What is Netlabels.org?

My desire to collect information about netlabels, to get an overview of the phenomenon was big and I started my first list. Back then it was already difficult to keep up with all the netlabels. I think the list collected some 50 to 100 netlabels.

The next step was the so-called The Netlabel Catalogue. Its first iteration was a CMS where I collected the information and it still was too much to do, so I made the – then clever step – and moved over to a Wiki-CMS. Like the Wikipedia, netlabels and netaudio enthusiast had the possibility now to contribute their netlabels and releases to the Netlabel Catalogue.

This wiki grew and a little community of netlabels worldwide used the netlabel catalogue to present themselves, their new releases and their back catalogue. It was a well-loved resource.

Unfortunately more and more hackers and spammers tried to rip the catalogue apart and finally suceeded. While it was a little side project I had not the nerves to repair and secure it all the time. I didn’t know how to handle the attacks and finally turned the Netlabel Catalogue off.

A fresh restart with GitHub

In all the following years I researched an easy way to build the catalogue again. I even paid a programmer to build a unique CMS for me, but I had no money to spend it on a free resource with creative commons music, where there is no chance of financing the project to do it properly.

Now I have a new idea: I will try to rebuild Netlabels.org from the ground up. It will be a static resource build with the help of GitHub, a platform for programmers. It will be some work for the netlabels to get involved, but I think it’s worth the effort and it’s save and it’s the open source-way.

Let’s try it!

Moritz »mo.« Sauer, Cologne, Summer 2015