Owl Studios Rev Up

Produces jazz music videos. When businessman J. Allan Hall decided he wanted to start his own record label last year, he settled in Indy’s fertile jazz scene. With the new year, Hall has kicked Owl Studios into high gear. Hall has assigned Matthew Altizer, who recently helped shoot a music video for Cynthia Layne’s upcoming CD, to implement an ambitious program aimed at making Owl Studios a major label on the national jazz scene.
>>Read Full Article at NUVO.net

Night and Day Owl

Al Hall of Owl Studios hopes to create a better record contract. At only 19 months of age, Owl Studios already has more than a dozen releases under its belt. Owner Al Hall, insurance slinger by day and hepcat by night, seeks to utilize unconventional methods to run his record label. He hopes to garner a reputation for being artist-friendly and his goal is to utilize new techniques to sell records, creating profits for the musicians who might otherwise see little of that money through a contract with a typical, larger record company.
>>Read Full Article at InTakeWeekly.com

Get Jazzed in Indy

Indiana’s Circle City has a surprisingly storied jazz history, which you can still hear today. Indianapolis jazz was born on Indiana Avenue, an angling artery on the near Westside. Until the late 1950s, the avenue was the center of a thriving African American neighborhood.
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Owl Studios now an official record label

With the signing of six of the most cutting-edge jazz musicians in North America, Owl Studios has officially become an independent record label. And, a record label that is unique to an industry well known for putting profits ahead of its artists.

According to Al Hall, owner of Owl Studios, “we are approaching the recording business from a rather non-conventional direction. I do not see us as competing in the same arena as the big guys like Sony or MGM, as we haven’t the resources nor the time to play in that sand box. A few unique aspects to our business approach make working with Owl Studios a unique and interesting opportunity.”

Hall went on to explain that the compensation formula to the artist is such that royalties are paid to them at the same time that production costs are being recouped. Most record companies recoup their entire production cost before the artist sees any remuneration. This has allowed Owl to attract the top talent with the most original compositions and arrangements.

“As the word spreads of our fair treatment of artists, we will maintain our ability to attract new top talent nationwide, said Hall. “We own and control our own studio, so studio time is controlled by artist at a relaxed pace as there is no pressure to hurry the process. Owl’s studio includes state of the art equipment, mics, software, and other recording equipment.

Owl’s marketing effort (in addition to using the internet, Jambase.com etc) involves what Hall calls a “hit-em-where they ain’t” approach. This includes high-end retailers, resorts, spas, and other atypical music marketing venues. “(We also have) a unique approach to foreign markets in Europe, China (Hong Kong), South America and Africa where we are establishing partnerships and networks controlled by family and long time acquaintances…people who will have a vested interest in spreading both the word and the product.”

Six artists sign with Owl Studios

Owl Studios today announced the signing of a half dozen new artists to its quickly growing roster of jazz musicians. Now on its list for you to enjoy are: Brent Wallarab, Cynthia Layne, Derrick Gardner, Frank Glover, Steve Allee, and Rob Dixon (who recently became Owl Studios’ first artist to release a new album titled What Things Could Be).
>>Click here to discover more about our new artists and to listen to the music they create.

Rob Dixon’s debut CD release party: What Things Could Be

Rob Dixon has been a major player on the jazz scene since arriving from New York four years ago. He graduated from Indiana University’s School of Music, and, initially, his tenor sax sound and style was very much in the school of John Coltrane and Joe Henderson, giving him a local identity as a strong, straight-ahead player. >>Read more about the album on our Releases page