Your Label Records Empowers The Artist

RUTLAND, VT - Established in fall of 2008 by Daryll McKeighan,Your Label Records is truly a "label of the bands", providing clients a variety of services including merchandising, CDs and download cards, compilation CDs, promotion, design services, press kit creation and consulting, while also providing resources for endorsements, studio time, booking and touring and reviews.

"In the loosest sense of the word, the label was "started" in my late teens, when I was in my last year of high school," Daryll McKeighan said in a recent interview. "Weekends were filled with moshing to your favorite local locals and soon, a lot of the bands I went to see were getting picked up by labels and starting a fast paced life of recording, shows and releases.

"It seemed great at first, but after a year or so and following up with these guys, they had been dropped off the label for not meeting some requirement or another… whether it be not making enough sales, not enough shows, not enough fans… anything to drop them." So McKeigan decided to do something about it, starting his company in Bennington before settling the operation in Rutland last year.

"Actually, we've been in a few places since starting the label," McKeigan said. "In the beginning it was loosely established and when my wife, son and I had relocated to New York for a while, I was mostly promoting shows and producing t-shirts for local Bennington bands such as Between Now And Forever. I also started working with a few bands in Massachusetts and New York as well."

When the McKeighans decided to move back to Vermont, Rutland seemed like a great place to settle, midway between Burlington and Bennington. "I had also started working with a few Burlington bands and a "do-it-yourself" (DIY) label called Monkey Luck Records, as well as my connections in Bennington, so we just settled in the middle. We really love Vermont and Rutland is a great little city. Unlike so many states, Vermont has a lot of community beliefs and a "help your neighbor" attitude."

In many cases when a band "signs" with a larger label, they are often giving up their own money and rights to their music and if the band does not immediately generate attention and CD sales, they get dropped. Now, the label has the rights to the band's music and remaining product, in which case the band has to either buy out their contract or simply eat the losses.

"We started Your Label Records as a way to combat this trend," McKeigans said. "What started out as a very DIY/garage label atmosphere has exploded with energy in recent years and is becoming the place I had hoped it would be. A label for both up-and-coming and established bands to get that extra boost without signing their rights away."

Your Label Records' first client was Bennington punk rockers Between Now And Forever, assisting the band through booking shows, promotion, merchandising, artwork and design for flyers with the help of design partner Asylum Art. "With a few shows booked and some brand new T-shirts printed up, the project became more than just a fun project. It became a mission," McKeigan said.

What is that "mission to the bands", you might ask? "We, at no point in our relationship will ever, take the legal rights of any musician. All musicians under our label will always remain in legaland personal control of their name, image, content, property and all lawful rights."

Over the last few years Your Label Records has concentrated on building a list of contacts both locally and internationally, including New England and the Northeast, the UK, Australia, Sweden and several other states throughout America. "Although we primarily work with hardcore, metal, punk and hard rock bands and artists, the label is open to nearly every genre - from acoustic rock to death metal - and believes that a label shouldn't decide the music… the fans should."

Over the next few years, McKeighan and Co. plan to begin assembling genre-specific labels under the Your Label Records entity, which will be better equipped to cater to each style of music. "Currently we work with most every style of music," McKeigan added. "However, our label is mostly composed of metal, hardcore and experimental bands, with other styles sprinkled in."

The most unique aspect of Your Label Records isjust what the moniker states - it is "your label" - an entity that does everything in its power to cater to each band in a way that affords them the ability to have much more control over their music and image, much more than any conventional record label would allow.

"One of our first projects and any of our currently signed bands are familiar with this promotion - is a t-shirt or CD project. The project helps bands to build a budget for themselves that will be used to fund future projects such as touring, merchandising or studio time.

"The idea behind Your Label Records it is that any band can be self sufficient and eventually make a paycheck and a career out of their music," McKeigan continued. Too many bands are quick to hand over their hard work to make a buck, we just want to teach artists how to keep what they worked for and make something from it."

Your Label Records is open to any genres and all artists are welcome, and the capacity in which they can help a band, of course, depends on the scope of the bands activities and capabilities. "Much of how we can help a band or artist depends on their musical output - writing original songs, playing shows or recording - we don't write the music, we just help you get it out there.

"For active bands that are interested in making something of their music, we help get them CDs, merchandise, shows, radio play and anything else we can do to help promote bands and their music. We can't force outlets to play an artist's music, but we'll keep knocking on doors."

Some of the bands in the Your Record Label's family, all of which currently have CDs and EPs available, include Blackhour, Twinkle and the Sluts, Havoc Militia, Love on the Lips of a Whore, Gateway 2 Nowhere, Done & Done, All New Episode and Company of Strangers. To learn more about Your Label Records and the services they can offer to local bands, visit their web site at www.yourlabelrecords.com.