Editorial: December 2013

Well I just want to say THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone that has made this year such a good one for us. There are a lot of magazines and websites that cover what we do, and frankly dragging readers away from other sites did seem like a daunting task this time last year. However we've slowly but surely built a good reputation four ourselves over the past year and we continue to see thousands of hits per month.

It's not about the money or gaining any sort of individual reputation, but the continued support of the readers, bands, labels and PR people is what makes this all worthwhile.

To thank you all we are opening up our end of year decision making to all of you in our Readers Choice poll. So if you want to see your favourite artists / labels / festivals etc. honoured by us, make sure you go and cast your votes!

We will also be releasing our first compilation album on 1^st of January 2013 to mark our 1^st birthday. As I've said before, it will be free and available in lossless or mp3 formats with an accompanying pdf booklet with details of all the band's included. The response we had to the idea was better than we could have hoped, and I think the end result will please a lot of people.

But even though we're in a good place right now, I'd like to address the recent announcement from UK industrial/rock label Static Distortion Records that they will no longer operate as a label. Static Distortion had rapidly gained a reputation for releasing high-quality albums from home-grown and international talent including MiXE1, Cease2xist, Cryogenic Echelon and Digital Deformation. Now only a mere couple of months on from the excellent night they curated at Slimelight, they have ceased to operate as a label.

It's a sad reflection of the current musical climate that even when someone pours their heart and sole into a business idea, and the bands and fans support it, that it is still not enough. As Steve Fearon (SDR founder) mentions in the statement below released by Facebook, SDR will continue as a collective of artists, but will no longer release music.

“SDR ANNOUNCEMENT
I have made the decision that at the end of the year, Static Distortion Records will cease to exist as a traditional label.

Its something I have thought about for a while, as my budget is not big enough to be able to support the artists to the extent that they deserve.

Also, the time involved to provide the level of service I demand from myself is proving increasingly difficult to find on top of my day job, my musical projects and my personal life.

After discussing this with the artists, we have decided to turn the label into a collective of sorts, still working together to support our respective projects, but with the responsibility of releasing and managing our music now being in the remit of the artist. I will continue on as a coordinator, but effectively the label will not be selling music anymore, and will exist purely as a collective of like-minded artists.

My thanks go out to all of the artists, promoters, journalists, supporters and fans who have been part of the journey, our work is not done, but the way in which we work has to change.
Thanks for your time. 

Steve Fearon”

The label isn't the first to go this way with the likes of Crunch Pod, Dancing Ferret Discs having ceased to be in recent year, and unfortunately it won't be the last due to the uncertainty in the industry. However, I hope all of our readers will continue to support Static Distortion in its new form along with the bands they have worked so hard to promote, and of course any brave soul who has started, or dares to start a record label in the future.

Posted in: editorial