Less than two years old and OWSLA is already quickly becoming a juggernaut of the electronic music industry. Their first release being electro-house star Porter Robinson’s ‘Spitfire’ album in September of 2011, which outsold ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’ in its first week. Then by the end of the year they had produced ‘Shave It – The Aftershave’ by Zedd, ‘Anticipate’ by Skream, ‘Kill Kill Kill’ by Kill The Noise and ‘Bangarang’ by the bossman himself, Skrillex.
Skip to the beginning of 2013, OWSLA launches ‘The Nest’ by drip.fm which is a monthly subscription for fans with benefits including early access to OWSLA releases, weekly Nest-exclusive downloads from up-and-coming artists, and ticket pre-sales for OWSLA events.
“The Nest is another chance for us to get music out to the fans quicker and easier,” said Skrillex in a statement to Billboard. “It’s a step into the unknown future of music which is exciting, and it allows us to keep our fans up on fresh content and bring up some new artists we love.”
Two short months in and OWSLA is having the best year ever. Not only are they boasting some of the biggest names in electonic music in their arsenal, but they are getting worldwide recognition after their Grammy hat trick last week. Their artists consistantly rank at the top, most recently winning Mixmag’s ‘Tune of the Week‘ for Luma by The M Machine.
If you didn’t know, OWSLA is named after the elite rabbit army in the movie ‘Watership Down’. At the record company, the leaders of their elite army are Sonny Moore (Skrillex) joined by Tim Smith (his manager and owner of Blood Company) as well as Kathryn Frazier (owner of Biz 3) along with publicist Clayton Blaha and label manager Blaise James. Each of them industry experts in the field they represent at the company. With the King Midas of EDM, Deadmau5, as a mentor Skrillex has become the “leader of the new rave generation” according to Spin Magazine and is leading up and comers on his label down his path of success.
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Sonny Moore (Skrillex): CEO of OWSLA, DJ/ Producer As a fellow producer and 6 time Grammy award winning artist, Skrillex not only understands the artists he represents but has made the strides in his career that the up and comers on his label are looking to make for themselves. Who better to place at the helm of your career than the man who single handedly brought electronic music to the forefront of the entertainment industry? With his ingenuity, he permanently changed the scene in a way that even my grandmother knows what dubstep is. |
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Tim “Bitvargen” Smith: Founder of Blood Company Management Aside from being the friend and manager of Skrillex since he was a 16 year old kid in a rock band, Tim Smith is the father of Blood Company Management. Blood Company has been the backbone behind punk rock bands like Atreyu, Chiodos and of course From First to Last (Skrillex’s old gig). They believe that the relationship between artist and management should be based on more than just money but a mutual passion for the music. This philosophy is chiseled into the foundation of OSWLA. |
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Kathryn Frazier: Founder of Biz 3 Public Relations Firm Kathryn Frazier is unstoppable in the public relations field. In 1997 she started building Biz 3 from the ground up and today they foster over 80 musicians, filmmakers and even restaurants with 5 national publicists. Biz 3 is known for their endless dedication well after their clients are thrust into the public eye and are notorious for 200+ page press kits. She not only brings her drive but also her selectivity to OWSLA as she is infamous for turning down majors and up and comers alike. |
As one of the original artists signed to OWSLA, Porter Robinson says:
“OWSLA is sick because of its attitude and approach to its artists. It’s less overtly formal. It’s like the label just exists amongst friends. I think a lot of labels end up having an adversarial relationship with their artists because their interests aren’t always aligned, and OWSLA isn’t like that.”
Not only is their down to earth team breaking down barriers between the music and the fans but also on the opposite end between the artist and the record label. With the newest additions to the OWSLA army being HEARTSREVOLUTION and GRiZ we can only expect for them to continue to grow. How and where they will grow is still a mystery as Skrillex states:
“My vision is to not have any limitations as far as genre, or other types of artistic endeavors”
“I want it to grow day by day but in the bigger picture do whatever we want artistically and share it with other people. There’s so much music out there, I’m happy to fight for artists that I think deserve more attention.”
We’ll just have to wait and see where they take things but one thing is sure, their passion for the music and true love of genuine artistry is going to keep them in the limelight.
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