[jro323]

a few partners and i are in the beginning stages of forming an all digital tech-house record label.
we are in the process of educating ourselves and putting together the foundations of the business.
we are taking our time to get it right before we launch.
we have all been involved in "the scene" as djs and promoters.
i have some experience helping out with a small rap label and i've been doing plenty of research on
legal structure, financial accounting, distribution, promotion from grassroots on up, branding, etc.

we all understand that this is mostly for the love, and no one will become a millionaire for it.
we are also completely uninterested in losing the scarce cash we have on a bad gamble.
and of course - putting out great music - that we stand behind - is the big goal.

some specific concerns of mine are that i may be missing genre specific information in my studies.

for those of you working in techno/house/idm.
what have your experiences in dealing with labels (or better yet) forming your own label taught you?
any advice for the new kid? pitfalls to avoid? major points that can't be overlooked?
i'm kinda curious about the nuts and bolts here. contracts. advance payment size. publishing rights. etc.

how neccesary is beatport in comparison to other forms of distribution?
(besides putting out a few records by very famous producers) what would be other fast and
efficient ways score with distributors such as beatport?
if it's not possible to have a direct relationship with beatport how else would one go about it?
through what channels?

where are the majority of your sales coming from?
beatport? itunes? local heads? dj community? your myspace/facebook/twitter freinds? other sources?

can you recommend any books, websites, magazines, forums that go more in depth on this kind
of info as it relates to electronic dance music? like residentadvisor, beatportal, mnml.nl etc.

any advice at all is greatly appreciated.
thank you all for taking the time to read and consider.