The times they are a-changin’ for independent record labels.
With the increasing popularity of downloading — particularly among college
students and young people — record sales are dropping rapidly. And what’s more,
of the 15 percent of people ages 18 to 25 who do buy records, the vast majority
shop at major retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy. As a result, independent
labels and their artists are suffering, struggling to survive in the cutthroat music
industry.

But several students in Madison are attempting to keep the
spirit of musical expression alive with Women in Red Records, a new feminist
record label on the University of Wisconsin campus. Sponsored by the Campus
Women’s Center as an extension of the Women in RedZine, WIRR defines itself as
a musician’s collective where artists can come together for collaboration and
support.

But expending interest in this project was not an easy task
for the upstart record label, according to WIRR coordinator Sam Hay. He credited
initial interest in the label to the social networking site Facebook.com.

“I mean, finding people was kind of annoying for a while,
then I made a Facebook group,” he said. “We’re just trying to express all those
multicultural views, and give a voice to musicians in the area. We just kind of
want to give people an opportunity to learn and express themselves in a group
setting that’s supportive and a little bit collaborative.”

This record label, which was conceived as a full-fledged idea
only one month ago, is the product of a collaboration between Hay and DJ Tamara
Qabazard.

“The inspiration was
to get people’s voices heard. It’s all about freedom of expression without the
whole idea of financial support. Instead of doing this for the love of money,
we’re doing this for the love of music and the love of expression. That is the
epitome of freedom,” Qabazard said.

AJ Grimm, guitarist for the “amoeba-like” WIRR band Ars
Nova, agreed with Qabazard’s sentiments.

“Basically what this is about is just hearing each other,
getting each other heard,” Grimm said.

Aside from playing “amoeba” music, the WIRR musicians span
many different genres, from hip-hop and electronica to spoken word. One of the
only similarities between them is that, for the most part, they refuse to
define themselves by a particular genre.

“I can’t really step into a genre because I think you can
find that beauty and that potential in all sorts of music,” said WIRR artist
Eric Beyer.

But this diversity of genres is something both Hay and
Qabazard encourage.

“The only real restrictions we put on people is we don’t
want anything intolerant, and that’s pretty much it,” Hay said.

“If we were
concentrating on a particular genre, then we would be contradicting our
message,” Qabazard added.

One of WIRR’s varied musicians is hip-hop artist Kim Byas,
who transferred to UW after visiting the campus during Hip Hop as a Movement
week.

“I’m interested in all types of music, I know everyone says
that, but I think it’s really cool to step in and maybe get some type of
collaboration and support. I think there’s a lot of potential here, and I want
to be a part of that,” Byas said.

One of the label’s more active members, Katie Sachs, an “Ani
DiFranco type,” was able to take advantage of the Madison music scene’s
potential — as well as showcase her own — when she played after the Take Back
the Night rally Saturday at Steep & Brew on State Street. That night, the coffeehouse
was over capacity as the audience crowded around to listen to her piercing,
soulful voice.

Sachs says she was inspired to become part of WIRR because
of the label’s attention to social issues.

“I’m an activist as well as a musician, and I think
historically artists are, or should be, activists. There’s always been a very
tight connection there, so I think what’s cool about being in this project and
what attracted me to it was that it also had a social aspect to it,” she said.

As an extension of the Women In RedZine, WIRR works to
increase awareness about the struggles of underrepresented individuals and
groups to establish a cross-cultural dialogue about social issues.

“Music and voice are
the only way anyone is ever going to fight social oppression and injustice. You
can sing, talk, rap, spin about anything, and it will somehow get through to a
group of people,” Qabazard said.

In the future, WIRR wants to book shows and produce albums for
its artists to distribute, but they stand firm in their belief that music is
not about making money.

“I don’t really want any money out of this; I just like
being with all these talented people, like seriously makes the hair stand up on
the back of my neck. This is just good for me,” Hay said.

“I’m trying to go triple platinum,” Byas joked before
adding, “It’s a bunch of artists who do care, who want to get their music out
there and who are genuinely invested in the music.”

These artists recognize that profits are increasingly scarce
in the music industry, as fans can easily obtain music for free.Qabazard pondered both the merits and the
downfalls of downloading.

“It’s weird. You
have to download music correctly. Download a song or two. If you like them, buy
the album. That way, you’re not losing money and neither is the artist. People
don’t understand that,” she said.

Instead of discouraging the distribution of songs for free,
WIRR is making music available for download in hopes of generating continued
interest in the label. Hay said he is enthusiastic about the opportunities the
Internet provides.

“As far as
downloading and the Internet goes, we’re embracing it. All of the content we
can possibly put online is going to be available online. It provides a whole
new marketplace, especially for an upstart like us, because it cuts out
manufacturing,” he said.

If falling record
sales are any indication, musicians’ collectives like WIRR could be the future
for independent record labels.