a view into the market of a multidisciplinary record label - year0001

Introduction:

In my project, I will investigate and analyse the Swedish independent record label ‘Year0001’. Through this, I will focus on the market that the record label operates within. Throughout this, discourse about convergence and genre will arise as they are used in tandem to assist with accurately engaging consumers. ‘Year0001’ is a Swedish multidisciplinary record label, established in 2015, their aim is to ‘act as an independent incubator active in the landscape of music, culture, fashion and technology.’(1) Their roster of signed artists includes: ‘Yung Lean’ (Jonatan Aron Leandoer Håstad) a pioneer of the cloud-rap music scene, ‘Ecco2k’ (Zak Arogundade Gaterud), an artist who pushes the boundaries of experimental music and a huge icon in the fashion industry, ‘Viagra Boys’ a post-punk rock band that criticise the far-right through their use of irony and dark humour, and many more. Their influence and coverage of the Swedish underground and alternative music scene has spread worldwide, with their artists gathering the attention of mainstream artists around the world such as rappers Travis Scott and Playboi Carti; yet remaining ‘underground’. The incredibly unique sounds amongst their signed artists are their unique selling point, thus creating a group of dedicated consumers who are willing to invest time and money, solely due to the feeling of exclusivity created by them. Furthermore, the respect and freedom the artists signed under Year0001 have while creating projects, merchandise, documentaries, and even short films is unlike any record label you will see today as the label prioritises the artist’s desires to help them progress. Finally, the label’s use of convergence has seen significant growth. Through their widespread coverage of all platforms, they interact with fans on their multitude of platforms which is executed flawlessly as it keeps all their fans, no matter what platform they use, informed about all their news and updates. Year0001 is an industry-leading example of how well a record label can succeed when artists are given creative freedom.

Market:

Year0001 is a well-respected record label amongst both consumers and artists, a rare occurrence within the current landscape of music. Many labels focus on the numbers and profits generated by artists, having the artists there to fill a designated quota. This most commonly happens within the, arguably, biggest industries in music: pop and rap. Numerous stories have emerged where artists have been restricted from releasing the music they want to release or even coerced into signing a deceptive contract that they do not fully understand and when they try to change it, hell breaks loose. However, Year0001 operates fully on the artist’s desires of what and when they want to release a new project and helps them pursue the art that they want to create. Their focus on the art is evident from an answer given in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), hosted by social media managers Emilio and Oskar, where they were asked about artist Yung Lean releasing music under other aliases: ‘jonatan leandoer96’ and part of a band he formed with producer Gud: ‘Död Mark’, to which they replied ‘Jonatan creates, and we help him with whatever he needs to move forward.’ this high level of support and freedom for their artists can clearly be seen in each artist’s work as their projects aren’t discarded and shrugged off as ‘soulless’. Consumers can tell and feel the large amounts of effort and passion that are woven into every project, instead of just feeling like another copy-and-paste, generic pop song. This freedom further allows artists to fully experiment with different sounds, genres, and styles to tweak their music to that extra level, contributing towards the major USP of Year0001, which is to fill a niche in the music scene as they aim to be key pioneers within the future landscape of music. Year0001 targets and makes products for consumers that are engaging in high-involvement decision-making, this level of decision-making considers ‘the amount of time and effort a consumer invests in the search, evaluation and decision process of consumer behaviour’(2). They target the consumers who are actively searching and staying up to date with their label, by releasing an extremely limited stock of vinyl pressings (2000 units for the entire of Europe, sometimes), merch designs, and tours. The exclusivity of some of these releases and the fear of missing out encourages consumers to constantly be searching for updates and information surrounding the label. From my own personal experience, I am one of the consumers they target as I have notifications for every Instagram post or story they publish, every new Tweet, mentions in Discord etc. for the sole purpose of being able to have a physical piece of merchandise or to get tour tickets in time. As previously mentioned, they understand their sound is incredibly unique, in my own words ‘it is music unlike anything you have heard’, which makes many consumers stay. Knowingly taking advantage of this as their USP to create dedicated consumers who will invest time and money into their label. Their audience can span a wide variety of ages yet I think the majority of listeners are around 16-25 years of age, as Yung Lean released his breakthrough song ‘Ginseng Strip 2002’ in 2013, many fans who discovered his music then have stuck around as they liked his unique sound, two years later came the formation of Year0001. As a multidisciplinary record label, they have previously faced very little competition with the main notable competitor being an alternative record label by the name of PC Music. They are known for their extreme versions of pop music, exaggerating the vocals achieved through pitch shifting paired with high use of autotune, such tropes and features are all associated with the modern genre of ‘Hyperpop’. Many artists in the label reflect this style; Hannah Diamond, Namasenda, and artist GFOTY, who was previously signed to the label. Some of Bladee’s work (signed by Year0001) has been labelled as hyper-pop due to the features some of his songs share; heavy use of pitch-shifting autotune paired with synthetic and fast instrumentals. Although the music industry is an extremely competitive place, they aim to be more than just a record label. As previously mentioned, their aim is to ‘act as an independent incubator active in the landscape of music, culture, fashion, and technology.’

Convergence:

Their aim paired with many other similarities seen across the music industry raises the question if a record label must do more than sell songs and press records to survive. Many labels, including Year0001, release merchandise for the artists, schedule tour and show dates, burn CDs and sometimes even release cassette tapes for the albums. The label demonstrates extremely high levels of convergence as they are active on every social media you can imagine. Instagram with a following of 85000, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Discord. The implementation of platforms like Reddit and Discord makes it easier for the community to interact with one another and discuss everything to do with Year0001 and its signed artists, as previously mentioned they have held a Q&A with one of their signed artists: ‘Thaiboy Digital’, in which fans asked rapper Thaiboy anything and he would respond to it. Plus, as previously mentioned the social media managers Emilio and Oskar hosted a Reddit AMA on their own subreddit. The Year0001 website is cutting edge and unique, matching the sound they produce as a label due to their constant push on the boundaries of music. Every project from their artists can be accessed easily by having them listed in a chronological order titled ‘YR (project number)’, for example, Bladee’s new album ‘Spiderr’ can be found under the header of YR0168(3). Announcements of new music, merch and tours are broadcasted on their website and a multitude of platforms, ensuring that fans will never miss any news no matter what platform they use. In addition to merchandise and fan interaction, tour dates, performances at festivals such as Coachella and Leeds Festival 2023, and even virtual performances streamed onto YouTube, an ingenious idea where they used Yung Lean to ‘perform’ during the height of the pandemic as he sung a multitude of his songs in the back of a truck illuminated by candlelight. The rawness of his vocals, the type that can only be experienced in a concert setting, and the feature of a live chat on the live stream created a digital concert setting perfectly: ‘yung lean live @ the back of the truck’(4).

Genre and audience:

As previously mentioned within the market analysis, the primary audience for the artists signed by the label is around 16-25 years of age and would match with the traits of the psychographic segmentations of ‘Explorers’ or ‘Seekers’. Those who go out in search of individuality and discovery, aren’t scared to experiment with whatever they are presented with in life and are typically the first to try new things, with much of this relating to the label's exclusive sound. Yet amongst the community and target audience, there is an overwhelming amount of digital gatekeeping that occurs on a multitude of social media platforms. Bourdieu’s cultural capital is widely applicable to fandom studies, as the gatekeeping performed by people online can be seen as an attempt to protect their cultural assets, most notably the embodied and objectified capital of the music and culture generated by these artists. Parallels between the way the upper class looked down on first-generational wealth and the way some members of the community look down upon newer fans/members as both are viewed as undeserving, worried they will tarnish the value of said culture due to its fading exclusivity. To combat this, older members place the newer fans below them, taking a virtual high ground by labelling said new fans as a ‘newgen’, implying that they do not deserve to call themselves a fan of the work, possibly due to the amount of time and money they have put into the artists as they may be a consumer that partakes in high-involvement decision making, seeing more competition from people who have discovered the artist through non-conventional means may worry them. A recent announcement from the label regarding vinyl records for their artists will be made more available in the late summer of 2023, as one can expect, the community is divided. Those who missed out on previous releases are going to have a chance to be able to own a copy of physical merchandise, yet others (primarily gatekeepers) are upset as they feel as if their time and efforts have been for nothing if the exclusivity of the physical merchandise will be practically non-existent. Trends like this can be observed throughout many communities of alternative/underground artists, each with their own objectified and embodied cultural capital that comes with the artists.

Conclusion:

Year0001 is a modern, unique, and incredibly successful record label. Through the masterful utilization of their unique selling point paired with the tools provided in the modern digital landscape, they have successfully grown their platform and surpassed any competition that they have faced. Methods used to build a strong community through interaction have proved incredibly effective, along with the exclusivity created to further attract their targeted consumers. The label being multidisciplinary is, in fact, genius, as through all the separate channels mentioned in their aim: ‘music, culture, fashion and technology’; expansion is imminent. Despite certain parts of the community’s backlash to newer fans, growth will continue regardless, and innovation can only prosper.