Is it still feasible for someone to start a label specialising in vinyl?
What steps should they take? “Clearly it is, ‘cos there are a lot of records coming out. Whether it makes business sense or not is another thing. If you run it as a conventional business it won’t work but if you can sink some money into it and be prepared never to see it again, it’s doable and rewarding, in ways other than financial.” All City releases tend to have really cool artwork. Do you think sleeve artwork is important, and who handles the visual direction of the label? “Well yeah, I do think it’s important. Otherwise you can just download it — usually for free! It’s a big ask these days getting people to pay for a record so it’s nice to do it properly. When you come across a CTI record, say, or an old MoWax record in the racks, you always pay attention. You look at old Warp records, Impulse records or whatever and they just look special. Hip hop always paid more attention to artwork than the dance / club world — stuff like P.E, KMD, (etc.)…those covers are sick so hopefully if
