Starting an independent studio and label-style business: what I learned

People often call Deep Impakt Recordings my record label. Strictly, it was a recording studio: a DIY home studio I built in my parents' house in my early twenties, where I recorded my own music as Deep Impakt and charged other artists for sessions. It was not an incorporated, registered record label with distribution and publishing deals. That distinction matters, so this page is honest about it.

What it did give me was most of the lessons people starting an independent label need: how to find artists, get work recorded and released, charge for it and build a reputation. The full origin story is in building Deep Impakt Recordings; this page is the practical version.

Studio, label or both?

It helps to be clear about what you are starting, because they are different businesses:

A recording studio sells time, engineering and production. Its customers are artists.
A record label invests in releasing and marketing artists' music, usually in exchange for rights or a share of income. Its customers are, ultimately, listeners.
A production collective sits somewhere in between: you record your crew's music and release it together.

Deep Impakt Recordings was mainly the first, with a bit of the third. A studio can be a sensible way into label work, because it pays for equipment and puts you in front of artists every week.

How I started

A room and a budget

The studio began in a room next to my mum's kitchen. Artists came in through the back garden. I spent most of my savings on equipment and acoustic treatment, and for a while had no income at all. The full budget and setup are in the original story.

Learning the craft

I had no idea how to run a studio. I read books on building a home studio on a tight budget, and asked producers who had worked on my music to teach me the essentials of Logic Pro. I learned engineering by doing it, session by session.

Finding the first clients

The early clients were often young rappers, many around 18, trying to make their name. In that hour, as I said in a 2018 interview, "it's all about their music". If you treat every session that way, people come back and bring friends. That is how regular clients built up.

What I would tell someone starting today

Decide what business you are in. Studio, label or both. Each has different costs and income.
Start small. A good room and a few reliable tools beat a big kit list.
Be better at service than gear. Artists remember how a session felt.
Get the paperwork right. If you release other people's music, use written agreements on ownership, splits and credits. Get proper advice on rights, royalties and company registration.
Look after distribution and metadata. If you are releasing music, learn how digital distributors, publishing and royalty collection work in your country.
Know your own role. I discovered I was better as an engineer than as an artist. That was useful to know.

What it led to

The studio ran through my rap years and I recorded around 150 songs. Over time I also worked from a second studio, and the podcast description of me at the time referred to more than 200 international clients. It was my first business, and it taught me to find customers, deliver and get referrals, the same loop I have used ever since.

Listen

Some of the music from that period is in the Deep Impakt: My Life as a Musician playlist and on SoundCloud. Both are embedded on the rap years.

Questions readers ask

Was Deep Impakt Recordings a registered record label?

No. It was a DIY home recording studio and production business, not an incorporated label.

How do I start an independent record label?

Decide whether you are a studio, a label or both; start small; use written agreements with artists; and get proper advice on rights, royalties and company registration.

How many songs did you record?

Around 150 over my rap years.

Sources and notes

This is experience, not legal or financial advice.

Written in October 2026 from my own contemporaneous records.