Anaves Music
This article features the label Anaves Music and its founder Sebastian Schwager, also known as Sabolious, who shares with us the challenges of running a label in these times. Anaves Music is an independent record label based in Austria, dedicated to producing and promoting music that transcends genres and borders.
With a roster of talented artists from diverse backgrounds and influences, Anaves Music offers a rich and eclectic blend of reggae, hip-hop and soulful music that appeals to a global audience. Anaves Music strives to create a platform for musical innovation and expression, where artists can explore their creativity and share their unique vision with the world.
We express our gratitude for your time, Sebastian, and proceed directly to the first question:
How did it come about, that is, when and for what reason did you choose to start a label?
A crucial reason for founding my label was a personal stroke of fate in 2017, the sudden death of my first-born daughter just 3 weeks after birth. That really threw my wife and myself off track at the time. I then started composing and producing more to process emotions. Aside from the fact that I had been thinking about establishing my own label for a long time, I knew that from now on I wanted to release all of my music in honor of my late daughter. My daughter's name was Sevana, the label name "Anaves" is a palindrome of her name.
It was in the summer of 2019 when I officially registered my label. But it took another year until the first release, the "No To Racism" EP with Fred Locks in July 2020. Now, I do not only release my own music, but also support up-and-coming artists who contact me with their music.
Artists who have a contract with Anaves Music have the advantage of the label handling everything, from design to advertising, depending on their needs. Was that always the case or did these release-related services develop over time?
As briefly mentioned in the first answer, this has certainly developed over time. At first it was my own productions that I published. But then it quickly became clear that I would also support other artists/producers. They then expect a label to do various work in the background. This applies, among other things, to promotional work or the creation of graphics and music videos. With two exceptions, I also took care of the cover artwork for all releases. I work with Adobe Photoshop and canvas.com myself, or sometimes I bring in external graphic designers. The same applies to music videos.
Of all these components (such as cover, mastering, mixing, promotion, etc.) that are required to bring a high-quality production to the market, which subcomponent do you consider the most crucial?
All components are of course important to have a successful release. Unfortunately, many artists believe that with a good master file and uploading it to Spotify, it's a no-brainer. However, post-release promo work is just as crucial as having a good track. In my opinion, just as much money would have to flow into the promo as into the creation process of the track (production, mixing, mastering, etc.) in order to achieve a certain reach. Building a range of influence in today's very saturated music market is the ultimate.
With reggae, hip-hop, soul, lo-fi, chill, electro, trap, you span a wide musical spectrum. What are your personal preferences from this spectrum?
As a musician, I currently feel most comfortable in the areas of lofi and chillhop. But I recently made a saxophone recording for a drum'n'bass song by a Belgian producer. I always want to keep these genre boundaries open. Music is music. I also want to communicate that with my label. Still, a big focus is on the Jamaican offbeat.
Topic submission: Are you constantly searching? If yes, what should a submission include, what criteria must/should be fulfilled to become appealing for Anaves Music?
Generally, musicians can write to me at any time. In order to actually be included in the Anaves Music catalogue, you need creativity, professionalism and that certain something extra in the music.
At the moment I'm in the process of doing even more with the already collaborating artists like Tomlink (genre: lofi, electro), Shiano23 (hip-hop, trap) as well as Thera P. (reggae, soul), and of consolidating the collaborations in the form of more singles or EPs.
The Anaves Music catalogue can be described as very enjoyable to listen to. Which three to five songs would you suggest to our readers?
To get a first good impression of what Anaves Music stands for, it's good to listen to my 2 mixtapes. The "Reggae Mood" mixtape contains a lot of reggae tracks, most of which have already been released. A few exclusive tracks for the mixtape can also be heard on it. And the "Chill Mood" mixtape was released recently, which contains all of Anaves' tracks from the lofi, chill hop, electro, soul and dub genres.
I can also recommend the following 3 tracks (incl. videos):
What is the biggest challenge for you in running a label?
On the one hand, the budget determines. It is very difficult to get funding. One criterion is often that all people involved in a release must be from Austria or live in Austria or you can only work with Austrian companies. This makes it even more difficult for my projects with international musicians, producers or engineers (from France, Germany, Jamaica, UK, etc.).
On the other hand, it is also difficult to market a label. As already mentioned, the music market is supersaturated, which makes it all the more difficult to market a "faceless" label (as opposed to an artist). I still found ways, but it takes patience and perseverance.
How do you feel about AI in the service of music? Do you view it as the future, downfall, or maybe just a temporary phenomenon?
That could very well be the future. Among other things, I work with the distributor Landr, who has been offering online mastering using AI for several years. That was also a reason for me to use this distributor. However, I've been told by experts that this will take a few more years until such mastering is really good and mature enough.
You are also a musician yourself. Who would you like to work with?
Puh, there are too many to mention, haha. But, I would really love to work with German reggae star Gentleman, Jamaican legend Sizzla, or to have a smooth jam session with French artist FKJ.
And finally, how do you look back on the year 2023 and what can we expect from Anaves Music in the new year?
In 2023 we had 8 releases, more than ever before. Some of them also went really well, including the Affinity EP with Tomlink or Shiano23's debut single Sun Ally. We also got our own label show on ByteFM (Germany) and were able to work with the legendary Putumayo World Music label for the release of Thera P.'s New Seed.
Anaves Music's first album will be released in 2024. The album with the resounding title "Bass Jam" not only promises a lot of music with bass reinforcement, but can also be viewed as a kind of showcase of the label's previous and new releases. Reggae, Lofi, Trap, Dub & Dancehall: good music with an offbeat focus and styles that transcend borders.
NENESBUTLER PRESENTS MUSIC - SUBMIT YOUR MUSIC NOW!
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