How Two Guys In Chicago Funded The Launch Of A Record Label

Charlie Greengoss and Adam Victorn are co-founders and co-owners of Vinyl For A Cause. Vinyl For A Cause is a record label that seeks to strengthen the relationship between music and the community. They work with bands to produce cover songs and press them exclusively in small batches of 7-inch vinyl. Large portions of their proceeds are then donated to charitable causes of the artists' choosing.Greengoss and Victorn co-manage all operations at Vinyl For A Cause. They want to be equally involved in every aspect of the company. Greengoss and Victorn share some financial aspects of their startup journey. They are not only running a business that they truly have a passion for, but they also believe in giving back.
 

How have you managed the financial end of keeping costs down?

As a startup, we must keep spending to a minimum and ensure that every dollar spent is allocated properly. We have surrounded ourselves with like-minded musicians, artists, companies that want to contribute to making our mission successful. We try to get as many donations and cross partnerships as possible. By keeping our costs low, we can therefore donate more money to the charities. It's a very important aspect of our business model. We make sure all parties involved are getting the most out of this project as possible.

We pitched our idea to a Chicago-based law firm, Saper Law, and they liked the idea so much that they agreed to work with us pro bono. We have been incredibly lucky to have Daliah Saper and her team in our corner. It's people like them that are really helping us make this dream a reality.
What are your plans for raising money?

We launched our Indiegogo campaign in May 2016! This will help raise money for the first three releases, which will feature six outstanding artists with whom we've begun recording at Treehouse Records. The first six bands we are working with are the Railway Gamblers, The Leadfoot Band, IndigoSun, The Heard, Jesse W. Johnson and Coed Pageant.
What does your financial outlook for the near future look like?

After our promotional launch, we plan to work with six to twelve more artists throughout 2016. Our first three releases will support the The VH1 Save The Music Foundation, though we plan to help support many other charities as well. We want to continue working with bands that truly wish to shed light on important social and political causes.

This article was written by Michelle Guilbeau of Examiner.com for CBS Small Business Pulse.