Inside The Industry: Visible Noise Founder Julie Weir

Lostprophets, Bullet For My Valentine and Bring Me The Horizon have more than topping charts across countries, selling out stadiums and gracing magazine covers in common. Each band owes its accomplishments to Julie Weir, founder of the groundbreaking independent UK label, Visible Noise. Here, Weir shares her tips for bands and biz hopefuls, reveals if she really listens to demos submitted to the label and reflects on Lostprophets, her first “stratospheric” success. Plus, find out what bands you should be (legally) downloading and what’s next on her agenda.

When you formed Visible Noise in 1998, your goal was to foster and break UK rock music. You’ve certainly accomplished that, thanks to Lostprophets, Bullet For My Valentine and Bring Me The Horizon. Have you added any goals to your mission? I want to be able to keep fostering the best in UK talent moving forward. It’s hard for young bands to make it. At Visible Noise, we are a small but dedicated team who really care about the bands and are prepared to go the extra mile to get things done. We’ll always answer the phone at all hours to make sure everything is OK. Plus, we just started up a management wing called Wiseblood. In the stable at the moment, we have Evile, Exit Ten, and Me Vs Hero. We have always been an all-encompassing company, but now we’re doing it officially for bands not on the label. And I have to say, I really enjoy it – coming from the label side, I understand more about the machinations of the industry, so I think it’s a great asset to the bands we are working with.

What percentage of the day do you spend working? 24/7? With our bands getting bigger globally, I find myself sleeping with my BlackBerry by the bed, as I have to deal with the US, Japan and Oz too. So it just adds to a busy day. I run my own company, so it comes with the territory

Do you have any formal/educational training in music business or is your experience all hands-on?
I don’t honestly think the “formal” music business courses are any use and that experience has to be in situation. Things move so fast that if you are being taught, it’s bound to be out of date. I just worked hard to get where I am and I’m very proud of what we have achieved with our bands. And I hope there is more to come.

What’s the biggest struggle you’ve encountered along the way and how did you conquer it?
We struggle with a million things every day – its impossible to pinpoint one thing. We are an indie label!

Why do you think it’s so tough to break UK bands in the USA?
The expense of touring: Fans are generally into the bands, but its always the ones who scratch below the surface, the ones that look for new things. We need to get to the wider population, too – and this is achieved best by touring. We have some great licensing partners in the US and they have a great knowledge of their market, which is ever changing, so we are in a great position in the US now. UK bands aren’t used to those killer drives either.

How discouraged do you get when you license one of your bands to a major label and then see that they don’t get the attention they deserve? If you could change the way major labels work, what would you implement?
I would bring back the key person clause! It’s great for a band to get signed for a lot of cash to a fantastic and enthusiastic team, but if the team aren’t there supporting the band, it’s hard to get attention when there are a thousand other bands scrambling for it.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned along the way?
Don’t take things personally.

Are there any deal-breakers that would cause you to not work with a band you absolutely love?
I don’t work with people who are a pain in the ass. Life is too short.

What’s a typical day in the Visible Noise office?
Organized chaos…And a million things going on at once!

There’s only three people on staff. How do you choose your employees?
Very carefully; there are a number of people who have worked here previously that have gone on to run their own companies too, which makes me very proud of what they have done. I look for people who aren’t afraid of a challenge or long hours…And also people who like very different things to me.

Since this is your baby, do you find it hard to delegate to others? Do you want to keep your hands in everything?
I am terribly anal, but I have a great group of people working with me here – who are music fans. They work very hard.

When you first became involved with the music scene, did you encounter any stereotypes because you’re a girl?
I have been into music since I was 10 and am really pleased to be making a living from an industry that started out as a hobby! I have to admit; I have never really met anything negative through being female- young and stupid yes, though!

Visible Noise is a fan-led label and you interact with the kids on a personal basis. Would you say that’s the secret to your success?
We do a lot for the fans and like to keep them involved at every level. I honestly think giving the fans what they want and being accessible to them as a label has given us a lot of help. We started the first all ages clubs over here about 10 – 12 years-ago called Subverse, where we had four bands play for a really cheap (door price specifically for under 18’s). We had bands like Bullet, Gallows and BMTH there and kids grew up with us. I am still in touch with a lot of kids from those days.

When listening to demos, how long does it take for you to determine if you like a band or not? 30 seconds?
I always give it one song, but it needs to be a whole package for it to pique my interest, and they HAVE to be doing something interesting. Not just copying one of the bands on the label move for move, lyric for lyric.

Do you listen through the full CD if you don’t like the opening track?
I try to at least listen to snippets of tracks, but you can tell when you do have a truly great band pretty quickly – and it doesn’t generally come at demo stage either. It is always live.

Is there a quote or motto that you live by?
“Treat people like you would like to be treated yourself.” I can’t stand arrogance or ignorance.

Can fans in the USA order merch/music from VisibleNoise.com?
Yep – please feel free to have a look – there is loads of signed stuff, limited stuff, merch, and vinyl. Plus, we are soft launching out own merch range called Magnetic Vault.

What’s your guilty musical pleasure?
Yacht Rock on a Friday afternoon and some great Northern Soul, but I wouldn’t say either of them are really guilty!

Where do you see the future of the music biz?
The independents without a doubt; and working with bands as partnerships in management. I am very excited about all the new opportunities coming through the door at the moment. Watch this space.

What’s the best thing about being a metal girl?
I don’t really distinguish on that front to be honest, but being in the rock and metal fraternity for a long time (with a long sting at Goth) I have a lot of exceptionally lovely and supportive friends in that scene – both as label people, bands and friends.
(sniffle)

You were the only girl on tour with Scandinavian death metal bands. How did you survive?
They were a surprisingly nice bunch actually!

What are three things a band must do in order to be successful?

1. Be proactive (don’t think because you have signed to a label that they are going to do everything for you).
2. Have ideas and execute them – image, artwork or anything creative – you have to know your own mind.
3. Work to expand your fan base. Then nurture them!!

What are your tips for those considering launching an indie label?
1. Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons – not the money – because you are wasting your time if you’re doing it for that!
2. LOVE the music…and the people you are working with.
3. BE creative and unafraid – you’ll meet a load of seemingly insurmountable challenges, but if you have the right frame of mind you can do ANYTHING.

Have you ever illegally downloaded a song?
Happily, NEVER.

It seems as if the UK media reported a feud between Lostprophets and Bullet For My Valentine when BFMV first emerged. If this was true, how did you handle that?
The same way as you would between friends, let things cool off. There was nothing there really anyway, more fabrication on a statement than anything else.

What’s next for Visible Noise?
Management, branding, digital expansion. We also do a lot of music supervision for film and TV. I love music TV, but it is becoming increasingly intertwined with a lot of other elements. It’s a very exciting time.

What bands should we watch out for over here in the USA?
1. Evile: Fantastic thrash band touring over there from October – December.
2. Your Demise: Classic hardcore, also touring their asses off over there.
3. The Dead Formats: like the Clash Meets Gallows with melody thrown in..and killer style.
4. MeVsHero: Pop punk from Blackpool, the Vegas of Northern England.
5. Exit Ten: left field rock with some killer hooks.

Since Lostprophets is celebrating its 10 year anniversary…

What were your thoughts when you first saw the band? Did you think they needed any artist development or were they ready for the big time?
They were well ahead of their time – playing a tiny club in Camden – The Barfly- when it was at The Falcon, now no longer there. I will always remember their huge trousers…and six months later, you couldn’t move for them in Top Shop!!! Musically, they were a cross between pop and rock with a twist, but really honest and immediate. I still remember the meeting where they agreed to sign. I had Dig from Earache (another indie label) visiting me in London and they all met me in a pub, I bought everyone a coke (As nobody drank) and that as they say, is history.

Why has the “Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja” music video from Lostprophets disappeared off the face of the earth?
We have it here in the office!

What’s your favorite Lostoprophets….

Video?
Has to be “Last Summer,” for the sheer size of the production – the most expensive video we ever made – and I really love the song.

Song?
Crikey, hard to say. I absolutely love “Darkest Blue” from The Betrayed. I’ll do one from each album:
thefakesoundofprogess: “Shinobi” without a doubt!
Start Something: “Burn Burn” (great fun doing the video)
Liberation Transmission: “New Transmission” or “Always All Ways”

Album?
I think Start Something as it was a fantastic period of growth for the band, and a massive learning curve for the label.

Memory with the band?
I have a million great memories (especially getting the band to No1 over here in the album charts) but my worst is as follows: A bit sad this, but I took my mum and dad to see them in Carlisle (near where I am from) and they gave me a big shout out from the stage…and I was in the loo! I was sooo upset! They played a massive venue, too.

How annoyed do you get every time you see the media spell Lostprophets as “Lost Prophets?”
Incredibly…and it hasn’t changed in over 10 years. I need to deal with that!

CONNECT WITH VISIBLE NOISE:

VisibleNoise.com
Facebook.com/VisibleNoise
YouTube.com/VisibleNoiseRecords
Twitter @VisibleNoise

*By Joelle, who is obsessed with cinnamon sugar kettle corn from Popcorn Indiana.

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