't mean we actually own the music that we're listening to every day. And I think people are starting to realize how little artists make as a whole, and they know that merch and physical media and buying that, as a fan, helps them.
And so I think especially with the youth, they're definitely seeing that, and I think that sends a really powerful message.
Brett Fieldcamp: For more information on Catapult Recordings, including updates on the forthcoming new Catapult Direct service, visit catapultrecordings.com.
For On the Scene, I’m Brett Fieldcamp, now here’s Catapult Recordings artists Bee and the Hive with “Malapropism.”
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