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Lifting the voices of justice and healing.
Lifting the voices of justice and healing.
About Us
Redtone Records is a collective of independent artists promoting cultural and community preservation in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization providing artists with financial, technical and operational support.
Bay Area arts and culture are at an inflection point. Artists continue relocating out of the area because of the cost of living. Venues are closing because they can’t afford rent. Entire communities and cultures, along with their artists, are being displaced: Bayview-Hunters Point, East Oakland & West Oakland, East Palo Alto and more.
In the music industry, the growth of streaming services has meant plummeting sales revenues for independent artists. DJs and digital music continue to replace musicians in the studio and on the stage. We are only beginning to glimpse the full impact of artificial intelligence, which is poised to not only render musicians and singers irrelevant to the industry, but songwriters and visual artists as well.
Our mission is not about the industry, it's about the artists and their communities, the elevation of art, the celebration of culture. Redtone is a stronghold and creative hub, a network forming a wide range of free artist services including music & video production, marketing & promotion, tour support & merchandising.
This region has become a hard place for us to live and work. 1960s Bay Area artists and musicians led a countercultural movement that fueled mind expansion and innovation, laying the foundation for today's Silicon Valley. The ironic result is an innovation economy that has no room for artists and musicians.
That same economy and its cultural impact have hit artistic hubs like Austin, TX, and now Nashville too. Because cities around the world are looking to Silicon Valley as their model for economic growth, this is the right place to demonstrate how a thriving economy can support a vibrant arts and culture scene rather than displace it. We are eager to connect with anyone who'd like to join us in this work.
Our Name
“Redtone” is a term we coined to describe the sound achieved by overdriving audio signals on vintage music gear. Pushing the volume into the red creates a gritty tone and a unique energy. That sound is a connection to the musical roots that have shaped us. It's an organic sound, a contrast to the digital, auto-tuned, commercial feel of so much current music. The red also symbolizes the musical bloodline we aim to honor and preserve.
”Records” is because we play the role of an independent record label for artists in our collective. In contrast to the historic exploitative model of major labels, we are committed to equity and empowerment, ensuring that our artists retain ownership of their works, and providing them with access to resources that might not otherwise be available to them.
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