Familiarize Yourself

We have a lot of love at FYW for Dangerbird Records. Not only does Dangerbird release some amazing music, but Matt Solodky – general manager of Dangerbird Records was nice enough to kick-off our interview section at FamiliarizeYourself and answer questions about his college life, the current music industry, and offer some advice to future music industry entrepreneurs.

(FYW)What were your former occupations before entering into the music industry through Dangerbird Records?
(MS)I was born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and believe it or not, it is home to an amazing local music scene. I was lucky enough to be involved in many facets at a young age. I worked at a local guitar shop, recording studio, independent record label and nightclub. During college I street repped for Mercury and Virgin Records, then moved to Los Angeles to work in music at the William Morris Agency.

(FYW)Did you attend college? Which college and what was your degree?
(MS)I attended the University of Pittsburgh. We had the option to create our own majors – which I did. It was a hybrid of business and communications.

(FYW)What is your role/title at Dangerbird?
(MS)I’ve been at Dangerbird for nearly five years. I was the first full time employee – a general assistant / jack of all trades. As the company expanded, my role grew and become more focused simultaneously. I took a product manager position, which lead to head of marketing and I am now the general manager. The best part about working at a small, tight knit label is that roles are never totally defined. I am able to have a hand in nearly everything – from pre-production, to recording, to manufacturing, marketing, sales, licensing, touring, radio, etc…I am constantly learning new things because of this.

(FYW)Is this where you thought you’d be when you were younger?
(MS)Yes. I feel very fortunate to say so. I played in a band in high school and was the one booking shows, studio time and coordinating photos / artwork. At the time, I had a partial idea of what a label and manager did and I knew I wanted to be involved in both somehow.

(FYW) How was Dangerbird Records started?
(MS) Over a meal of Vietnamese food – by partners Jeff Castelaz and Peter Walker!

(FYW) Has the label been effected by the current economy?
(MS) With the decline of overall album sales, all labels are looking towards new ways to monetize their music online and offline – revenue generating ads thru streaming music and video, streaming radio royalties, etc. Because of this new music business models will continue to emerge and the industry will shift until a new level ground is found. As for the state of the overall world economy, like everyone, we’ve become more creative and careful with our budgets. For example, when setting up a new band – we’d much rather implement impactful viral marketing campaigns than spend on advertising, with little quantified return.

(FYW) What has Dangerbird Records done to compete with a generation filled with illegal downloaders?
(MS) I’m not sure that you can compete with illegal downloaders or those who choose to leak a record. I actually like to see our younger bands ranking on the file sharing sites – it means that people are interested in the band, talking about them and sharing the music. And, in this day and age it’s a question of how long you can keep an album from leaking before street date, because it most likely will. With Silversun Pickups – the album leaked about 3 weeks before street date and it actually worked to our advantage, reviews and fan feedback were very positive.

Also, we work closely with all of our artists and take pride in the album package, digital content and bonus materials. I hope the true fans who illegally download will still want to support the artist / pick up a copy of the album legally –  for the attention to artwork, aesthetic and overall experience.

(FYW) Who is/are your favorite artist(s) on the label’s roster?
(MS) I can honestly say that I love them all. Everyone takes a unique approach to their music, constantly push themselves and evolve…

(FYW) Recently Dangerbird Records became the third independent record label ever to have an artist reach #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Singles, how did that feel as an employee and how did you celebrate? (Congrats by the way!)
(MS) It is a great feeling, as so many people contributed and worked together to make this happen (most importantly, the band for writing an incredible album)! There was not much celebration, we just put our heads down and focused on the follow week’s chart.

(FYW) Do you have any advice to new, emerging labels and music business students looking to make it in this industry?
(MS) Internships. They provide an invaluable education and hands on experience. I encourage students to get involved in as many as possible, do not limit yourself to one or two areas. Reach beyond your main interests and learn as much as you can. The more experience and knowledge of the industry as a whole, the better off you’ll be.

-AB