RRR RECORDS - A New Label and a New Chance for Musicians
A conversation with Derek Nakamoto

Derek, let’s talk about your background for a second. One look at your list of credits tells us that you have worked with some of the most successful artists in the world as a Producer, Arranger and Songwriter. Why the shift to starting a label?

Well, it’s not much of a shift actually. I used to balance my schedule between working on major label releases as a producer/arranger and working with independent talent. In recent years – as everybody knows – the influence of record labels, especially majors has been greatly diminished. I think labels stopped doing more and more what I believe is so desperately needed: true artist development. At the same time many artists take matters into their own hands and self-produce, self-package, self-manage and not surprisingly end up with a sub-par record in the process.

So what is new and different about RRR (or “triple R”) when compared to traditional record labels in a nutshell?

Quite a bit actually (laughs). Essentially I took some of the things that labels did very well but have stopped doing over the years, largely due to high cost and have merged it with a business concept that fits into the digital age.

Please explain…

Well, I think that the most important thing for a label to do is match a project with a producer and truly develop the artist. In the process you also develop the material, and effectively come up with a collection of songs that gets to be released to the public. And then the public decides whether they like the music or not.

And you believe traditional labels are not doing this anymore?

I think many times they are doing it ineffectively. At RRR it’s a rather simple process. I pick artists I am producing. If we come to an agreement about the artistic approach we are going through a creative process together that takes up to four weeks. In those weeks we select 4 to 6 great songs from their repertoire, pre-produce, record, master and package them. It’s a very intense time, but the result is a world-class musical product that comes out in a very reasonable amount of time.

Wow. Many major or even big indie labels take up to two years from project start to release date…

Exactly. And you can’t blame them. They need to get ready to slate release dates and plan a whole fiscal year in advance. If you’re signed to a label whose roster includes U2, forget about releasing an album the same month. Also forget releasing a debut album around Christmas. Traditional labels are very reluctant to set a release date for any album before it’s finished. So they think about a date once the album is finished, which adds even more time to the mix. At RRR we know how important it is for people these days to get their product out into the world and get instant feedback on their work. Also, just think about the creative vacuum a band or singer falls into when they are waiting a full year for their debut album to be released.

How long does it take RRR to release an album?

Usually about 6 weeks after mastering the album the project is available as a digital release. We do not manufacture regular CD’s anymore but the artist is free to press CD’s and sell at shows if they want to.

Wait a minute…you don’t even make “real” silver plastic CD’s anymore?

From a business perspective it simply is not worth doing this anymore. For retailers to order CDs, the shipping cost to the retailer, the manpower needed to handle returns… it’s just not worth it as a business model. You end up spending $100 to make $20. No business can survive like that.

How does RRR stand on the idea of packaging a product, that’s still important, right?

Absolutely. We are working with some of the best graphic artists in L.A. and have a variety of different photographers in our network to truly capture an image that will tell people what kind of music they can expect when buying a recording. It’s a harsh reality but no one wants to buy an album with an unprofessional looking cover, but yet most self-released artist albums look terrible and are instantly recognizable as amateur products. We don’t let that happen and make sure our product looks on par with the quality associated with major label releases.

RRR charges the artist a part of the fees that it takes to launch the recording, why is that and how does it work?

The unspoken truth in the record business is that nobody knows anything. There simply are no guarantees for success. Every major label releases 50 CD’s and loses money on 49 of them. This is not a sustainable model. They make the money back by charging back the one artist who does make it a ridiculous percentage and by tying him or her to a long contract and what they call “options” where essentially the artist owes them his next three to six releases. This gave labels the reputation of being greedy, but it’s just the economics of dealing with a very unpredictable market place. We charge our artists $15,000 to offset the recording cost, mastering expenses, musicians’ fees and artwork. It barely covers our cost but that’s why we only work with artists we really believe in. Most importantly all RRR artists retain 95% of their rights to the masters and keep 95% of the proceeds.

How did you come up with this model?

I believe great artists should have a chance to have their voices heard. It bothers me so much to hear a great talent on websites like MySpace, but the recording sounds amateurish or simply not competitive with what’s currently on the radio. I know artists spend so much money on the best solutions in their minds given their resources; they work with studios or engineers with no real track record but fall for what essentially amounts to promises. What is sad to me is they often self-produce so there is no feedback in the studio when they are recording and simply not allowed the luxury of “being an artist”. The end result is a product with no vision, no guidance and no thread creating cohesiveness throughout the entire recording. I wanted to make it possible for artists to get a real shot at a career in music in a reasonable time frame.

Why did you decide to reduce the amount of songs from 10 to 12 on an average Major release down to 4 to 6 songs on a RRR release?

If you would allow me generalize for a second: we all know the dilemma that most CD’s have on average 5 great and 5 not so great tracks on them. Consumers know that, too. That’s how we became a “one-song-download” culture. Additionally many potential new fans don't want to spend $10 to see if they like an act; $4 to $5 feels better as an entry price point for a new artist. In the studio I have found that recording the first half of the songs is usually an incredible experience for everybody involved and you really feel the creative energy in the room. As a project drags on it sometimes feels like a honeymoon that’s gone bad (laughs). I guess I wanted to make the experience of making a record as significant as the actual recording and I guess I have seen too many bands lose the creative spirit in the pursuit of filling a 10 to 12 song quota. A quota we still carry around from the antiquated LP format. Nowadays new fans and industry affiliates just don’t have the patience to look for the 4 nuggets in a 12 song release anymore. If you hit them with 4 to 6 really great songs I know that you can still raise some eyebrows.

Is $15.000 a lot of money for artists to come up with?

Artists have many ways to make money from personal appearances, sponsorships to music licensing. Record labels only sell music recordings which – frankly – has become less than profitable in many cases. I think between recording, producing, mixing, mastering and packaging the average band spends this kind of money on a self-released project and after all is said and done don’t even know how to get the songs on iTunes or Napster. They spend so much time, resources and energy purchasing home recording gear, learning how to record properly, how to design artwork and do the business side of things that the key element can get lost which is “being an artist”. They spend time and money and so much energy on trying to emulate what labels and industry pros have perfected over the years. Then they wonder why their product does not look or sound like a real major label release. Frankly it’s the equivalent of trying to save $700 on airfare by building and flying your own airplane. I think it’s safe to say that the chances of success are minimal at best.

So RRR essentially eliminates the guesswork…

Yes. My contacts allow me to assemble some of the best engineers, musicians, music marketers and studios L.A. has to offer and because of these long standing relationships we manage to stay within a reasonable budget. Most importantly we try to separate the sense from the non-sense and aim to be honest with the musicians we work in every regard.

How does the process work if a band or solo artist wants to work with RRR?

First they would need to contact me and I figure out if their music is up my alley. I get a lot of submissions these days but always make time to listen to what I am being sent and get back to the artists within a few days. If I believe the artist is a right match for RRR we usually start to communicate and see if we have a time slot available that works. Basically this is a 4 week time frame in which the artist is able to fully commit to the process of making the record.

What happens then?

We will discuss their material, start to pick songs and meet with a marketing specialist to get started on figuring out a visual image for the artwork. That’s in the first few days. Then we get into pre-production, tracking, overdubs, mixing and mastering. It’s an exciting process because no one has the time to procrastinate on anything. We just have to make it work. If a singer needs additional coaching I bring in a vocal coach, if parts need to be worked out we rent a rehearsal space and do it. Whatever is needed to develop a great product, the resources are here and it’s an exciting time for me and for and everyone involved.

Derek, thanks for taking the time to chat.

(The Interview was conducted by Hallie Navic for Music Media Wire)