First Taste of the Week
Issue #16

When I Buy From TDR, Where Does The Money Go?

Simply put, when you buy something from TDR Records or our artists, all of that money is invested directly into the current (touring, additional promotion, etc.) or next project and not our pockets. Why? Because we love music and want to release more of it.

A lot of articles by big and small magazines and music news sites have been coming out lately about the state of the music industry. I too want to let you know exactly where TDR Records stands and what we do to bring you music, t-shirts, and beyond as an independent business.

I started “working” in the music industry over 11 years ago and didn’t figure out there was a business side until I invested thousands of dollars into my band’s (Mayfield) first full length record (recording, CDs, merchandise, etc.) to be released a makeshift record label in my parents house.

At that time, I wasn’t thinking about recouping every cent as fast as I could. I was thinking about potentially getting hundreds, if not thousands, of people to hold and listen to my record. It wasn’t until after we started making money back that I realized I could use this capital again to print our next batch of t-shirts, buttons—whatever had our name on it to help grow our audience. This is about the time I started investing in other bands in order to release their music.

Fast forward to today, the idea of reinvesting still holds true—and I take great pride in that. I can honestly state that I have never taken a penny from anything that has to do with TDR Records for personal use. I’ve always kept that in a pot for the next potentially successful or failed (but fun) project.

This isn’t the way every band, record label, or other business does things, but it’s part of my business model. So, every time you purchase something from my independent label, be it a CD, t-shirt, digital album—anything, I hope you can feel good knowing your hard earned dollars go right back into the next recording, music video, or poster for our bands.