Three Important Points About
Fall Of The West Records:
Not-for-profit. This means that all of the "profit"
(if there ever is any) goes back into Fall of the West itself. All of the
people involved in running FOTW do it without any monetary compensation. We
do it because we enjoy doing it and we really think that music has the
potential to change the world.
Collectively-run. All decisions are made by consulting other members
involved in running FOTW and by reaching a consensus. While everyone
involved acts independently to complete whatever it is they volunteer to do
without "supervision", there are no unilateral decisions made.
DIY. Everything that we produce is made in our homes and with our own hands,
with a very few exceptions. When there are exceptions to this, we always
make it publicly known that something was not made by us. (An example of
this is something like pressing for a vinyl release, which we do not have
the capability to do ourselves at this point - yet we still print and put
together the rest of the packaging.) If there is something that we cannot do
ourselves, we try to find another DIY group that can fill that role for us,
thus establishing a mutually-supportive relationship.
How We
Work With Bands:
We'd also like to take a minute of your time here, if you don't mind, to
explain a little bit about how Fall Of The West works. Our about page
explains that we are a DIY label that presses the CDs, prints the artwork,
and puts together the packaging ourselves (with the occasional exception).
However, as you are the person receiving what we create with the bands – we
feel that it would be wise to take a moment to explain to you exactly where
your money goes. Obviously, one dollar from each release goes to a Non-profit organization
of the artists' choice. However, money from each album purchased from FOTW
also goes directly to the bands (this has an occasional exception if a
different process has been worked out with the bands – such as with Captain
Chaos). In fact, with these releases, we only take as much money or less
than the band receives. This is not necessarily the most financially viable
way of operating, we recognize, but we believe it to be the most ethical way
that FOTW is in the position to operate under. That means when you receive
an album from Fall Of The West Records, you are directly supporting that
artist whose music you are enjoying. This is important to us, and we would
be ready to speculate that it is important to you as well. This is about
working together – for the people who make the music, for the people who
help get it out there, and for the people who it touches. So while our
prices for albums range anywhere from between 4 to 7 dollars, just recall
that a major portion of that is going to the band – and the part that we
receive is enough to make up for the amount we put in. While we maybe don't
make much of a "profit" when it comes to money - we think this is the best
way to support all bands that work with FOTW, and the most ethical way for
us to do so.