Running a Record Label (or Why I Keep Doing This to Myself)

I’ve been involved in record labels for a large potion of my adult life. It all started in 2000 with Northern Records, a label I set up with Russ Morgan from K-Klass, we had a vision to be the Subliminal of the UK, chunky 4 to the floor House music inspired by the US sound but with a heavy UK flavour, we released seven EPs in twelve months.

In 2005 I jumped into Sick Trumpet with label partner and fellow North Wales pal, Ste Hodge. We were both feeling the Broken Beat / Co-op scene and over two year landed some impressive releases and worked with a whole bunch of incredible genre busting artists and remixers including the mighty Zed Bias, Phil Asher, Opolopo, Osunlade, Atjazz, Crazy P, and many more.

And from 2007 I was also involved with KAT and KAT45, this ran until 2018.

It was an edits label, unlicensed, a bit naughty, but a lot of fun.

We were basically a home for producers to release their edits of disco, funk, Balearic and house tracks. It had a loose, underground feel to it, and that was part of the appeal. Less formal, more instinctive.

You’d think after all these years I’d have it figured out.

I certainly know a lot more than I did when I started out around 2000. Learned most of it by just getting on with it. Still, no two releases ever feel the same. Different artists, different sound, different set of challenges.

The Romantic Idea vs The Actual Work

From the outside, running a label, especially one rooted in vinyl culture, still carries a certain weight.

People see the end result, the records in shops, promo bits online, DJs playing them, radio support.

It all looks quite straightforward from the outside.

What they don’t see is what goes into it.

Waiting on masters, artwork going back and forth, timelines shifting… just trying to get everything lined up so it lands properly. It gets even trickier when you’ve got multiple releases moving at once across different formats.

Then there’s everything else that can come out of nowhere. Distributors going under, taking stock and money with them. Remixers sending the wrong pre-masters and only realising after mastering, so it all has to be done again. Artists splitting up halfway through a project and needing to rework the whole thing. Even vinyl stock getting caught up in disputes between international shipping companies and held to ransom!!!!

When covid-19 hit I was approaching NuNorthern Soul's 10th anniversary and most plants where simply not able to operate and many other labels where putting everything on hold but I was determined to get the 10 Year Box Set out. I found a pressing plant I could work with and placed the order, this was the biggest release of the labels ten years, a five piece box set with printed inners, individual artwork for each piece of vinyl, had it not been a release to mark a decade of releasing beautifully Balearic inspired music I would have probably put the label on hold but the date was set in stone and I had to get it out, and we did, but it was four months late. 2022 was a tough but successful year in many ways, a real test on every level.

Another one that really stands out is the Bianca - Tabu reissue I did around the same time.

That was a proper mission. I licensed it from Blanco y Negro in Barcelona. The original came out in 1990, and they didn’t have any master tapes for it or digital files. What they did have was a mint vinyl copy! So I flew to Barcelona to pick it up from their offices, which were basically shut down at the time, it was strange walking through their vast space, endless empty desks, really felt like the zombie apocalypse was upon us!!! From there I went to Manchester to hand-deliver it to Andi Hanley (if you know, you know), who did a vinyl rip. Those files then went over to Robin Lee from Faze Action, who was handling mastering for me at the time. Ruf Dug did an extended edit from the digital files, as there were no stems or parts to work from.

All of that, just to get one release over the line.

That’s the bit people don’t see.

The behind-the-scenes mix of mayhem and magic it takes to make something like that happen.

Right now, for example, there are twenty-two releases planned across 2026. Not all vinyl, but a mix of singles, digital EPs and physical releases. Every one of them needs registering, scheduling, set up with distributors, artwork sorted, promo and PR lined up and delivered.

It doesn’t really stop. It feels like an endless cycle!

What You Learn

Over time, you learn a lot. You get better at reading situations and dealing with whatever comes up. When things go wrong—and they do—you can usually handle it without it escalating. You also realise pretty quickly that every artist is different. There’s no one way of doing things. Some want to be across every detail, others are happy to leave it with you. Some are thinking big picture, others are focused on the finer points. Part of the job is picking up on that early and working with it, otherwise things can drift and get messy.

Why Physical Still Matters

Holding the finished record and knowing what it took to get there never really loses its impact. Hearing it played out at the right moment, in the right place, or seeing it sitting in a shop as part of the wider story—those things stay with you. Then there’s knowing it’s found its way into someone’s collection, living in their space, being played again and again. It creates a connection that goes beyond a stream or a click. Someone telling you it’s been on repeat at home, taking in the artwork, the sleeve, the whole thing as a complete piece… and knowing it’ll still be around long after the moment’s passed.

Vinyl Then and Now

When I started out around 2000, vinyl was on its way out. CD was dominant, digital was creeping in, and a lot of record shops were closing. It felt like a format people were moving away from.

Then things shifted.

Vinyl has now been growing again for nearly two decades straight. In 2025, sales hit over $1 billion in the US alone, with close to 50 million records sold—something that hadn’t happened since the early 80s.

Globally, it’s now a multi-billion dollar market and still growing year on year.

But it’s important to keep that in perspective.

Vinyl is still a small part of the overall industry compared to streaming. It’s not mass consumption anymore—it’s a choice.

A Different Kind Of Value

What’s really changed is how people see it.

Vinyl has become more of a considered purchase. Something physical. Something you keep. In many ways, it’s moved into a more premium space.

And with that comes cost.

Pressing, shipping, materials—all of it has gone up. Add in the general cost of living, and you can’t take it for granted that someone will buy a record. It’s not an impulse in the same way it once was.

People are choosing to buy it!!! And for that I am thankful!!!

And that's something I don't take lightly when putting records out.

2027 is NuNorthern Soul’s 15th year. If you’ve got ideas on how we should mark it, I’m all ears.