# More major symphony orchestras are releasing their own recordings, bypassing outside labels.



## N Fowleri (5 mo ago)

After purchasing some recordings that the Berliner Philharmoniker released themselves, I started to notice more and more symphony orchestras are doing this, skipping outside labels, such as Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, and Sony.

Do people think this trend will continue? Is it good, bad, or a combination? What effects will it have?

I do realize that even major labels often subcontract out the recording and mastering. Thus, I assume major orchestras can hire most of the same people/companies directly.

I suppose a third alternative is the use of minor labels that, perhaps, provide differently-structured deals to the artists.


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

We're doing it, too. Given that most of us are doing digital-only/streaming releases, there's no need for a label to handle manufacturing and distribution. Although, that's changing, too. (We're working on some "indie" vinyl releases.) 

We can record, mix, master, and release all on our own. It's not going to be a huge source of income, so we decided there was no reason to invest in all of the external infrastructure. 

Non-classical artists have been doing this now for decades. We're late to the game!


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## N Fowleri (5 mo ago)

prlj said:


> We're doing it, too. Given that most of us are doing digital-only/streaming releases, there's no need for a label to handle manufacturing and distribution. Although, that's changing, too. (We're working on some "indie" vinyl releases.)
> 
> We can record, mix, master, and release all on our own. It's not going to be a huge source of income, so we decided there was no reason to invest in all of the external infrastructure.
> 
> Non-classical artists have been doing this now for decades. We're late to the game!


Are you finding a way to get your recordings on Apple Music, Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon, and the like?


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

N Fowleri said:


> Are you finding a way to get your recordings on Apple Music, Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon, and the like?


Yes, there are a number of really easy ways to do this...such as CDBaby, etc. One upload, and they get it on most streaming sites.

For my own music (not my orchestra), I use DistroKid.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I don't have a problem with orchestras making their own product, but marketing and distribution is clearly a problem. There might be music I would be interested in but I don't know anything about it, or even that it's available. The production quality can be excellent; I've picked up some terrific discs from orchestras like Berlin, Dallas, Chicago, and Philadelphia that they produced themselves. The LSO seems to have the distribution problem figured out: they advertise in print media, but the number of magazines and readers of those mags decreases every year.

The days of American orchestras filling their bank accounts with recordings are long over. The market is getting smaller, the back catalog is massive, and union rules have made recording here prohibitively expensive. One orchestra I play with made a recording: we hired our own recording team, the conductor and soloist did the editing. The final product was basically given to Naxos who did a wonderful job of producing the booklet and the final product, but the orchestra made nothing. That's the way a lot of recordings happen now, sadly.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

If you look into opera thread, some studio recordings historically never happened, because of the issues with "labels". This singer had an exclusive contract with A, the other one with B, so you could never record them together. Or A decided that certain opera would not sell, so their slave singer never recorded it. I dont know if this extends to the instrumental music or modern days, but I wellcome any form of independence, just in case.


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## Bernamej (Feb 24, 2014)

Also the known labels used to guarantee us some sort of quality in the audio and interpretation, they don’t just record and distribute, they also “edit” and do quality control. We all know that with DG, Decca, etc…we get a minimum of “quality” that is assured.


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