The number of bands making music today has nearly reached critical mass, but the process of delivering that music to those who'll dig it while also generating the added benefit of making some money gets more complex with every passing day. At the once-mighty major labels, the coveted “record deal” is elusive and the concept of artist development has been all but completely abandoned. As more bands choose to self-release their music, faced with limited options for distribution or sales, New York City's independently run music production company/ indie label Mother West offers exciting and innovative alternatives for bands craving old school service in an increasingly DIY world.

Under the helm of owner/founder Charles Newman -- who is also an accomplished musician and producer -- Mother West has grown from a small label and recording studio to a full-service organization offering music licensing, publicity and promotions, customized distribution, online sales and state of the art recording facilities. Driven by the desire to bring good music to the people, Mother West is reclaiming the lost art of pop and rock artist development.

The genesis of Mother West goes back to 1990, when Charles and fellow members of the NYC band PLEASE moved into a small apartment building in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. Outside the building was a large sign with the words “Mother West.” No one knew what it meant. The band took two floors in the building with the intention of combining an upstairs living quarters with a practice space and recording studio downstairs. "I started out with a four track and built the studio up from there," Charles explains. When PLEASE was ready to release its first record and needed a label name, the giant sign on the front of the building made sense, and the Mother West label and studio was born. PLEASE released three CDs, Noreally Thanks (1994), The Electric Living Room (1995) and Sentimental Watermelon (1997), enjoying its greatest success after the song “Here it Comes Again” appeared on the A&M soundtrack to the 1995 New Regency film Empire Records.

Business in the Mother West studio increased steadily, as Charles produced and engineered records for local bands like Red Radio Flyer, Escapade and Bela. "Suddenly people were recording with me that didn't know what to do with the finished record," he recalls. "But I helped make it, and if I'm proud of it, I want to help." Charles soon took control of the fledgling label with the goal of aiding these groups by releasing their independent CDs via Mother West's mail-order zine "The Deli" and website distribution. Other notable early releases included Vidi Vitties, The Davenports, Speed Dial, Flare, Moth Wranglers, Peter Fand and Stuart Hart, as well as various compilations and 7-inches. "Mother West is sometimes associated with Indie Rock and Pop / Singer-Songwriters," says Charles, "but I think that everything we've done comes from good songwriting, whether it's edgy and weird, mellow and chamber-influenced, experimental/ psychedelic space rock, straight up rock or alt country. We really embrace all musical styles and genres."

What sets Mother West apart from other, more traditional indie labels is a consistent "music first" credo. "It's no secret that the most important step for a band is just getting its music out there," Charles states. "Often, artists come through the studio believing that making an independent record leads directly to a major label deal. It doesn't really work that way anymore. Only a very small percentage of bands are signed off a three-song demo. Even those scoring big record deals have generally put out a couple of independent records first." The Mother West philosophy stresses specialized distribution, in-house promotion to garner initial positive press, followed by playing out live as much as possible to create a vital buzz. "I think music fans want to see bands that are putting on good shows and have followings," he continues. "Big labels don't want to take a chance on an unproven act, because so much effort is involved. We may still be in the farm league, but we've become a full service music company offering incredible advantages over other independent labels. We have a very hands-on approach because we want to set a career in motion and build relations with new artists for the long run."

Perhaps the most exciting resource at Mother West is its vast music-licensing library, known as The Vault. Charles recalls how The Vault came about directly from his efforts to get the label's bands some extra exposure. "I used to get Backstage magazine," he explains. "I would go through lists of indie films going into production and send out flyers to these films, saying that if they were looking for music they could come to us. I started getting a call here and there and business started coming in. Then I realized that over the years we'd built up a catalog with hundreds of tracks in all of these different styles. We also have a studio, so we can easily remix songs if needed, removing vocals to create instrumental versions or whatever. A small band or artist that doesn't necessarily sell lots of records or tour extensively can benefit immensely from the exposure and revenue-stream licensing offers. At the same time, a band I worked with five years ago that may not even exist anymore still has an album's worth of material sitting there. Since films and TV programs take place in many different time periods, that music has a viable lifecycle, so nothing becomes dated." Through relationships with MTV (Viacom), A&E, advertising agencies, independent filmmakers and other outlets, Mother West successfully places music by its artists into a wide variety programming -- from network and cable television (such as The Osbourne's and The Newlyweds), films and TV movies to commercials, DVD replacements and a variety of promos. Says Charles, "As the media grows, there's more and more need, so the sky is really the limit as far as opportunity."

Accessible from the homepage of Mother West's website is the online fanzine The Deli, which promotes the music of local New York artists and publishes a quarterly print edition. "The Deli originally started as a way to promote bands we worked with in the Mother West studio," Charles recalls. "When a producer friend of mine, Paolo DeGregorio, moved here from London and started working out of the studio, he was inspired by the concept and the four issues I had already put out. He took charge and streamlined it to be more about the NYC scene. Today he's the Editor in Chief."

Also under the Mother West umbrella we have Papercup Music, which is headed by Magnus Thompson.  Papercup handles promotions and publicity for the label and provides management services and books local shows for our artists. "Basically, we can handle every facet that might apply to a band's career with what we have available to us," says Charles. "There are so many talented people and so much good music to work with, and I'm really happy to be in this business right now. No matter which direction the company grows we'll stay focused on getting more visibility for our artists, while continuing to increase the Mother West profile."