Roots Archives Forum

Franco Nero wrote: Release some of that Burning Sounds catalog. Great stuff.

Good luck.

Lots of that was/is Channel One material. I think it was temporarily licensed because as far as I know Burning Sounds/Vibrations never produced anything itself (same with some other UK labels as Tonos ChaCha etc )

Digikiller wrote:couple things mentioned in this thread are in progress.

Very interested to see which ones.

I would love to see the Jah Life catalog see some more reissues. Albums like Smashing Superstars, Family Album, School Days, What's Wrong With the Youths, Mr Sunshine etc.

Hey guys, cheers for all the responses and mostly positive support. It's clear from all the suggestions on here that there is LOADS of music out there just waiting to come out. Hopefully when I get some good time to dedicate to building the foundations of this it will come to something!!!

Funky Punk wrote:
Edit: and I don't know what the legal situation is with this now (other than that there has been legal issues), but Scientist's Greensleeves-era albums really could do with being put back into print - and staying there.

From what I can tell Scientist has a beef with Greensleeves over their ownership of Junjo's work. I read that they can't prove they own the catalogue that Scientist made his albums from, so it's met a stalemate (the words of Scientist himself, so I guess there is also another side to the story). It would be great to get these out again. However, it shows the difficulty in proving ownership of repertoire.

It would be nice to find out if any major labels have anything in the vaults that they own that hasn't been rinsed already. That would certianly be an easy avenue for us to start at.

star wrote:Author : gbougard
Date : February 17, 2012 10:17

you could talk to Roy Francis, who owns the Phase One label
lots of stuff of top quality
email me gbougard@gmail.com for more details

Cheers for that, that's a contact to remember in the future.

Pots n Pans wrote:Is it only original albums you are planning to re-release?

Because a well-selected compilation of Derrick Harriott or Sonia Pottinger productions, done properly, would be killer! And could range from rocksteady through early reggae and dub and onto roots. That'd be tasty.

Also, an affordable collection of good Ethiopians songs is pretty hard to come by at the minute - all the old Trojan ones seem to sell for daft money on Amazon. An underrepresented group with loads of great songs.

Are you looking to do singles (7s or 12s)? Digikiller, and to a lesser extent, Dug Out, Basic Replay and Pressure Sounds have all re-released some amazing singles, and I guess the outlay isn't as much for a single.

Good luck with your venture!

Cheers dude, at the moment original albums only, no singles or comps. When the millions start rolling in, perhaps we could move in that direction

drive instigna wrote:You are only going to make loss on that...(look how many repress labels dissapeared and went bankrupt.. like Blood and Fire for example..) Unless you can repress a whole catalog of something. Like happened with basic-channel/wackie's.

There is a reason why so many repressings come out on 7" and 12" and way less on LP..Even the website of pressure sounds is filled with 7"es these days..

And also you got to be able to deal with a whole lot of irrational if not insane behavior from former artists/producers, whoever was involved.

Also I've seen some suggestions here. They might be very good but I do know some of those wouldn't sell at all.. even at budget/bargain prices..

These are really good points. It will be tough to make a whole bunch of money, but I am always amazed at some of the reissue I've been involved with from all kinds of genres that I think "who the hell will buy that???". But it's worth having a punt in my book.

The reason I would like to start with some of the more well known artists albums is to attract a few more punters than just the die hard collectors of uber rare reggae hens teeth. I think at the beginning, it's just a tad safer.

MellowMan wrote: The reason I would like to start with some of the more well known artists albums is to attract a few more punters than just the die hard collectors of uber rare reggae hens teeth. I think at the beginning, it's just a tad safer.

Have you ever considered the 'limited edition of 500 (or whatever) hand-numbered copies in a digipak with a nice thick booklet and full lyric sheet' approach?

There's some stuff that people really want - but probably only a small number of people out there who want it...

One album I'd love to see reissued properly with some good liner notes is the various artist Jwyanza LP (not on Roots-Archives) which gathers some of the finest rub-a-dub songs (classics such as Briggy's »Pain«, »Chalice«, Icho's »Captain Selassie I« and others) and other rarities from people such as Icho. I found the record without a sleeve some years ago and it's without a doubt one of the finest rub-a-dub sets I've had the joy to hear.

Billy Boom: Mr. Spaulding's music is going to be reissued. I met him two days ago and we started talking about how to get it done. More info on that will come.

Can't believe that no-one's (including me) mentioned this yet...

Misty In Roots - everything that's currently out of print and selling for a fortune on eBay (which is most of their albums).

wow, i have to admit - i'm surprised that there is any negativity in this thread at all! i say, GO FOR IT!
obviously, it will not be a cash cow - but if you realize that from the start and keep in a labor of love - the label will be a success! labels start failing when they take on marketing staff, sales reps, etc. you can do this all yourself! blogs posts, make your own website, social media - all free to you (or minimal hosting costs) and easily managed! keep it small, don't overdo it - i really like the idea of limited well constructed product (cd, vinyl, whatever) and will pay extra for items that are legit and i know that the person who made the music will be getting their fair slice of the cake!

don't be discouraged, the RA MASSIVE has got your back!!