Label Profile: Play Me

Label Profile: Play Me

26 August, 2010 | 7.34AM

• Written by: Sean Lewis
• Filed under: Music News: play me, reid speed

If you’ve ever made a dance track, chances are that you’ve at least entertained the thought of starting your own label. And why not? The Internet has dissolved formerly impassable barriers to entry with the majors and the prominent independent labels. You don’t need’em anymore. With $12, a gum wrapper, a shoelace, and one good track you can probably get a label off the starting block… Right? How hard can it be? You certainly couldn’t need much more than a good run of successful releases.

Well honestly… what do I know? If I knew the all the answers I’d be putting out Lady Gaga albums. I wanted to dig a little deeper, so I turned to a shining beacon of a new label that’s had a series of successful releases from some relatively unknown artists. Since launch, this label has had ten of their releases hijack slots inside the top 10 sales charts in their respective genres—a phenomenal feat, considering that’s over half of their catalog so far.

The label is Play Me Records. The owner is none other than the talented DJ/producer Reid Speed. She started her journeys in New York’s underground rave scene. From 1997 to about 2001 she was a resident DJ at drum & bass standards like Camouflage, Stuck on Earth and Direct Drive. But things really took off when she started worked a regular gig at Manhattan’s landmark drum and bass record store/record label Breakbeat Science. Through her network there, Reid toured and built a name for herself that lead to her first mix album release in 2001. Shortly thereafter, Reid relocated to Los Angeles, released a second album, appeared as the in-house DJ for the television show ‘The Jamie Kennedy Experiment’, and started successful monthly party called Breakdown. In short, Reid has established herself as a musical icon and now successful label head.

Last year Reid launched Play Me records and as far as dubstep’s concerned, it’s been a huge success. She’s introduced new local talent into the international dance music scene and established her label as the premier source for anthem bound bass tunes. We approached Reid with some questions, she hit us back with some info and hopefully we put enough together for you to walk away with a little more insight into what it takes to run a successful label.

When and why did you decide to start Play Me? What’s the concept behind the label?

I had been toying with the idea of starting a bass-driven beats label for some time. I really wanted to change all the negative things I had seen and heard about drum & bass and even some house labels (like holding back releases for years, being distant and unaccountable to artists, losing masters, not paying people) and do something honest and actually about the music, and to make a place where new talent could have a chance to be heard and recognized. But I had been unable to secure distribution until Mark Subsonik approached me in early 2009. He had a distro (Symphonic) who wanted him to start an electro label, but he didn’t feel that he knew enough about the genre to do it alone. Originally we were called Heart Beats, and had already set up a website, MySpace, logo, graphics, the whole nine.

Four days before we were set to debut, another label turned up on Beatport with the same name. We tried to fight it, but we lost that fight and had to start from scratch, this time with no budget. Three months later Play Me finally debuted. The first couple of releases didn’t do so well and I recognized what we were going to need to do to turn it around. Mark and I disagreed on the finer points thereof and we went our separate ways… The concept was always to give a platform to the best music we could, especially a platform for newer and smaller artists and those who were making amazing sounds, but didn’t have the social networks to get heard properly.

What have been some of the hardest issues to deal with starting the label?

Well, besides our unfortunate last minute name loss, which was definitely the hardest thing to get over, securing press and garnering overseas support have been some of our biggest hurdles. We are a very small operation, our profit margin started at zero and although we are now a top selling label in the US for dubstep, we still don’t make enough once retailer, distro, and mastering are paid to be able to afford top level press representation or remixers/ artists who might draw in an international audience. And although the label was founded to be multi-genre, the reality of the situation is that once you sell in a certain genre on Beatport, you are basically pigeonholed, and it’s extremely hard to get featured in other genres. So although we wanted to be a true multi-genre label, we have found ourselves not accepting most electro or 4/4 submissions because we feel like we can’t offer the best possible experience for those artists. And we are all about giving the best we can…

What are some of the biggest issues people should weigh before deciding to start a label?

Do you have the drive to work about 40 extra hours a week for negligible monetary return? If so, and you are absolutely passionate about the music you love—i.e. willing to shed blood, sweat, tears, and sleep for it, and are also good at wrangling a host of characters and personality types, then you might have what it takes.

You’ve taken a chance on some relatively unknown artists that have ended up becoming stellar talent. How do you find good talent to sign? What are some of the qualities you look for?

We love working with new artists! These days, the technology somewhat levels the playing field of the music scene. SoundCloud is an invaluable resource. It allows us to check out tons of artists quickly without having to commit to huge file transfers. What we look for is, first and foremost, a unique point of view. Then we make sure the production values are on point. What we go for varies greatly, but all the tracks are bass-driven and well produced.

How do you recognize a diamond in the rough, and do you supply artists with any guidance to reach their potential?

That is a harder thing to quantify, but, for example, when I first heard Cyberoptix, I heard his ‘Kong’ track. I wasn’t feeling it, but I could hear that it was made right and by someone who clearly had something to say and a unique way of saying it. I knew he had the potential, so I asked him to send me new stuff when he had it.  Most of our artists are confident in their work, and I support them, although I might offer something like “the intro is too long” or “the first drop is too noodly, you should switch it with the second drop”. But if they ask I’m always happy to offer what I know… my critiques are most helpful from a dancefloor perspective, and when applied, usually result in more bangin’ tunes.

What are some of the best avenues that you or the artists themselves have taken to promote their release?

The best promotion has come from artists who understand the value in giving away free stuff, especially free remixes of hipster-friendly songs. Everyone loves free music, and if it’s good, having it blogged opens up a completely new audience to that artist, and really draws attention to them as diverse artists and as a bonus usually helps their DJ career in the process. HavocNDeed are probably the best example of who did it best… they gave away a grip of dope remixes for their releases and they are our top selling artist so far. Also, this week our artist Bare has agreed to give away his dubstep remix to Opus III’s original “It’s a Fine Day.” Snatch it up here…


What’s in the future for Play Me?

To start, follow-ups from Bare, Cyberoptix, Twist (with Torqux), J. Rabbit & Tremourz & Hulk. Singles from new signings Dillon Francis, Trowa, Danny Scrilla , Quentin Hiatus & Turnstyle, Sluggo and many more. We have been working on Play Me parties coming to a few cities (LA, Tempe, Denver, and Vegas have all been discussed) and by the end of the year, a mix compilation of our fave tracks from the label plus some new bits rolled into one. Be on the look!

Explore tracks from Play Me Records

Get Reid Speed’s biggest tracks

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