Gare du Nord Records:

Information and How We Work

 

Gare du Nord Records was started in 2013 by three independent artists (Papernut Cambridge, Robert Rotifer and Ralegh Long) as a vehicle to release their three respective albums that year under the “umbrella” of a label name. Since that time Gare du Nord has grown into a larger collective operation with a range of interconnected artists and friends using the mechanism of the label to release their own music on their own terms.

 

In practice this means Gare du Nord does not operate like a traditional, conventional record label.

 

Each artist effectively controls, runs and finances their own release. The label is there to help facilitate that when needed, but the artist ultimately has no ties to the label at all. Gare du Nord takes no cut from the artist’s income, so whether it’s a physical release sold from the artist’s own Bandcamp, or digital/physical sales via our distributor (which are passed on minus their %), all the money from sales goes to the artist.

 

Our first distribution agreement was with Kudos - a digital-only deal - and all our digital catalog from 2013-23 remains with them.

As of summer 2023, our distribution is through Code 7 (via Proper/Ingrooves) - that's for digital and physical product.

 

For physical product we are only supplying small numbers to Code 7 - but there are some stipulations concerning manufacture, artwork and packaging, if you're considering a physical release:

 

• All products must be shinkwrapped or sealed in resealable clear sleeves.
• Each product must have a barcode.
• Code 7 don't accept CDs in simple wallet sleeves - only spined digipak artwork, jewel case or similar, and they don't accept duplicated CDRs - CDs should be glass mastered/replicated. For your own Bandcamp sales etc., economical short run CDRs are fine, but they'd limit your options on the distribution side.

 

What Gare du Nord can offer to artists releasing through us:

 

• In-house help with mixing, mastering, preparation for manufacture and release.
• In-house help with artwork, layout, sleeve design and preparation for printing. A big part of our label’s identity comes from our focus on physical product – vinyl, CD, tape, badges, printed material etc.
• Admin around the digital/physical release – uploading and registering digital releases etc, organising paperwork and delivery of physical items to Code 7.
• PR help – the label sends out regular PR bulletins and posts around new releases and label activities – but please see below.

 

What Gare du Nord DOES NOT offer:

 

• Financial help or funding for pressing, manufacture of vinyl/CD etc. – the artists finance their own releases to whatever level is appropriate for them.
• Large scale PR – our own PR reach is very small, so we’d always recommend enlisting additional PR/promo/plugging for your release if it’s appropriate.

 

To sum up: a release through Gare du Nord is effectively a self-release, but with support and help available from the label if it’s needed.

Gare du Nord does not actively seek out artists to “sign” to the label, but we are always happy to hear from anyone who might be interested in releasing something through us.

 

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