SAMPLEDBackwoodz Studioz: a guide to the label billy woods built
The roster, the release model and the direct-to-fan store that make Backwoodz one of the most functional independent rap labels running.
Plenty of rappers start labels. Very few of them end up with a roster people follow as a roster. Backwoodz Studioz, run by billy woods, is one of the exceptions.
The roster
The label maintains dedicated artist pages for a deep list of acts: ELUCID (opens in a new tab), Armand Hammer (opens in a new tab), ShrapKnel (opens in a new tab), Fatboi Sharif (opens in a new tab), PremRock (opens in a new tab), Skech185 (opens in a new tab), DJ Haram (opens in a new tab), Sha Ray (opens in a new tab), ØKSE (opens in a new tab), Defcee (opens in a new tab), Gabe Nandez (opens in a new tab), Akai Solo (opens in a new tab), Henry Canyons (opens in a new tab), duncecap (opens in a new tab), Fielded (opens in a new tab), Blockhead (opens in a new tab) and Willie Green (opens in a new tab).
Two names on that list are worth flagging for people who only follow the rappers: Willie Green mixes and masters much of the catalog at GreenHouse Recording Co., and Steel Tipped Dove appears constantly on the production side. A house engineer and a house producer are a large part of why a label with this many artists still sounds like a label.
The release model
Backwoodz does three things consistently:
- Sells direct. Vinyl, CD, cassette, digital and merch all live on the label's own store (opens in a new tab), not just a distributor page.
- Prints small and prints specific. Colored variants, limited runs, booklets and inserts with credited artwork and photography.
- Announces on its own channels. The news blog (opens in a new tab) and mailing list break releases before anything else does.
The current cycle
The label's most prominent recent pre-order is Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal's DOOMED! (opens in a new tab), sold direct through the site. Other collection pages currently active include Cavalier (opens in a new tab), Child Actor (opens in a new tab), Preservation (opens in a new tab), Steel Tipped Dove (opens in a new tab) and doseone & Steel Tipped Dove's All Portrait, No Chorus (opens in a new tab).
What other artists can learn from it
Own your catalog, keep it in print, sell it yourself, and build a mailing list before you need one. Backwoodz has been doing exactly that for over a decade, and it is the reason a woods album can move meaningful numbers of physical units without a single playlist placement.