Today we’d like to introduce you to Deanna DiLandro and Madison Hetterly.
Hi Deanna and Madison, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
MH: It was 2020 and the world looked very different than it had previously. Deanna and I were friends and had several conversations where we realized we felt similarly about the current music industry and both saw a lack of representation and space we wanted to see made. Deanna originally brought the idea of a record label to me but I was hesitant because I was working multiple jobs and knew starting a business is no easy feat! But once she voiced the idea, it wouldn’t leave my head so the next week I texted her and said, “Fuck it, let’s do this.”
DD: I fell in love with the record labels after receiving a copy of Lucy Dacus’ No Burden while I was working in press/radio at Terrorbird Media. Already having a reverence for albums, vinyl and songwriters, this record really blew me away. It sparked my interest in finding out every detail that went into crafting the world of the record. What was the process like before it’s received on the press/radio level? After several years of working with EggHunt Records, the label who released No Burden and is best known for breaking Lucy Dacus, I knew I wanted to build something on my own that reflected my own ethos, aesthetics and music tastes. I also wanted to carve out a space in the industry that specifically allocated resources and attention to non-men because of the underrepresentation in the music industry.
A few years prior to having this idea, Madison and I met while working together at The Wild Honey Pie. Around this time Madison started Indie Witches, a blog that covers women/non-binary artists, and I was so excited and inspired by her. I wanted to help however I could, so I started doing interviews for the blog. Working together in this way brought us closer together and in 2020 when the initial idea sprouted, she was the first person I thought of to start a record label that reflected the same values as her blog. Now, I can’t imagine building this business and community with anyone else.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
MH: We’ve definitely had our ups and downs since launching in 2021. Some of the biggest challenges are funding to keep the business afloat, even paying taxes and buying a website domain adds up to cost so much! Sometimes co-running a business can feel overwhelming and hopeless but our community and artists are what always make it worth it at the end of the day.
DD: We knew starting a business like this was a risk, but we believe so strongly in our mission and that there’s a direct need for labels like ours in the current music industry landscape. As Madison mentioned, our challenges include business expenses and time management when we both already lead super full lives outside of the label.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
MH: Sadly even in the year of 2023 there are only a handful of record labels run by women and non-men folks. We are proud to be a women founded and run label that specifically serves women, trans and non-binary artists. The reason we started Weird Sister was because Deanna and I weren’t being respected or listened to in our previous music industry jobs so we wanted to make a space for ourselves to trust our own instincts and to be able to amplify the artists we believed in but may have felt as though they were not being heard either. We are consistently inspired by our artists and community, they are why we continue to do what we do!
DD: Weird Sister offers artists a label infrastructure that is guided by the voice of the artist. We want artists to be at the helm of their own creative process by facilitating all of the logistics around releasing their music and making intentional space to help craft the world of the release. The logistics include digital distribution, press, marketing and additional services like booking and sync. Additionally, we have open and consistent dialogue with our artists to make sure that they are heard at every step of the process and that we are doing our part to share their stories. Listening to our artists and our community is the most important aspect of the work we do.
What also sets Weird Sister apart from other labels is that our contracting style is a short term licensing agreement. We never own the masters. We don’t want artists to feel limited in their ability to create opportunities for their work and we don’t believe in locking in artists for multiple album deals unless they’re interested in doing so with us. There are too many artists tied up in labels that they want to move on from, but can’t because their contract has 2-3 options for additional releases. We wanted to generate the friendliest contract we could when starting a label because of this.
I’m proud of our label for continuously staying true to our mission and looking magical while doing it. Leaning into our femininity through our branding is one way we set ourselves apart from other labels. We celebrate our femininity in our branding in a space dominated by men. It’s punk, it’s pink and usually weird. Just the way we like it.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
MH: Seeing my first live music performance which was Aly & AJ at the San Antonio Rodeo.
DD: Singing “A Moment Like This” by Kelly Clarkson as a solo for my 4th-grade choir at the height of my obsession with American Idol.
Contact Info:
- Website: weirdsisterrecords.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weirdsister.records/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weirdsister.records
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/weirdsisterrecs
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/weirdsisterrecords
Image Credits
Emilio Herce, Tanner K Williams, Jenna Houchin
