Shockoe Records hopes its local music streaming service, Sound of Richmond, will spotlight the region’s talent — and possibly garner money for the featured musicians.
Carlos Chafin, the label's managing partner, and folk band Høly River birthed the idea for the project, which currently features nine playlists — including “Chill Jazz,” “Country-ish” and “Folk-Americana.”
The service looks to capitalize on Richmond's vibrant music scene. In 2019, Forbes dubbed Richmond “the underground music city everyone needs to visit.” Music events can be found every weekend in Richmond, at house parties, clubs or outdoor venues.
And many of the artists who will be featured on Sound of Richmond have performed at Shockoe Sessions Live, a concert series recorded weekly at In Your Ear Studios on East Broad Street.
There are likely more than 500 Richmond bands that write and produce original music in every genre imaginable, Chafin said. But it can be difficult for these bands to grow their fanbase or get paid, even with the wide array of concert venues in the area.
A song posted to Spotify will not become eligible for royalties unless it reaches 1,000 streams within the first year, according to the streaming service.
Shockoe Records has made it clear Sound of Richmond isn’t trying to compete with Spotify, but once it is fully complete, there will be a way to hear more music from Richmond throughout the city.
“We’re just trying to get it heard in the places where we enjoy ourselves,” Chafin said.
The label plans to reach out to local businesses to play Sound of Richmond in restaurants, bars and shops. Triple Crossing Beer is slated to be one of the first to utilize the streaming service, Chafin said.
Travelers who spend the night at the downtown Quirk Hotel can also enjoy some local tunes in their rooms.
“We have a partnership with Quirk so that when people check in to the hotel, they can listen to the Sound of Richmond while they’re staying in Richmond,” said Reese Williams, chief communications officer at Shockoe Records. “You’re visiting our city, get to know our music.”
Businesses that sign up for Sound of Richmond can potentially avoid some headaches from the performing rights organizations that compensate artists, according to Chafin.
Organizations such as Broadcast Music Inc. and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers ensure that artists are compensated for their live and streamed performances.
When an employee plays music over Bluetooth from their personal music collection or a streaming service like Spotify, Williams said, it violates the platform's terms of use. It can also lead to a visit from ASCAP or BMI, coming to collect fees.
“Once you open a venue, it's going to be a short time before you get a visit from a BMI or an ASCAP representative, or both, saying ‘You're playing music in your place and you're playing it to the public. That means you owe us a licensing fee,’” Chafin said.
Instead, Chafin said, Shockoe Records — which can get a better deal on rights fees than an individual business — will cover the fees for establishments that sign up for Sound of Richmond.
“I also really like that the various fees for ASCAP and BMI are baked into the cost of the service,” Triple Crossing co-founder Adam Worcester said in an email. The brewery’s management team has used the service, but its taprooms in downtown Richmond, Fulton and Midlothian have not started playing it over their speakers.
The service is currently accessible only via web browser, but Chafin said there are plans to develop a true mobile app in the future.
Prospective users should contact the label at [email protected] to create an account.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
