that resists the music “business”.
I don’t know everything, but I know what we have right now doesn’t work.
Hi! My name is Reed and I’ve spent the past twenty years playing music, running a label, managing bands and doing just about every job you can possibly imagine to pull it together and make some sort of career in music.
I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t... and I am still learning.
First, my background: I am a co-owner of Single Lock Records, an independent label with roots in the fertile soil of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. We generally win 25% of the Grammys we’re nominated for (currently 2 for 8) and that’s why I originally bought a suit. I’ve played drums for tons of folks, most notably on Cedric Burnside’s Grammy winner I Be Trying. I’ve toured and sold records around the world and back. When I was in college, I started a fake label and made up names for all the staff members... but they were all me. Now, I currently serve on the board of A2IM and as a Governor of the Memphis Recording Academy Chapter. Times change, but I’m still the same (but a bit wiser).
I’ve started Well Kept Secret because not everyone needs a traditional record label. The thing I’m finding more and more is that everyone needs something a little different. This company is an idea: what if the music business started by responding to what artists need? One size just doesn’t fit all anymore. (It never really did.)
Twenty years in and I’ve learned something about working in music: if you do it right, it’s a public service.
In fact, I believe helping lift up good art and expose it is a moral exercise.
That’s the foundation this company is based on and we hope you’ll see it in everything we do.