I also read that when you first started releasing your own music, you spent too much money. How so?
On remixers. I didn't know you could dicker on price. If somebody said, "I charge $1,500 for a remix," I said, "OK!" That's not terrible; but it's a lot when you consider how many sales you need in order to recoup it. You've got eight remixers to pay, and you still have to pay the Billboard dance-chart promoter a huge chunk. For the first four releases, I also had 1,000 copies pressed on CD, and I did all of the mailings to promoters and radio guys. It really adds up quickly!
What are your advertising costs now?
I don't buy any now. I don't know that it would even help. I try get out there individually to each DJ and say, "Here's my new release." I give them links to it and get back to them to see how they like it. Even in the old days, I always tried to call people playing my records to thank them, or send a note and ask how the songs were doing. I got on a first-name basis with most of the guys at the record pools.
What's in store in the near future for you?
I just started to collaborate with a company called Section 9 out of the U.K. By accident, I contacted one of the owners, Rob Z. He's a great musical programmer. He liked my stuff, and we're looking to do some techno stuff pretty soon. I'd like to collaborate with other artists, too.
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