Creative Insight
Nov 23, 2009
Alex Robinson
Hyper-productive Alex Robinson is European Label Manager for heavyweight record company Stones Throw, as well as the founder and general dogsbody of his own label: One-Handed Music. Living and working in London, the 29 year-old has also lately been involved with supervising the music for Penny Woolcock's controversial Birmingham-based gang film 1 Day. Music; his girlfriend, friends and family; work (most of the time); and running make him happy. And puns.
What did you study at university?
History. I went intending to study 20th century history and ended up specialising in Renaissance Florentine art and Victorian theology, amongst other useful things. I loved it.
Did you always know you wanted to be involved in the music industry?
Pretty much. In my first year as a student I got a job as the local Street Team rep for the Beggars Group (the group of labels that includes Beggars Banquet, XL, 4AD and so on). It was my first taste of meeting artists, getting free music, VIP passes and so on and I was hooked. Looking back, I wasted that opportunity but you can still see a lot of my stickers around Oxford. I did a lot of student journalism, DJed, promoted nights and pretty much did all I could to find out how it all worked.
How did the position as Stones Throw's Europe Label Manager come about?
My first job was telesales at Vital Distribution, which is now known as PIAS and at the time was part of the same group. It was pretty grim. Just after I started PIAS did a distribution & licensing deal with Stones Throw – this was 2003, just before Jaylib came out. I started hassling people at PIAS for the fanclub 45s, t-shirts, anything I could get – I was (and am) a huge fan. Eventually they gave me a chance – as Peanut Butter Wolf’s tour manager and driver on a UK tour. Despite nearly killing him on the motorway once or twice we parted friends and PIAS soon gave me a job. I later left to work at PIAS’ new marketing company, Integral. I was working on Sway’s first album at the time, but they let me carry on with Stones Throw. Over time, Integral put pressure on me to give up Stones Throw to concentrate on the more commercial projects I was doing, like The Go! Team and The Gossip. I knew where my heart was, and Egon (Stones Throw’s General Manager, amongst other things) and I put together a plan to set up the European office. Two-and-a-bit years later, we’re still here.
What do you love most about the job?
The music. We’re still the best label in the world at what we do, and I’m proud to be part of it. There are some brilliant people on the staff and it’s a pleasure to work with them, and we have a great roster of artists right now. I also love the independence: LA is 8 hours behind the UK so I pretty much run my own days, set my own deadlines and so on. I get to do almost everything on the label side: marketing, licensing, distribution, and so on. Not many jobs would give you that breadth of experience. I’ve also had some incredible experiences on the road and the chance to spend time with artists who I really admire.
What do you hate most about the job?
I don’t hate any of it but I tire of the endless admin and, often worst of all, the lack of on-site IT support.
What epiphany did you have that made you realise you wanted to start One-Handed?
I knew I had to do it when other people started offering to release Paul White’s music. He had sent me the only exciting demo I have ever received – and I think I’m the only person he ever posted his music to. I was a huge fan from the off and started to help him out, passing his music around and giving him some advice and so on. Once other people actually started to take notice I realised I felt too passionately about his music to let someone else work with it, so we came up with OHM. That was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Do you find it difficult balancing the two jobs?
At times. But mostly it’s OK – I work long days and generally at least one day’s worth at weekends and I usually manage to squeeze it all in. When I set up the Stones Throw office I had to develop a very disciplined system to manage all the projects I had on the go, and it’s stood me in pretty good stead.
Has there ever been such a low point that you've thought of packing One-Handed in? If so, what lifted your spirits?
No, but I have had some frustrations. The production of the Fulgeance 12” was plagued with problems and I felt really bad about that as I worried I had let him down. Like lots of DIY labels, I’ve also felt the sharp end of not having contracts in place when I started. I try to look on that as a learning experience…
If you could give a startup label any advice, what would it be?
It’s funny, Wolf gets asked that a lot and he says, “Don’t do it”. I think he’s probably right, if you think it’s going to be a business that will sustain you. If you’re looking for a life-sapping hobby that will give you more quality time with Microsoft Excel and the ever-bewildering world of vinyl manufacturing, then I would thoroughly recommend it. Seriously though, I would advise a start up label to get the first couple of releases together before they launched anything, make sure they have a plan for every aspect of the promotion and distribution and aimed to sell as much direct to the consumer as possible. And if you’re going to give something away, gather email addresses. Your fans are your lifeblood, and zshare is your enemy. Ultimately, though, it’s never been easier for great music to find an audience, so concentrate on getting that right.
Is the music industry in good shape at the moment? Where do you think it's headed in the near future?
I don’t have room here to get into this in full, but the recording part of the industry as we know it is in terminal decline. No-one knows exactly where it’s headed. We have an industry based on exploiting copyright, and on selling discrete copies of recordings. Copyright and copies no longer mean what they did even ten years ago. From an independent label’s point of view, the near future means direct relationships with fans and retail; more products catering to your biggest fans; breaking down the barrier between labels and management; an increased focus on publishing and licensing, and the need for killer A&R. In a world of infinite choice and the abundance of free music only the exceptional will flourish. I think in the slightly longer term, fans will value reliable filters to help them cope with the choice, and companies with the trust of a niche or niches will thrive. I would hate to have a business that relied on having hit records and mainstream retail & media right now.
A little preview on what's in store from Stones Throw and One-Handed?
Lots! Stones Throw is about to release James Pants’ new record, 'Seven Seals'. We also have the 100% Madlib-produced Strong Arm Steady album. I’m really excited about Aloe Blacc’s new LP ‘Good Things’. He made that with Truth & Soul in New York and if you heard the Lee Fields album this year you’ll know that’s something special. Guilty Simpson and Madlib’s new collaboration ‘OJ Simpson’ is something else too, possibly the world’s first psychedelic gangster rap record.
Now-Again, our sister label run by Egon, has some incredible stuff. There’s a comp of ‘Psychedelic Ballads and Dirges’ called Forge Your Own Chains, a beautiful comp called ‘Black Man’s Cry: The Inspiration of Fela Kuti’, and a great record by The Whitefield Brothers (aka Poets of Rhythm) out in January. Paul White’s second album, ‘Paul White & The Purple Brain’, will be released in conjunction with Now-Again next Spring. That’s done and dusted and a huge step on from ‘The Strange Dreams…’.
On OHM we have a Paul White mini-album on 23 Nov, ‘Sounds From The Skylight’. That’s a taste of his beat-tapes for those who aren’t lucky enough to get them. He will have a 7” from the Purple Brain record and, all being well, a 12” with Sean Price of Boot Camp Clik, too.
Bullion’s next single is out in January and is a thing of wonder. He is a perfectionist and works slowly but when he has something ready to go, it means it’s special. I hope to do more with him, we’ll see.
Possibly most excitingly of all, we’re finally going to release the Tranqill record I’ve been trying to put out for 18 months. He’s a devastating UK MC & producer. It’s straight rap music and I’m sure a lot of people won’t like it but I’m enormously proud of it and I think he makes most of the competition look foolish.
I should also mention I’m working with a label called Five Day Weekend. We have Now-Again artist Mr Chops’ album ‘For Pete’s Sake’ – Pete Rock covers in a fuzzed-out psych style, and Edan The Deejay’s Echo Party record. As a huge Edan fan that’s a real privilege. I can’t remember the last time I was quite so excited to get a test pressing.
Watch out for all these killer projects from Stones Throw and One-Handed Music - In the meantime, you can follow Alex on Twitter.
