Music Talk : Music Industry Interviews, Advice and tips for DJs & Producers · Grahame Farmer

Music Talk 061 - How to Run House Music Record Labels With Graham Sahara

·1 hr 24 min·5 clips

Spotify followers matter because promoters read them as ticket buyers, not just stream numbers.

Graham Farmer opens with an easy catch-up and folds a guest into a conversation about music labels. The chat starts with the usual life admin: ADE, Halloween, the summer season, and the hope of finally taking a proper break at Christmas. The guest says ADE felt great this year. It had that intense, good kind of energy because so many people were back in the same room and keen to catch up. He says it had been a couple of years since he last went. The Ibiza detail comes up early, too. From there, the conversation moves straight into how the work has changed. Before the pandemic, he was there more in a DJ role. Now he runs most of the labels, so the focus has shifted. Then it gets properly practical. He talks about how digital listening has changed the logic of releases. On Beatport, a listener often only has one track to pick from, so a remix does not always add the same value it once did on vinyl. In the old vinyl model, remix packages made sense because they gave people more reasons to buy the record. In the digital market, people cherry-pick. He says if the original only works because it needs a remix, that is a sign it probably should not have been signed in the first place. Different records need different homes, and he wants to mix and match depending on the sound. Some tracks can work on Beatport and stream well too. Other records need a strong vocal hook for streaming and a club-focused B-side to make a better two-track EP. Toward the end, he warns against chasing people too hard on Messenger or SoundCloud, and says a thank-you, a bit of space, and some patience usually go further. The whole thing feels like label talk from someone who has actually had to make the calls.

As heard by us

Practical label advice that treats each release as a decision, not filler.

The episode stays grounded in the practical side of label work, moving from ADE and Ibiza into how Beatport and streaming push different release decisions.

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Why you'd press play

When you need house-release advice on how to pitch the record.

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