Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Mueller.
Eric, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In terms of ROCK THE SOFA, it was started as soon as CA’s Shelter-In-Place order went out. Immediately, a lot of us saw the need for a “guide” to organize all of the streams that were happening in a way we could help people keep track of them, and hopefully allow them to catch more streams, engage more, and thus, support the artists more.
With no touring/shows happening, we have millions of artists across the globe out of work. Those willing to put themselves out there online deserve as much support as they can get right now. For independent musicians, the algorithms are hard to gain traction in, so the more organization and the more grassroots ‘rallying of the troops’ the better, in terms of boosting numbers and hopefully generating some form of financial support to help those artists.
We don’t imagine that this need for online streaming is going to dissipate anytime soon, with the dynamics of concerts big and small yet to be worked out in this new reality. The dynamic of the performances will change, especially as more musicians are able to get together with each other safely to perform as groups, and technology will certainly improve – but without a return to concerts and tours, we expect that online performances will continue to be crucial, and will become integral and inseparable from the new reality of music consumption.
Has it been a smooth road?
You name it. This new COVID reality is certainly one of the largest challenges – but hey, last fall we threw our 15th anniversary party with 3000 friends and seven bands on the deck of an AIRCRAFT CARRIER. It involved building a 27′ set of stairs and hoisting a stage 40′ in the air with a crane… We like a good challenge over here in Pirate-land!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
PIRATES PRESS is an industry leader in VINYL RECORD MANUFACTURING. We make the most cutting edge, trend-setting vinyl in the world, and on average, about 3-4 million records a year. We also single handedly brought FLEXI records back to life and are still the only company in the world manufacturing them.
We also have a record label, PIRATES PRESS RECORDS, that releases dozens of albums and singles each year for a broad array of artists, spanning punk, metal, ska, reggae and more. The label is able to highlight new products and technology that the manufacturing company develops… truly showing off the manufacturing capability, creativity and desire to be a trendsetter in the world of vinyl.
Both are a comprised of a very highly motivated cohesive group of people driven by a desire to do bigger and better things and help other people at every turn along the way. While we are a successful company financially, we look at the impact that we have on musicians, independent entrepreneurs, and the music/vinyl scene in general for our sources of true pride, and our motivation to keep improving and having a larger impact.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @piratespress @piratespressrecords @rockthesofa
Image Credit:
Taken by Pirate Staff.
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
