As part of our new association with Scruff Of The Neck Records we're pleased to feature them as the subject of our second In Profile piece. Mark Lippmann from the label fielded a few questions from us just before the Xmas holidays.
MG: From the collective’s website blurb the year just finished has clearly been one in which you’ve seen your efforts bear a lot of fruit. How long though has it taken you to get to this point and how did you initially set the enterprise up?
ML: People often ask me about the journey of Scruff Of The Neck so I usually retort with a spiel stating “I’ll summarise the life of Scruff of the Neck in 60 seconds…”, so here it is in written form:
In 2009 during my final year of university I lived above a pub where I worked (The Rampant Lion in Manchester). The building was Grade 2 listed or something (so basically a big gothic type standalone gaff) and as such had loads of character and scope for entertaining. In the pub was a brilliant 6k sound system so I basically asked the owner if I could run a night.
The deal with The Rampant was that he would need to buy us the additional equipment to make this possible, so he bought us a really basic mixing desk. I then got my pal Chris Warr down from his music technology course in Huddersfield to help and we just started running nights; each one was better than the last and he kept paying us with equipment until we built up a pretty decent set up.
We outgrew the pub, bought the 6k rig off them and moved onto bigger venues buzzing about each one developing our model and reputation. We learnt millions of lessons in a short space of time and always made sure we righted any wrongs and acted on feedback as we went. We also kept the re-investment policy for years never taking a penny ourselves.
We launched the label in 2010 with the release of 'Oh Darlin’ by The Quangos. Chris Warr recorded the track in his bedroom, Chris Wrench filmed the video as a favour to me and to help his portfolio (he’s since filmed enormous bands at Wembley). We carried on this model for the years that followed and as such developed the people in the ‘collective’ and invested in more gear so we could really run with the DIY approach. Fast forward to now and we have a studio in Chorlton at The Royal Oak (who have been very good to us) and each person involved has an accomplished trade (Chris in the studio, Paddy in live sound, Ash on lights, Matt Boone video, Myself and Dave Beech working on gigs, bookings and press etc). It’s really smooth now and a great creative network that we feel artists really enjoy being a part of.
In summary, it’s taken us 5/6 years to get where we are but we are still at only a fraction of our full potential so I’m really excited and curious to see where we are in another 5 years! I’m personally driven to improve and change constantly so the sky is the limit as the old cliché goes.
MG: Your releases to date have I think all been singles – will 2016 see you releasing an album or are larger releases not something to which the label’s geared?
ML: We’ve actually released 2 x EPs with Go Native and Delamere in the past couple of years but other than that you are correct, it is mostly singles. In the past we’ve remained quite modest with what we can contribute and our model was more of a leg up for new bands initially, we didn’t want to try and contract them long term as we didn’t want to over promise, we felt one release was a great way to test the working relationship for both parties. In 2016 though this will be different… we are planning at least 2 albums coming out including Delamere's Black & White Space with potentially another one or two amongst other single releases so it should be a huge and exciting year!
MG: The releasing of music is though only one aspect of Scruff Of The Neck as you manage bands and promote shows as well. Are those both recent additions to the work you do or have they always been parts of the whole?
ML: We are actually probably most successful as promoters. In 2015 we ran over 100 shows across multiple UK cities and this will grow massively in 2016. We’ve been building really strong relationships with other local promoters and are also developing our networks with some of the more established parties (festivals, booking agencies, managers and major labels etc.) which has seen us bring some cool new touring acts up to Manchester towards the end of the year. The plan is very much to develop the promotion arm and become recognised national promoters as well as masters of our trade in Manchester.
MG: When taking on the management of an act what qualities are you looking for that individual or band to possess?
ML: I get asked this often and again I’ve coined a bit of a spiel to articulate our beliefs. I believe on a simplistic level there are 3 x traits that make an artist a viable business partner:
1. Product – they don’t need to be the finished article, far from it, but they need to have the potential to be a fully rounded product. It goes without saying that the music is an integral part of this, but there is so much more that needs to come with it. A lot of artists these days are really creative with their artwork, branding, videos, photos, you name it! We like to encourage artists to flourish with their own creativity so we are looking for bands that know what they are and where they want to go.
2. Work Ethic – artists need to be willing to get their hands dirty in our opinion. We always work best with the mouldable artists and those with that restless curiosity and hunger. We ourselves are still learning and full of desire so we always find the most invigorating and fruitful partnerships have been with those endless grafters as we bounce off each other down the path!
3. Nice people – we have to be able to work with the people in the outfit. Working in the music industry is all about the people involved and you have to be passionate about the relationship to be able to make it work. We know that we won’t be everyone’s best friends, but we need to have that click with each other and that trust. The Delamere guys are the best example of this, we have had some ups and downs and arguments but they know who we are and likewise; we have the upmost respect for each other and that’s what gets the results! All the bands we work with regularly are mega people and that’s what keeps us going.
MG: Aside from the initial album release what do you see the year ahead as holding for Scruff Of The Neck?
ML: 2016 is going to be an incredible journey. All the people in our internal network will be developed, up-skilled, challenged, promoted and driven to be the best they can be (and enjoy the process!). My main aim is to have an unrivalled team of colleagues and freelancers that can take the enterprise forward for years to come. The same notion applies to our roster and network of artists; there is so much potential, talent and amazing people we want to work with and promote throughout the year.
The venues will be bigger, the tours will stretch further, the releases will be pushed harder, the networks will expand immensely and our drive will become more and more relentless. We are in it for the long haul and our number one goal still remains to have a key role in breaking bands as ultimately our worth will be defined by our role in the development of bands and people.
As the ancient proverb goes…the proof is in the pudding.
Many thanks to Mark for taking the time to feedback to us. We look forward to doing our bit to ensure the desired progression is achieved in 2016. The company are always keen to hear from bands/artists interested in working with them so you can reach out to Mark & the team here.
Scruff Of The Neck Links:-
Website: www.scruffoftheneckrecords.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SOTNRecords
YouTube: www.youtube.com/SOTNRecords
Twitter: @SOTNRecords
Instagram: @SOTNRecords
