Publication:
MaximumRockNRoll

Author:
Felix Von Havoc

MRR #234-starting a distro
If you read any of the now large number of books on the early punk scene, such as We Got the Neutron Bomb, Please Kill Me, Punk 77 etc. one of the things that comes up over and over is that after a certain “heroic period” the bohemian early punk scene was over run by suburban wannabes. Over and over I read hardcore decried as violent, macho, too political, too serious, etc. and the first generation types mostly talk about moving into theatre, painting, drugs, sculpture, performance art, rehab or whatever. OK, I’m here to speak for the suburban kids who ruined everything. TOUGH SHIT! After the punk gauntlet was thrown down, it was inevitable that it be taken up by…kids. Not art students, intellectuals, drug addicts, actresses, playwrights or whatever, just normal teenage kids from the suburbs who didn’t fit in. The kids with something to say, kids with time to kill, kids from the black hole, whatever. In this respect hardcore is much more like 60’s garage rock than stuff like the Velvet Underground, Television or Patti Smith. Whatever the founding fathers of 77 expected their little bohemian club was going to become, it spoke to these kids. I don’t buy that all the kids drawn to hardcore in the early 80’s were violent HBer types who saw the violent meida representations of punk and started going to shows to kick ass and do damage. A lot of the kids drawn to hardcore were the same sort of people who had stumbled into early punk in the 70’s. They were just too young and too poor to have any intellectual aspirations or much of a vocabulary to express them. Instead of witty, sophisticated and oblique you got louder, faster and harder. Which is the way we like it. Almost every single one of the first wave pioneers of punk, and then first wave pioneers of hardcore as well, jumped ship for commercial music, or dropped out of the scene altogether. Yes there are notable exceptions. But there was a certain elitism to the early days of punk, that you were on the cutting edge of something new. That you weren’t alone, there were hundreds of others like you who didn’t fit in. But when that hundreds, turned into thousands it just got too hot for the first on the scene to handle and they bailed. I guess a certain type is always attracted to the new thing, and wants to be out front on the leading edge of whatever, I’m sure it was the same with surrealism, techno, or organ music. But where does that leave us? The people who came along in the 80’s and make hardcore a way of life. I was one of the stupid suburban poser kids who managed to ruin things for everyone and I’m still doing it 19 years later. I’ve put much more time and work into hardcore in the last 10 years than most of the original trailblazers did in their 2 or 3 years of glory. I’m not looking for a medal or anything. But I have to say that it’s a certain type of person who is drawn to hardcore as a raison d’etre rather than a new wave to ride into the breakers. I’m not saying the guys in Black Flag or Discharge are posers or anything, those guys created the aesthetic, paved the way, proved it could be done etc. But other than license some back catalog, those guys haven’t done anything for hardcore in like 15 years. Some people make their contribution and move on, some people are in it for life. Despite my fascination with the early 80’s hardcore scene, I still want to think the best days of hardcore are still ahead. I want to believe that any day we are on the verge of a truly golden age of mind blowing hardcore. Maybe that’s wishful thinking but all the essential elements are in place, it’s just up to what we do with them. I hear from time to time about ex members of classic hardcore bands who are tracked down about re issues and can’t believe anyone still remembers their band, much less that it still has a following. I gotta wonder about those guys. How could you NOT be into Urban Waste or Deep Wound? So anyway, thanks a lot to all the class of 77 and 81 for laying the ground work, but it’s up to us suburban poser kids who ruined everything to take that particular ball and run it down the field.

One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is “how do I start a distro?” Here is a little advice from a guy who has been around. I swear I wrote a column like this a few years ago, but still I get an email every week asking me this. For the last time here it is.

My first advice to everyone who wants to get into the “business” side of punk is the best advice ever handed out in the world of music. Don’t Quit Your Day Job! This is the most important thing. If you are going to do anything right in the DIY scene you will need a steady cash flow and an income to fall back on until you are 100% certain your enterprise (label, distro, band) can support you. DIY punk is about music, ideas and passion, not money. You might eventually make a living off a label or distro, but don’t count on it. One of the most endearing pieces of advice handed down to us from Tim Yo was that when you begin to think of punk as a business and count on it for your daily income it starts to cloud your judgement. You make decisions based not on what is the best thing to do for the scene but what is the most profitable. This is why labels put out really bad records by really generic bands instead of great records by good bands. They think they are going to cash in on the next big flavor. It’s much easier to peddle CDs of a clone of NOFX, Screeching Weasel or whatever is big that week than to take a chance on an obscure but brilliant band from Brazil or Greece or whatever. Do it for the music, because it’s fun, because it’s cool, because you get rad records. Don’t count on buying a Cadillac and house on the lake. If you break even, you did good. If you make a little every week, even better. But if you are just trying to make cash money, you might want to look into a more profitable enterprise. Anyway, back to your new distro.

The small distro plays a vital role in DIY punk. This is especially true for the millions of kids who live in towns without good record stores. When you really think about it, there are less than 50 really good record stores that carry punk in the USA. And of those only about 10 are really, really good, and really into punk and hardcore (see my column a few months ago about cool record stores). And in Europe it’s way worse. There are very few record stores there. Almost everyone in Europe and a lot of people here buy their records from people with a table at shows or by mail.

After telling you not to quit your day job, I’m going to have to ask you to give yourself a brief psychological examination. I mean, are you the kind of person who starts a distro? Are you detail oriented, follow through on things, organized, plan ahead, manage money well, and knowledgeable about music? Does this sound like a fucking job application or what? Seriously, a certain personality type is drawn to this sort of endeavor. I think the most important is that you are not a flake. That is you follow through on things, and do what you say you are going to do. Like “I’m sending the money today” when you really don’t send it for three weeks. Flaky distributors don’t stay in business very long. They are also the kids about whom spiteful letters are written to MRR when they drop the ball and fuck up over and over again.

The first thing you will need to start a distro is some cash. The more the better really. A lot of labels become distributors by trading their stuff for other labels stock. And every distro can augment it’s selection by trading with other labels and distros. But you will have to have some “capital” to make your initial investment in stock. You will want to use great caution when acquiring your stock. All the time I visit stores and look at distros at shows that have the same crappy records that no one wants. The best way not to get stuck with a bunch of bogus records is to use great care in selecting what you want to carry. Many, if not most, of the people who will want to trade with you will be trading records that they are unable to sell on their own. That is to say records that no one wants to buy. Every time you buy or trade for records for your distro, think about who is going to buy them. Always consider the “market” for an item before you take it on. Some stuff is great but not popular, and you might be able to move stuff like this by talking to people who you think would like it and convincing them of its merits. But don’t try this with records that just suck. You will lose your credibility rapidly. Invest your “capital” in stock wisely and use all your cash flow to re-stock an increase your selection for a long time before you start using money from your distro for things like making your car payments or paying your rent. Always think of what people are going to want ahead of when it comes out and order smart every time.

Which brings me to new releases vs. back catalog. The record business is primarily new release driven. A key to having a good distro is to be the “furstest with the mostest” that is always have new releases that people will be looking for when they are still new. Try not to over or under order or you will either be stuck with too many, or run out before hardly anyone gets a chance to buy a new release. That said, you are always better off under ordering and re stocking, than being stuck with dozens of records that no one wants anymore. Some back catalog sells really consistently. Certain bands never go out of style or lose their appeal. Other back catalog just languishes in discount bins and makes you look bad. Being able to tell the classics from the has-beens is one of the most important parts of being an informed music buyer for a store or distro. Black Flag, Crass and Discharge have sold consistently for decades, meanwhile bands that were all hype a few years ago are already completely forgotten and sell for pennies on the dollar. After a little time in the distro business you will start to realize how much of record sales is based on hype and image, as opposed to merit. It will break your heart to see your favorite band’s 7”s collecting dust while everyone asks you for the flavor of the week. But you will have to make the choice if you want to carry the hyped releases with the promotion behind them just to pay the bills or stay a specialist.

And specialist is what you need to be. The most successful distro in addition to having new releases when they are hot, also has stuff you can’t get anywhere else. Hardcore Holocaust is a perfect example of a distro that stresses a certain specialized genre of music (Scandinavian and Japanese HC) and gets releases that are hard to get in the USA. Some distros specialize in bootlegs and re issues, some in SE, Crust, or imports. If there is a style of music that you like which you feel is poorly distributed or underserved, carve out that niche. I would say right now that Brazillian and Australian Hardcore is very poorly represented in the USA and could use much better distribution, so there’s your angle. (although these countries produce mostly CDs not vinyl, which cripples their scenes in the US and Europe) Also, there really need to be more people bringing Japanese Hardcore into America. Quality wise Japanese HC is some of the best but it’s so difficult to find in the US, that only a tiny cadre of record collectors even get access to it. Part of this is the result of the peculiar structure of the Japanese scene. But also, a wide open area for more people in the USA and Europe to move into. And how about US pressings of some of this stuff? The best way to build a loyal following is to always have records people are looking for when they are looking for them. This means paying close attention to what sells and how fast and getting lots of feedback from your customers and potential customers.

Now you have to decide if you are going to just sell records at gigs and to your friends or sell records mail order and online. I would caution people to stick with just selling records at shows for a while before trying to tackle mail order or online sales. Mail order and web sales are full of confusion, misunderstanding and a lot of extra hassles. I touched on these a few months ago in this column. I would strongly advise getting the hang of the distro business on a small scale before you attempt to enter the mail order arena. A town with no good record stores needs a good distro and it’s important to start out serving your own scene before you move out into the larger world of selling records, a world which I must add is already crowded with other established distributors. If you can’t make ends meet selling records at shows in your town here’s some pointers. First, start booking more shows, that sounds asinine but if no one is setting up good shows in your town your scene is going to die out anyway. I’d cover this base first. If there are no punks, there will be no one to sell records too. Second, you can travel to shows in other nearby towns. Obviously this is a better proposition if you live in say Philly or New York City, than Tulsa or Salt Lake. But if you make some connections you can find places to set up your stuff, and there are always festivals to travel too as well. Third, you can start selling stuff online or by mail, which I think we’ve more or less covered. Lastly, you can get a van and take bands on tour. This worked out well for Neil of Tribal War for years. Get a van and gear and set up tours for foreign bands. Or drive a local band with no van around and handle their merch for them on the road. Set up your distro too and get your stuff to a different town every day. This is my favorite way of selling records and it’s one reason why you see me driving DS 13 around with boxes of records.

You can also set up sort of a store at your house and have some sort of posted hours once a week, or have friends drop by when you get a new shipment. If you go six weeks between setting up at shows, you are really going to notice the hit to your cash flow. This does have it’s pitfalls, like wing nuts coming over to your house, but if you are confident it’s another way to get people to come to your distro if you can’t bring it to them. You can also rent a table every week at a flea market or some other cheap place where people can find you on a regular basis. Much cheaper than opening a store and gives you a place to sell and interact with customers if there are no shows to go to.

Alright, I hope I’ve covered most of the basics here. I feel like a large percentage of the columns I write for MRR are of the “how to” variety. But every few days I get the same “Frequently Asked Questions” directed my way, How do I book a tour? How do I start a label? Etc. and there sure is no shortage of people doing it the wrong way and making stupid mistakes, so I hope those of you who stayed awake through this column learned something.

OK, the Runnamucks from Florida are cool as fuck, because they play fast aggro hardcore, but also because they used the cover of Captain America issue 193 in their ad in MRR. This critical issue deals with Captain America and the Falcon’s desperate attempt to thwart a secret conspiracy from detonating the MADBOMB. Which I must add would be an excellent name for a hardcore band if it wasn’t so similar to Madball. The Jack Kirby illustrated run of Captain America right around issue 200 are so fucking cool. Especially the secret royalist plot to seize control of America during the bicentennial celebration and install themselves as a new “Kings of America.” Thrash and Marvel comics! I want to be crowned king of the nerds.

Publication Date:
January 1, 1984

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