Dave: Discuss the beginnings of Van Richter Records, established in 1993, its intended audience, and how you have sustained your activity as a label for over thirty years.
I founded Van Richter Records as I was a huge fan of the industrial music genre and there was a void in the industrial music scene for bands from outside of the USA. Van Richter filled that void with signing and releasing some great bands that were coming out of Germany and Canada that were not getting their music promoted or their music being sold here. At the time the pioneering label in the genre was Wax Trax Records which was on the demise. Ironically the biggest name that was breaking out to the main stream at the time was Nine Inch Nails which Wax Trax had passed on signing. The rest of the bands in the genre never obtained that kind of commercial success as NIN has but have survived with a very small fan base that still carries the flame as we do for the industrial music genre.
Napster was a game changer for all music in every genre as now the fans of music believed music should be free or close to it. It has been a real challenge to stay alive as all the major record stores chains and destination indie stores have shuttered. We saw this coming and therefore went all digital in the early 2000's and have not manufactured any physical goods since that time. We are running lean and mean since then and our partnership with Apple has enabled our label to sustain itself as they actually pay the labels and artists unlike the other streaming retailers out there. Being a digital label also allows us to release music we had in the vault and distribute other artists and labels without the costs, burdens and complications of dealing with physical goods anymore.
Dave: What initially struck a chord with you regarding industrial music? Was it the auditory experience and the quality of the musicianship, or was it something more personal to you?
I think it was not only the quality of musicianship but also the angst the spoke to me on a personal level.
Dave: Do you recall any of the industrial bands who emerged from Germany and Canada at the time you started?
KMFDM and Skinny Puppy.
Dave: Name some physical record and CD outlets that used to operate in your area but have since closed. Are there new stores opening that you’re aware of?
The best friend of the independents artists and labels was Tower Records. Back at their peak Tower had over 100 stores nationwide. Tower Records prided themselves in carrying one of every release and was one of the first stores in the US to have listening stations. It was a game changer when they went under in the early 2000's. I am not aware of any new record stores opening up as it doesn't make economic sense.
Dave: I know of local record stores such as Mr. Cheapo, Utopia, and Newbury Comics that continue doing good business. If you’ve seen Tower Records' official site, do you see it still contributing to the industry in any capacity?
I know the owner of Newbury Comics. They have changed their business model a while back to mostly clothing. I don't know much about the other two stores you mentioned as we did very little business with them back in the day when physical sales were booming. As to the Tower Records website someone just bought the name and they are not relevant anymore, just solely an online service.
The spinoff Tower Records online store is owned by a new CEO; I hear the pandemic and new interest in physical media accounts for online shopping. I read a Japanese branch retained the name and is expanding their sales. On this last, does Japan still maintain a market for industrial music?
I believe that Tower Japan was a franchise store that was not affected by the corporate closing of all 100 plus stores everywhere else. We never did any business with that store nor much if any fan base to speak of for the genre in Japan.
Dave: Were you in favor of or opposed to Napster when it made news alongside Metallica in the late 1990s? How much more beneficial is it for bands and record labels to operate their own streaming platforms? How much has Apple helped you sustain your label?
I was firmly opposed to Napster who was allowing fans to basically steal music. When they were sued by the Majors and all the indie labels they were supposed to settle with all of us and go legitimate. Instead they filed for bankruptcy and screwed us all. Ironically in the early 2000's some of their staff went to Apple to help launch Itunes. It does not make sense for most bands and record labels to operate their streaming platform as they would have to compete with Apple and Spotify which pretty much own the market. Apple has been a great partner as unlike many other distributors they always pay and their hardware helps drive sales.
Dave: To your knowledge, was Metallica the sole band to experience issues with them, or were there other occurrences?
Every band and label had issues with Napster as they were advocating piracy. There is an excellent Documentary entitled "Downloaded" that is spot on as to the long term negative effect Napster has had on the music industry which thanks to Napster is a shadow of its former self,
Dave: Streaming services in general assist bands in distributing their music, but would you prefer to see streaming sites provide greater financial benefits to bands?
The streaming business model is designed to only make big payouts to mega artists as the monthly subscription fee is based on pro rata split as to who gets the most streams. There are many articles regarding this issue with Spotify. The subscription model only benefits the streaming company and major artists, not the indie artists and labels.
Dave: How much did Wax Trax help industrial bands up until the time it folded?
Wax Trax certainly helped bring Industrial music to more of a main stream audience. They were a victim of their own success as once some of those bands broke out they moved over to the majors. That and trying to expand too big and fast was their downfall.
Dave: Trying to expand too rapidly often backfires, while labels that built from the grassroots in the 1980s and 1990s remain active. What do you think accounts for Van Richter's longevity?
There are many labels from our era that went under including TVT Records who had the NIN masters auctioned off for failure to pay back a $30 million loan to the bank. The reason we have lasted is because we adapted to the digital only world and also running lean and mean with minimal staff and interns who work from home.
Dave: Which industrial bands have maintained the most longevity with smaller grassroots fan bases?
After NIN there’s a huge drop off in fan base size. The middle tier bands include Ministry and Skinny Puppy then there is drop off to bands like Leaether Strip, Thrill Kill Kult, Oomph and One. There still are plenty of small pioneer bands in the genre with a cult following including Coil, Clock DVA and Swamp Terrorists.
Dave: How long have Coil, Clock DVA and Swamp Terrorists been around to date?
These bands were formed in the 1980s.
Dave: Which bands have you recently signed that you think more fans of industrial music should be aware of?
Right now we are mainly focused on releasing our back catalog since developing new artists is not cost effective for the reasons discussed in this article as well as the shrinking talent pool. Recent releases include Girls Under Glass’ "Seven", Nice Gods Bleed’s "Nagel Themes" and "The Invincible Sex". We are still open to signing new bands as we curate / influence for Groover.co.
Dave: Tell the readers about Girls Under Glass and Nice Gods; their origins, their level of recognition, and your promotional efforts for them. What would make them appealing to industrial music enthusiasts today? In what ways will re-releasing your back catalogue help you financially?
Girls Under Glass has been a pioneering dark wave band since the 1980's. We wanted to honor them with a best of collection plus an unreleased instrumental track after such a meaningful and lengthy body of work. There are fans of the genre that are not familiar with GUG so that release was not only for them but long time fans of the band. Nice Gods Bleed was a one off side project of Myk Jung lead singer of The Fair Sex and Testify. Again that release was intended to fans of those bands. As to releasing back catalog the cost is minimal so there is only upside financially to put it out for us.
Dave: What did you mean when you mentioned a diminishing talent pool in industrial music? What do you believe is contributing to this issue?
The problem is most indie bands cannot make a living anymore because of the perception by the public that music itself has minimum or no value because they can get it for free or by an all you can subscription. That is why there are very limited bands coming up.
Dave: Being that you’re receptive to signing new bands if it would be cost effective, what unique, innovative qualities would they need to present?
We would be move receptive to signing new bands that have an already developed fan base as well as music we feel is compelling. So far no one out there has fit the bill.
Dave: Describe the nature of your working relationship with Groover.co.
We were contacted by that artist platform to curate and act as an influencer for the bands and artists that submit music to them. Our role is to review music that they send us. So far we have reviewed over 1600 songs to date.
Dave: Which bands that you have reviewed for Groover.co do you find most promising? Given the current landscape of industrial music, what do you think would define compelling music?
To be honest none really come to mind as we have listened and reviewed over 1600 tracks for Groover. Most bands who come through this platform are doing it themselves and not really looking to get signed.
Dave: Would it be financially viable for Van Richter to organize festival shows to help industrial music and promote bands on your label?
The only place that would be viable is in Europe because those countries and fan bases are much more open to counter culture festivals in the genre unlike the US. Also there are huge costs and risks to bring in our bands as they are all from Europe with the exception of DHI who reside in Canada. Tour support for a label is risky enough yet alone putting on an entire festival.
Dave: Do you have any other plans for the future of your label you want to tell the readers about?
We are working on a PC video game that we hope to make available in the Steam store in the near future which will showcase our label music image and vision. Stay tuned!
INTERVIEWS PAGE | NEXT INTERVIEW 