Watch Our Mini Documentary on Independent Record Label Moodmusic

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of independent record label Moodmusic, Catalyst (formerly dBs Berlin) created a mini documentary, featuring founder Sasse (Klas Lindblad). Watch this, and our video on how to choose your record label below.

There’s no shortage of content that reports on the rise of musical groups or individual performers. But what about the organisations that support them along the way? In response, we created a mini-documentary series called ‘Hear It?’ where we will focus on a few record labels in Berlin. Each one has had significant impacts on the electronic music scene and experienced huge growth within the past decade. Our second episode features Moodmusic.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Moodmusic was originally formed in 1996 by Sasse (Klas Lindblad) in his native Finland. In 2003 it relocated to Berlin and has continued to prosper under its ethos of family and adaptability.

In this promo, we hear from artist Ed Ed (Edmond Weinfeld) who met Sasse years ago at Cookies. He talks about some of the concerns an artist faces when deciding on a strategy to release their tracks; specifically, how many labels to involve. Part of the reason for Moodmusic’s success must be their emphasis on seeking and connecting with beginner artists. This creates opportunities to invest in their development and start from scratch. It’s this kind of working relationship that Ed Ed says is hard to find in the music world.

Take a moment and think about how much the music industry has changed since its inception. Now consider how fast the changes that have occurred within the past 20 years have happened. With this kind of a perspective it’s easier to see how a label that’s been standing as long as Moodmusic has, is something to be proud of.

In this full documentary, Sessa gives us a personal account of some of these shifts. When he started working in music, this field worked exclusively with vinyl: something that Moodmusic uses only for special occasions now. It then rapidly moved onto CDs which, also disappeared.

Staying focused on the production of music itself, and not merchandise or similar things a label might use to self-promote, Moodmusic engages in productive relationships with their artists. This method perhaps speaks to their adaptability and gives the rest of us insight into one way you can make it in the music bizz.

Watch our mini documentaries on record labels Kling Klong Records and Mobilee Records.