OUR STORY

One day, we’ll be looking back on the start of Wisebreed Records and sharing our story a lot more broadly than this page. And it will be an experience of a lifetime to bring you all along on that story as it continues to unfold.

So, why Wisebreed Records? Why now? Who the hell even are you writing this thing I’m reading?

I started Wisebreed in pieces and parts many years ago, as did all of the people who are part of it today. We were all on parallel and connected paths doing our parts of what this ultimately became.

Trademark, who you all know so well, has been making music for literal decades. I’ve been privileged to be part of a lot of that in different ways over time. While he was building his legacy as rap’s Supervillain, Flamingo Barnes, TMSD da SV and so on, I was also making my own music, but chose to focus on my career in the corporate world – which taught me a lot. I have a weird background, which I’ll get to share more of later, but just know things aren’t what they probably seem.

Any way – back when I was making music and in the beginning of a budding corporate career, the stuff I was posting on YouTube took off – like fast – I dropped a few full length projects and got flown out to some labels to make demos and and to be wooed by contracts that I ultimately never signed.

At that time, I was a rogue artist in the lane I was making music in. I like what I like and I like to do things that are true to me. Integrity over everything, I always say. I’d wear hoodies and Js and leggings in the studio, I had my hair in a ponytail, I didn’t talk in a high voice or dress in pink or put on lipstick to make music. And I’m sure you’re not surprised to learn at every label meeting they all came to me with some manufactured image they had come up with for me. Most of them were along lines of me being Eminem meets Nicki Minaj – rap hard about raw stuff but do it in a girly way and wear pink…No thank you.

EVEN if I was up for that – which clearly is not the case – the contracts were more laughable than the “brands” they had put together. One label hyped up this huge conversation and talked all about all the things they were going to do to pump my music, make “me a star” and we’d all be rich, they said. Then I read the paperwork (right then and there) – I have some historical experience with contracts, but I also personally had a lot to lose and wouldn’t sign something I didn’t understand – and I was pretty shocked.

The paper said that they’d give me $50,000 to [basically] give them my life – for an undisclosed amount of time.

And during this undisclosed amount of time, they would also need to recoup  that $50k (and there were many other rules). This this is basically a glorified loan with the most egregious terms ever, I thought. I can only make music with you, who knows if you’ll actually move as fast as I do or really support what I’m doing, and you “loan me money” while you own my life?  There were vague lines in it about general commitments to “market and promote” my music (with no detail) and the stellar prize of becoming part of this “family.” 

I laughed…Probably for a rude amount of time. But this is not the kind of “family” I’m looking for. 

I handed it back and said “respectfully, I already make more money than this and this paper just tells me that you all care more about locking me up than lifting me up.” They went on and on about even though the paper says these various things, they’re going to do this that and the other – but, if that were true, that’s what the paper would say.

The point is – a lot of people don’t have the luxury of handing back that paper. A lot of people, a lot of artists, are so hungry for a chance to be an artist that – when they are in a huge studio, in a huge mansion, hearing promises of more money and more studios and more mansions – many will believe it and even of those who don’t, many will sign it, no matter what it says.

Most of them would probably love to have a lawyer or someone with experience look over it, but even if they could afford that, the labels will pressure them to sign immediately or lose the deal.

It’s a broken system that stifles so many artists from ever really getting started. The ones who sign are often stuck, the ones who don’t sign are often stuck, too.

A lot has happened between then and now and there certainly isn’t room for it all here. But the point in me sharing this with you is to say – I get it. We get it. Every one of us who is part of Wisebreed has dealt with stories like the one above and many more.

We know what it’s like to be an artist and as we have fine tuned our own processes and capabilities for our own artists to thrive as independent artists, we decided that we should share that with the world.

Our goal is to be a truly different kind of a label. One where everyone rallies around each other, we don’t waste time, we don’t lock people into lifelong contracts, we don’t make you wear pink or wear big chains if that’s not what you’re into and we only want to work with people who want to do it the RIGHT way. No shady shit. No random pricey magazine ads today that you have to earn back in streaming royalties tomorrow. No BS.

We will have TONS of updates to share soon, but in the meantime, please know we are looking to build our network of both talent and team members – from vocal artists, to booking agents and show promoters, to merch designers and more – our collective wisdom and strength grows as we grow. Get in touch with us today if this sounds like something you want to be part of.

Looking forward to all to come,

MCLairen