Between 2010 and 2019 the label produced something like 11 or so albums. It was during this period that I learned a great deal about all aspects of the recording industry. I ran the web sites and organized selling music on Amazon and iTunes, planned recording sessions and even helped with editing and mixing. I was present during recording sessions at Avatar and the Power Station among others. Most of what I do today with respect to Pro Tools and plug-ins and the like was learned during this period of time. I met some great people from all corners of the industry. Many of these people I idolized as a youngster, and many new friends that blew me away with their skills and talents. In most cases it was wonderful to see that they were just real people doing their thing. (One danger here is that invariable a few of your idols turn out to be total mega-ego assholes, which can be heartbreaking.) It was quite liberating to see some of my heroes flubbing solos and having to punch-in to make corrections. You grow up thinking that every note they play is perfect, and that idea can be quite debilitating to your confidence as a student of your instrument. This sense of humanity brought me to respect them all the more, because it was a revelation that they really had to bust ass to attain/maintain their chops and proficiency. The best have practice and study plans with goals set out for an entire year in advance, and practice hours and hours every day. Dedication. Sadly, as far as being a sustainable business, running a label is a looser (unless you have a massive hit). You can invest large sums of money producing albums, but the public wants music for free. In the end, the artist gets the raw deal, because in order to get a label to invest in his or her album, they have to guarantee a percentage of their live performance earnings to the label as payback. Meanwhile, independent artists funding their own recordings get fractions of pennies from hundreds of thousands of streams. Quite ridiculous and unsustainable. In 2016 the cancer came back. This time I decided to go to University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Center for treatment. Lucky thing, as I learned that I had been mis-diagnosed and was being given the wrong medicine. Health care today can be hazardous to your health, especially when the so-called hospitals are more concerned with real estate dealings and mergers than delivering health care. Here's a tip for y'all... When you have a choice, go to a teaching, university-based hospital for care. The University of Miami saved my life. I was diagnosed with CCL, and that was managed with a pill for several years... Onward and upward... By 2018, the whole record label thing went sideways for me. I was neglecting my own music and interests and I eventually decided to walk away from the whole thing. I was being taken for granted, and that works ok for a spell, but eventually you have to turn in your chips and go home. As I said, It was a great learning opportunity and I don't regret for a moment having been involved. After a short period of nostalgic mourning, I went back to my music with renewed vigor, now armed with extensive production and recording knowledge.
