Industry Spotlight :: Got Got Need Records
Got Got Need Records was started up in 2007 by Luke Leighfield while he was still a teenager. The Southhampton, UK based label boasts a small roster of hardworking artists including Luke himself. We recently got the chance to ask him a couple questions on the music industry and owning and running a record label.
Be sure to view updates from Got Got Need and Luke as he records a new album here.
You're pretty young, what made you decide to take on the creation of a record label? In some ways creating a record label is a lot of work, in other ways it's not. It's as much work as you want it to be! I started the label to release a CD by my friend Sam Isaac, and since then the label has released all of my own music along with some other brilliant artists along the way. Got Got Need has enabled me to keep control of my music and help out some of my friends too. Do you think that owning a record label and getting to know the business helps you out in your personal music career? To be honest I don't think I know the business that well! However, the label has helped me to understand what goes into releasing a CD, like the marketing, promotion, etc. Everything is changing really fast at the moment though, what with all the advances in the Internet and social media. That makes me sound like an old man! What kind of artists do you normally sign and work with? I don't have a set genre that I consider Got Got Need works with. I've mostly worked with singer-songwriters so far, but it hasn't been a deliberate choice - it just happened! Essentially what I look for is good people, good songs and a good work ethic. My music taste is pretty diverse so I really will consider anything for the label. The other stuff is crucial, though. Artists need to be working really hard to stand out in the current musical climate. What advice would you give to kids who want to work in the music industry? I'd say that you have to get into it for the love - don't expect to make any money! What's the hardest part about starting up a business in the music world? It's all hard! There's little, if any, money to be made. People don't seem to be buying much music anymore so it's especially hard to be a label. The market is saturated with people all desperately trying to be noticed by 'the industry'. That said, I love music and it's what I want to do. If you love music and you want to spread your love of music to others, then this is the job for you. What's your opinion on the current music scene? Do you think the demand for new material all the time is a good thing or hard to deal with? I personally love a lot of things about the current music scene. I love the lack of division between fan and artist, which has been brought about thanks to services like Twitter, Facebook and SoundCloud. I think it's a really exciting time to be making and releasing music. I guess it's a far cry from times gone by where you would just write the songs in your bedroom and not have to talk to anyone about it, but we live in a vastly different world nowadays, even to how things were five years ago. It's exhausting and fast-paced, maybe too much so, but the Internet and social media provides a lot of opportunities for small or unsigned artists who are trying to get noticed. Any new releases or things to look out for from you or Got Got Need Records? This year we're going to be releasing new material from Lee Mitchell and also my fourth album, New Season. Other than that, we'll see what happens!
