Rather than focusing on the “next big thing” in the music industry, Hillsborough-based Yep Roc Records scouts talent it believes in.
“Here, it is about the art and where it takes you,” Yep Roc Records General Manager Billy Maupin said. “We’re not part of the major-label echo chamber.”
In 1997, Glenn Dicker and Tor Hansen started the independent record label in Chapel Hill before moving to Hillsborough in 2012, where the two have been releasing records from an old law firm on North Churton Street ever since.
Yep Roc produces about 18 records per year. Its latest is the much-anticipated Tides of a Teardrop, by Chapel Hill-based folk duo, Mandolin Orange, featuring Chapel Hill alum Emily Frantz and her partner Andrew Marlin.
“We collaborate a lot. Everything we do is a team effort. It’s rewarding to have an idea or project and see it become clearer,” Maupin said.
Record labels are often portrayed in movies or the media as business-minded corporations. However, the Yep Roc staff is more like a family, and the two-story office feels more like a house than a workplace. There are no cubicles. It is bright and warm. There are art pieces and posters all over the walls with stacks of vinyl and CDs all over.
The process of signing a band and releasing an album can be as short as a few months or as long as a few years. Tides of a Teardrop was released on February 1, and it took the Yep Roc team about a year and a half to put out.
“It feels like we’ve been working on the release for Mandolin Orange for years, in the best way possible,” Mariah Czap, digital marketing manager at Yep Roc Records, said.
Yep Roc records find bands by word of mouth, rather than through talent scouts. Trusted sources, such as managers, publicists and musicians, are some of the most common ways Yep Roc hears about bands.
Once Yep Roc is interested in a band or musician, the company will sign the artist to a recording contract. The label and musician must decide if the music will be released only in the United States or worldwide, as well as the platforms for release—that is, if the album will be released in physical form, as a record, CD or cassette, as well as if it will be made available for streaming services.
“Every project has a project manager, so the musicians have one main person at the label to talk to, and that person can inform the label about the musicians’ ideas and needs,” Maupin said. “But everyone at Yep Roc is involved in the process of releasing music. Working together is important, and we all play a crucial role in getting music out to the public.”
Yep Roc works with acts from all around the world, such as The Fleshtones from New York, Tift Merritt from Texas, Born Ruffians from Canada, Eli “Paperboy” Reed from Boston, Chuck Prophet from California and Darren Hanlon from Australia.
Other notable artists include Nick Lowe, Los Straitjackets, Robbie Fulks and Billy Bragg; the North Carolina bluegrass band Chatham County Line; Fountains of Wayne, a New York rock band best known for the Grammy-nominated song “Stacy’s Mom”; and the English post-punk group, Gang of Four, from Leeds, England.
“One of my proudest moments was seeing Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin nominated for a Grammy and attending the ceremony with them,” Maupin said.
Maupin recalled how Mandolin Orange signed to Yep Roc in 2013.
“It was very organic. A few of us saw them early on when they were just getting started, and we stayed in touch as they started developing. Because it was a local thing, it was easier to keep in touch and see how we thought they would grow,” he said.
Mandolin Orange and Nick Lowe are the label’s best-selling artists. Reverend Horton Heat’s Revival is the best selling record, although Blindfaller by Mandolin Orange is set to eclipse it in May 2019.
Lots of people in the music industry blame Apple Music, Spotify or YouTube for the lack of interest in underground music among young people and a decrease in sales, but Maupin takes a positive outlook on streaming music.
“Streaming services give more people access to music and allow them to discover new artists and bands. There have also been many studies that show people who stream the same bands and albums are more likely to buy the physical copy of the album and concert tickets to see that band,” Maupin said.
According to Maupin, with more accessible music, it is very easy for people to go down a music wormhole.
“Finding artists’ inspirations or learning what they’re listening to is a great way to find different artists. Other people’s perspectives can influence you in a great way,” Maupin said.
The new Mandolin Orange album is available for streaming on all platforms. To hear more Yep Roc recording artists visit the company’s website.
