Label Worx Limited is a privately owned company from the UK ran by experienced music industry people. We offer a wide selection of services designed specifically for independent record labels that enables them to efficiently manage many areas of their business. We also provide a great deal of advice and guidance to our labels to help them grow and achieve their potential.

We specialize in (but not limited to) distributing dance music and work closely with many of the smaller dance stores to ensure the more underground and unusual genres are not overlooked. We work with the major download stores also and are constantly expanding our store network.

We also have a healthy dose of IT expertise in house which enables us to deliver solutions tailored specifically for the needs of an independent record company.

How did label worx begin?

Label Worx began when the two company directors Chris Chambers and Matt Abbott launched the trance recordings label, Alter Ego Records, in 2005. At the time they were both holding down jobs as full time IT Managers so the label was born as a hobby and managed from their home studios. They quickly realised that in order to run the label successfully they needed a solution to manage the labels data of artists, releases and sales information.

The decision was made to build a simple web based system which would allow Matt & Chris to login and view the progress of their releases online. Once launched this greatly improved communication, and freed up so much time that this enabled Alter Ego Records to launch several sub labels.

At the time the primary method of promoting music to DJs was by posting out burnt CDR's. Not only was this a painstaking and costly task it also resulted in little support and pretty much zero feedback which is very frustrating for any new label. More and more DJs were moving from Vinyl to CD so the guys designed and developed the Promo Manager system as a means of delivering their promos digitally whilst also capturing feedback and download information. The first promo was sent on 13th November 2006 and the system was an instant success. An unexpected bonus was that several DJs on the Alter Ego Records promo list started emailing the label asking if they could use the system for their own record labels.

On the distribution front the label signed up directly with five download stores to sell their music. However, it became apparent very quickly that in order to present their music to a wider market they would need to enlist the help of a professional distribution company. Over a period of 18 months the guys signed the label to three distributors in total. Time after time they continuously ran up against the same problems. All of the companies could talk the talk, inspire you with confidence and get you signed up but they all suffered from the same issues. Releases were not going online and music or metadata information was going up incorrect. When they needed to get issues rectified they could either not get hold of an account manager or they were given a petty excuse.

Early in 2007 Matt & Chris decided to turn their attention to a solution for their distribution problems. They felt that they fully understood the frustrations of distribution from a record labels standing so commenced the task of designing and building a platform that a record label would want to work with. The aim was to keep things simple, greatly reduce the possibility for human error, whilst seamlessly delivering content to the download portals via and automated delivery system. By the end of March 2007 they had a working prototype which revolutionised their label. Label Worx started handling the distribution for several other labels towards the end of the year.

The Promo Manager and Distribution systems together formed the early creation of what Label Worx now refers to as the LMS (Label Management System). Although this has been tweaked, amended and upgraded, the ethics of the system remain. Keep things clean, easy to use and appeal to record companies of all shapes and sizes.

Over the last 2 years Label Worx has grown rapidly and has seen the list of clients they work with grow to over 600 labels from 51 countries.

In 2009 Label Worx launched 2 brand new services. The first was Professional Mastering which provides an affordable solution to labels who would like to get their audio mastered to a professional standard.

Most recently Label Worx Web Services division was launched which craft and develop inspiring record label websites powered exclusively by Label Worx. This essentially means that you can control all aspects of your website from within our LMS (Label Management System) which then eliminates your need for a web person in-house. If you are using one of our other services such as the Promo Manager or Distribution then your Label Worx powered website will update automatically as you enter release and artist information.

Where to now?

Label Worx continues to work closely with their client base of labels and as a result are constantly streamlining, updating and tweaking their systems. They endeavour to offer more features and services in the future which will in turn provide record labels with more tools to allow them to run their businesses better.

Our ethos is our own. We do not follow, copy or imitate other companies. We have instead chosen our own path and continue to develop and present all new methods of tackling crowded avenues of the music industry. Such an ethos is allowing Label Worx market share to increase quarter on quarter in an extremely difficult climate.

Over the next 12 months we will see Label Worx expand with additional services which we continue to develop and deploy so watch this space!