Stormspell Records is an independent record label based out of CA and they release lots of great old bands from the 80’s they have over 300 releases to date with a staff of 1! Here is a chat I did label owner Jordan Kanev
So Stormspell Records has been around for a long time, what keeps you going? Was there any time, especially during COVID, that the label almost went under?
JK: Yeah, good question I am wondering about it myself sometimes… This label has snowballed into one huge beast over the years, absorbing time, resources, and then some! A bottomless money pit who is always on the verge of going belly up… Yet I keep pushing it. It is my personal Sisyphus’ stone, I guess.
Now for those who don’t how did the label come to be and did you have any prior label experience before Stormspell?
JK: I was born and raised behind the Iron Curtain. In Bulgaria to be precise. I became a metalhead around 1983 when a classmate gave me a tape with Def Leppard’s Pyromania. It was a homemade dubbed tape, of course, that was the only way to get that “degenerate capitalistic music” back then, we had no music stores or anything. So anyway, this started it for me, and snowballed from there: Def Leppard, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Accept, Running Wild, King Diamond, Risk, Rage, Destruction, Kreator, Living Death, Mekong Delta… by the end of the 80s I was full-blown metalhead, living and breathing it 24/7, with thousands of tapes in my collection. And it only kept growing bigger…
Fast-forward to 1999 when I came to the USA, and finally had an opportunity to buy real original releases. So, I indulged in re-building my collection, replacing the dubbed tapes with original releases. I started trading stuff around, selling a bit on eBay, one thing led to another, and in 2005 the label was born. I guess the biggest motivator was the fact that I could not find many of the more arcane 80s releases, or if I did, they were very cheaply done pressings. As a graphic designer by trade, cheap simplified packaging always bothered me. So I’ve decided to give it a try.
I had zero experience and it was all trial and error from the start. It still is. I did have some help and mentoring from fellow labels such as Dennis (Sentinel Steel) and Scott (Texas Metal Underground – R.I.P. buddy!) for which I’m eternally grateful!
How did you come up with the name and were any other names considered?
JK: I “borrowed” the name from a fellow metalhead who used it as his alias on a mIRC chat room back in the early 90’s. I’m a huge fantasy / Sword and Sorcery buff, and that name sounded perfect to me. It was also a nod to one of my all-time favorite bands – Stormwitch. I don’t remember exactly, but if I ever considered other names, they probably would have come from Pratchett, Zelazny, Feist, Eddings’ books, or Commodore 64 games
So exactly what year was the year of your 1st release and the name of the band and release name?
JK: It was INSPELL – Arcadian Tales: The Egregore CD, released in the spring of 2006. It almost put an end to the label before it had even started, since it is furious blackened power/speed metal in the vein of Skyfire, Brimstone, Children of Bodom, etc. – and did not sell that great to say the least, haha. It took over 15 years to sell out, but regardless, it is still one of my favorite releases.
Did you think when you started the label that you would still be doing it in 2024?
JK: Not at all. I remember when I set the release number on the pilot release as “001” I shook my head and laughed at the thought of using so many zeros. I never imagined I’d even get to 10… Now 18 years later I’m still going, with 300+ releases under my belt… I’d have never guessed that, no Sire! Not in a million years.
So you told me you run the label all by yourself. Take me through what a typical day is like for you. Have you ever released anything on vinyl? Are the postage rates being what they are, or are they unfortunately causing you to raise prices at all?
JK: Running a one-man label with an online store attached to it is like having 3 full-time jobs, especially given that I’m also handling all packaging layouts and designs. Me, Myself, and I handle everything, heh. If I’m not in the “warehouse” packing and shipping out orders, I’m on my computer working on booklet designs, updating the website, answering e-mails, scheduling trades, and so on. Every single minute I can spare goes to the label, and then some.
I believe in the motto of “you have to try everything at least once,” so I have had one digipack release (mostly because the band made it clear it is the packaging they must have, and this was a major want list release I have been waiting for like 10 years) and I had one vinyl release, so I could say I’ve tried my hand at it.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against vinyl and a big portion of my collection is on LPs. However, I despise the current “hipster vinyl mania” with kids demanding everything on vinyl for the sheer sake of it, totally disregarding the fact that most current recordings are fully digital, recorded at home, in most cases with programmed or heavily edited drums, poorly mixed and mastered, and then pressed on all sorts of splatter vinyl, which they then listen on $50 USB turntables, hooked to their computer speakers, loudly proclaiming “only analog is real” LOL. It is sad and pathetic, and the prices current LP releases are sold for are truly horrendous.
If I’m ever to do more vinyl, it would be only selected albums that have been recorded and mastered properly for the medium, and only on 180 gr virgin black wax. But this is a moot point as at the current time storage space is a huge issue for me. Maybe if I move back to Europe next year, I could explore that. But for now, it is safe to say that Stormspell is exclusively a CD label.
Regarding postage rates, don’t get me even started man! The destruction of USPS started back in 2007 with the “Postal Enhancement Act” in Congress, with the sole purpose of bankrupting USPS so it could be privatized, and this hasn’t stopped to this day. The sad part is, there are too many people on both sides of the aisle, in the pocket of the private courier lobbyists, and this is the real reason why Biden has been turning a blind eye and letting that Trump-appointed stooge Lous DeJoy remain as Postmaster General, still going at it full force… Small online businesses like mine are just collateral damage, as sad as it sounds.
Raising shipping prices is inevitable. There is a new round coming at the end of January, and I have been told by my local postal folks that it will be a big one, so brace yourselves… Apart from that I have only raised prices once, from $11.99 to $12.99, which doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface, given how much the cost of everything jumped during covid alone…
This is if you can remember the question ha ha. Out of all your releases, what are the few, if any, that surprised you in terms of sales right out of the gate so to speak? I know you do 500 copies as well of your releases. Have many been repressed over the years by you?
JK: When I started the label, everything was pressed in 1000 copies and most sold out. It wasn’t until 2015 or so, when we lost almost all international retail sales due to the international shipping costs becoming unbearable, that I started to limit pressings to 500. The loss of all indy-friendly distributors also had a big part in it: The End, Displeased, Century Media, Relapse, and CDBaby. Few at first, but gradually by now, almost all my releases are pressed in 500, and some even down to 300…
It is hard to compare what sold better, since 80s re-releases, and current albums are two different markets, but as a rule of thumb, for every release that sells well, there are like 5 that don’t.
Selling enough copies to break even is pretty much what I consider success these days.
One release that surpassed my expectations was the debut Lich King album. Given that it was a one-man bedroom project recorded on his computer, it sold great and amassed a cult following. But I think it was mostly because of Tom Martin’s relentless self-promotion online, quite controversial and provocative at times, but highly successful. The dude was a genius in promoting it.
Beyond that, it is sad to admit, but it is much more easier for me to remember releases that failed to meet my expectations, than the other way around, hah.
Now I know you say “Your old farts are stuck in the 80’s”. Do you ever get bands that send you stuff that you end up signing?
JK: The label has been always an extension and expression of my musical tastes, to some extent at least, and since I am an old-fart who grew up during the ’70s and ’80s, I tend to stick to bands/albums that represent or sound like that period. It is very fortunate for the current NWOTHM movement, which is right up my alley, and I release a lot of current bands playing in the vein of the old, so to speak. And yeah, if a band approaches me and I like what I hear, I take them. Quite a few so far.
Who comes up with your cover art and album titles? Around how many releases would you say you put out in any given year?
JK: Speaking about current bands, it is usually the bands that come up with the album titles, tracking order, mixing, and mastering. I am a firm believer that whoever wrote the music knows how it should sound – it is their vision and I do not play “producer,” especially since I do not have a budget to pay for recording studio time, etc. In most cases, the bands come to me with audio masters already finalized, and I either like it and work with them, or simply pass.
Cover art is a different issue, I am picky about it and offer bands an option to get them proper/better art at my expense (provided they either do not have one, or theirs is not to my liking). Or at least I used to, since nowadays it is hard to fit cover art commission cost in a budget for a release limited to 500 copies, but I’m still trying to work it out.
I have commissioned cover art from many artists, but the two I have long-lasting relationships with are Yannick Bouchard and Alan Lathwell.
I’m working on release #317 right now, and #001 came out in 2006, you do the math 🙂
Have you ever seen any of your stuff bootlegged over the years?
JK: Yes, numerous titles. There is a bootlegging company out in Azerbaijan of all places which is very indiscriminatory and would bootleg everything they can put their hands on, not only cult 80s re-releases, but also brand new current bands. Which sucks coz their stock is wholesaled at uber-cheap and almost all eBay and Discogs re-sellers go for it, instead of ours…
This is also the reason I quit including hi-res PDF scans of the booklets in the promos.
Early on, say your 1st 10 releases was it hard finding old members of some of these bands you wanted to work with since you were new? Have you had many bands turn you down as far as having their stuff re-issued?
JK: Not really. Back in the day, there weren’t that many 80s re-issue labels, and finding bands was somewhat easier. I have had some bands not interested, but overall, not that many.
Now do you have contracts with any of these bands or is it handshake deals? Now Thrashback Records, when he re-issues something the band gets 30 copies to do what they want with them. How about you?
JK: Stormspell is a registered business, so yeah, we do sign licensing agreements. Payments vary on a per-case basis, with bands usually given several options to choose from. Suffice it to say all of our offers are much more lucrative than 30 free copies. That’s crazy…
Now have you ever had the desire to try and have someone else help you out at all and make it a 2 man operation? Do you even have a part-time job or is it Stormspell Records 24/7?
JK: The desire has been there, but it was never financially liable. Especially here in the Bay Area where the real estate is super expensive, and the smallest Office/Warehouse rental space costs a 4-digit sum per month, and the first digit is 3 or above…
I have a part-time job outside of the label, yes. Regardless, the label always demands 24/7 attention, and then some, ha!
Out of all your releases, what are some that surprised you as far as sales right away and that are now sold out?
JK:: Sadly, I can tell you a lot more releases that surprised me with lackluster sales and are still available decades after the release, haha. But to answer your question, LICH KING did surprisingly well, given the first albums were a one-man bedroom project.
Now I know you do promos via email as 99% of the other labels do. Most hire publicity people to do that. I get promos from you. Is that you sending them or someone else?
JK: At the beginning, I was sending actual promos, but that quickly became not viable with the insane increases in shipping costs, especially overseas. Plus, it is hard to allocate a sufficient amount of the pressings for promos when your releases are limited to 1000 or even 500 copies (nowadays firmly 500 or less).
Another HUGE pet peeve I had was sending actual physical promos to reviewers that claimed they have to have the actual product to review it, and then NOT A SINGLE ONE commenting on the actual packaging… Why would I waste money and resources to send an actual product, when no one bothers to say anything about it, but the music inside? So naturally, at some point, it became digital promos only.
I send the promos myself via Promo-Cloud to a carefully selected list of reviewers. I don’t see any advantage of paying hundreds of dollars (which I do not have to start with) to a PR company that will send out thousands of emails harvested from elsewhere, with 99 percent of the recipients not interested in it…
So how long do you see the label going for? Are there times you feel like packing or in or do you love the label and the music too much?
JK: Be assured that if I win the lottery today, the label will be gone tomorrow, LOL! Seriously, don’t know man. It is a love/hate relationship for sure. At this point, I consider it a hobby, albeit a very expensive and time-consuming one, hah. So, it always will be part of my life, to some extent.
Please plug where people can get some of your incredible releases.
JK: Stormspell’s BigCartel store, where you can get my releases and selected distro stock from fellow underground labels from around the world:
https://stormspell.bigcartel.com
Don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list:
or follow the label on Bandcamp
https://stormspell.bandcamp.com
to get notifications for new releases and distro updates.
Jordan horns up for doing this interview, and best of luck going forward with the label. Any last words to wrap this up?
JK: Thanks man, I’d also like to thank everyone who has supported the label through the years, appreciated very much! Cheers!
