1/ Could you give
our readers a brief historic of Razorback Records ?
First I want to say thank you so much for this interview and for giving Razorback
some much needed promotion in France! Razorback was formed in 1998, when my partner Billy
Nocera and I stopped working with our former labels in favour of starting a new, more
focused label. Our first full length CD release was Engorged "Death Metal Attack
2". We started off with a very small budget and limited resources, and werent
really sure what the future would hold for us. But five years later we are still going
strong!2/ Is that easy to run an extreme music
label like yours in USA nowadays ?
Thats a hard question to answer, because running Razorback is both easy and
difficult at the same time. We have our tasks that we consider easy because weve
been doing them every day for so many years that theyve become routines for us, and
we just get to work and do everything almost without even having to give it much thought.
I mean stuff like taking orders, inventory, accounting, packing and shipping orders, etc.
Thats the easy part. The hard part is trying to improve on what weve already
got going, learning new technology and programs, working on distribution, new tax and
business laws, etc.
3/ It seems Razorback start to have a good reputation in
the underground. Do you plan to get distributors around the world ?
Weve got some exclusive distributors now, in Canada, the UK, Sweden and
Japan. In America we have a great deal of distribution through trading and such, and of
course were our own distributor, but were always working on trying to get
more. We most certainly dont have enough.
4/ What would you answer to sacastic people who think your
label is only into CARCASS clones ?
I think theyre not fully paying attention. On the surface our bands may seem like
Carcass clones, but are you really listening? Listener closer, youll hear something
unique and different coming from each and every band. Anyone who listens to one song and
says we just release Carcass clone CDs really needs to re-evaluate how much they know
about this genre of music.
5/ It seems the sells arent that good in Europe
actually ? Is that the same for USA ?
I think sales come in up and down cycles. Youll get months where you can barely keep
up with your orders, and then therell be times where youre considering selling
your vintage Care Bears collection on eBay to be able to feed yourself. Haha, well,
its not that bleak, but there are the good and bad months.
6/ In your opinion, what the most probable reason about
the sells decline ? -cdr burning -internet/MP3 -Too many release, too many labels -less
metal fans than in the past -records too expensive
Probably a little bit of everything, except I dont think there are less metal fans
than in the past. I do think that sales are hurt by a lack of advertising. If people
dont know about your releases, how are they going to buy them?
7/ What kind of decision would you take to stop this sells
decline (if you have a decline
!) ?
Whenever we see an extended decline, we have a few things that we do to get
things going again, like running sales and such, though usually things pick right back up
again if you just wait it out.
8/ Do you think theres still a future for cd ? Did
you ever think about selling some MP3 throught internet or about some cd/DVD ?
Therell always be a future for CDs. The new DSD technology is so amazing,
its so clear and sharp that it really sounds like the band is right there in the
room with you. Of course as yet I havent heard much DSD technology in America, I
dont know about France or other parts of Europe, but I purchase a lot of CDs from
Hong Kong and they are almost all being released or re-released with DSD sound now. I
dont think well ever have to worry about the CD format disappearing when there
will always be people who are willing to pay for such an excellent sound. As far as
underground releases go, I think a decline in the purchase of CDs will only help to thin
out the herd, so to speak. Those labels that can withstand the decline will survive.
Its just a matter of being resourceful. I do always wonder what we will do for a
living should things not work out with Razorback in the end (knock on wood). But Im
not really worried about it, Im just the type of person who always wants to have a
contingency plan. If things didnt work out (knock on wood again), we would probably
go into some sort of field involving Asian horror and martial arts films, since that is
another huge interest of ours.
9/ The only thing you cant copy is live shows but it
seems theres less fans at shows than in the past in France. Is it the same case in
USA ? Whats your opinion about that and is there a logical explanation for that ?
Im not sure, I dont go to shows. I havent gone to a show in
probably five years or more. I used to spend my life going to shows, I worked as a
bar-girl/waitress in a metal club until I realized.. hey! I hate this! I just cant
stand the crowds, the burning smoke, pretentious and annoying people, waiting until 3:00
am to see a band play for twenty minutes, etc. Perhaps Im part of the problem, haha!
10/ How do you see the future of your label and more
generaly the future of metal in the music business ?
I think its got a good future ahead of it. It may evolve into something
completely different than it is now, but its not going away any time soon!
Thanks for your answers Jill
Thanks again! I hope my answers werent too boring! Everyone check out
www.razorbackrecords.com!