Who we are

How We Got Started

THE COMPANY

Independent Records started out one day as an idea in the basement of a studio. Chris Midkiff, founder of IR, was trying to get one of his bands he had been recording to sell their music in stores and catalogues. They spent about $4000 recording and getting their CDs produced, but never thought about getting a bar code for it. Low and behold he found it almost impossible for his indie band to sell their stuff due to that one little problem. No bar codes ... No deal.

After months of hearing "NO!" from everyone, Chris decided to take matters into his own hands. He started his own record label, applied for his own UCC vendor code, got his own bar coding software, and began producing the bar codes himself. After finally getting them on his band's CDs he realized it was quite a costly adventure to do all of this work on your own. He figured there had to be a better way. That's when it hit him. Why not provide the use of his record label to other bands and musicians. That way they could get some of the benefits of being on a record label, without any of the headaches and commitments of dealing with one. For a low cost, musicians and bands don't have to go through the same mistakes and all the hassle of applying for their own UCC vendor code, buying their own software, creating their own
bar codes, and spending a ton of money just to be able to reach distributors and retail outlets. IR can give them use of the record label and do that for them. So that's what he did ... and Independent Records was born.

Look ... you take your hard earned time and money to record, mix, master, and produce your music. You take the time to make sure that your cover art and graphics are just right. Blood, sweat, and tears go into every detail of your music to make sure everything is perfect. When you finally get your hands on your produced CDs and cassettes everything is just right ... except for that one small detail. Don't make the mistake of letting your music just sit in your closet because no one will sell your music in their stores or catalogues. You will need bar codes at some point if you're really planning on selling your music to the masses. Just as Chris experienced, without bar codes most stores and distributors won't touch your music (except maybe the occasional local indie store that sells all the way cool underground indie bands and loves to get the low-fi basement stuff straight from your 4-track). But anyway ... without bar codes there is a good chance your CDs and cassettes will sit and collect dust.

After all the effort you've gone through to put out your music, the last thing you want is to have it sit and do nothing. Independent Records gives you the backing of a record label which you can use in conjunction with other indie labels for your own distribution purposes. We can legitimately generate and assign a bar code for your music through IR and if you have e-mail it's easy. Independent Records also provides a list of website and graphic design, web hosting, distribution, and mastering services through our list of recommended providers. Follow the links to find out more.

Look ... if there is anything you take away from our site let it be this. Don't make the same mistake Chris and a lot of other people have done with their music! Don't short change yourself after all the time you've put in to get it right! Get your bar codes! Do it through us, do it on your own, do it through someone else even ... but just do it! It's important if you plan on selling your music successfully! While IR would obviously like to make a little money providing the use of our label for you, we also want to help you guys (and gals) get your music out on your own regardless of whether you use IR or not. That's what we're here for. We'll help you get there, and if you have any questions you can always e-mail us. We'll be more than happy to help you. Thanks.