Brit Street Records began with one purpose in mind, but like a lot of things in music, that purpose evolved.
I started Brit Street Records on January 1, 2024, while I was playing in Die Hard Habits. The idea was to create something broader than the band itself: a label and promotional platform that could support industry outreach, promote other independent artists, and provide a home for larger shows and music-related projects.
There were submissions and opportunities that were easier to approach through a label or manager than directly as a band. I also found that having a legitimate business presence changed certain conversations. It gave the project a more organized, professional framework and helped open doors that could be harder to reach as an artist operating alone.
The live side was important too. Part of the original vision was to use Brit Street Records to produce larger shows, with Die Hard Habits headlining some of them while also creating opportunities for other bands.
But Brit Street was never only about Die Hard Habits. Even while DHH was still active, I was using the label to promote other bands, build relationships with artists and venues, and create opportunities beyond my own project.
When Die Hard Habits ended in August 2024, Brit Street Records did not end. Its focus simply shifted.
By that point, Brit Street had already been producing shows, promoting other artists, and building relationships within the local music community. Some events were already in motion, and rather than stop when DHH was no longer part of the picture, I kept going. Without my own band at the center, the work naturally became even more focused on supporting the other artists involved.
Over the next year, I continued organizing shows and working with independent bands. I learned a lot during that time, including just how difficult independent live promotion can be financially.
I had a personal rule that I would not keep money from a show unless I could first pay every band at least $100. That did not happen very often, which meant I usually made nothing and sometimes personally covered the difference.
It was rewarding, but it was also difficult to sustain.
Producing shows meant booking bands, coordinating schedules, working with venues, promoting events, creating graphics, handling ticketing, solving last-minute problems, and absorbing the financial risk when things did not go as planned.
At the same time, I was building a new musical project, Daph Veil. I released the first Daph Veil song on September 26, 2024, only about a month after Die Hard Habits ended. From there, the demands of writing, recording, release planning, promotion, social media, and everything else involved in building a new project grew quickly.
All of that was happening alongside a full-time career and normal life responsibilities, and eventually something had to give. I stepped back from producing shows and began using Brit Street Records more heavily as the business and promotional structure behind Daph Veil.
That shift also gave me a clearer view of the value Brit Street had developed beyond live events. The relationships and industry network were already there, and I found that having an established label identity continued to change certain conversations. I received more responses, developed relationships with other labels and industry professionals, and gained access to stronger curator, media, DJ, and promotional contacts.
Those connections are not just something I use for my own releases. Through Brit Street Records, I also use that network to help other independent artists increase their visibility, reach new listeners, and build momentum around their music. That work has become an important part of what Brit Street does today and is reflected in the promotional services available through the label.
That experience reinforced something I had already started to believe: independent artists benefit from thinking about their music as a business much earlier than many of us do.
That does not mean every band needs to start a record label. It also does not mean forming an LLC or putting “Records” after a name automatically makes anyone more legitimate.
You still need good music. You still need professionalism. You still need relationships. And you still need to follow through.
But there is real value in building infrastructure around your music.
For one artist, that might mean forming an LLC. For another, it might mean creating an imprint. For a band, it could mean having written agreements, separating personal and band finances, maintaining good records, building a professional website and email presence, and approaching releases with an actual strategy.
A label can be part of that structure.
There is also an important difference between being signed to someone else's record company and releasing music through a label you own.
Daph Veil releases through Brit Street Records, but Brit Street is artist-owned. I remain an independent artist.
I do not see Brit Street Records as a way of pretending there is some mysterious record executive behind the project. It is the opposite. If I want the business structure, relationships, organization, promotion, and opportunities that traditionally came from having a label behind an artist, I have to build those things myself.
Brit Street Records started with Die Hard Habits as an important part of its focus, but it was always intended to be broader than one band. When the band ended, the focus changed, and the label continued to evolve.
That evolution is ultimately what has made Brit Street Records more valuable than I originally imagined.
