Branded Records

A thoroughly independent record company that releases music without any commercial considerations other than “yes, we love it”. And we’ve been doing it this way since the 1970’s.

Whenever a band says stuff like “We were the first band to do so and so”, you’re likely to get yourself in an argument with someone. But, can anybody remember a punk band that started a record company and put out their own independent record before Just Water did it in 1975? Branded Records was legally incorporated, and had a prestigious address in the Woolworth Building (once the tallest building in Manhattan). Never mind that the office really belonged to band leader Mitch Dancik’s Uncle Herb, and that the accounting fees were waived because the band had no money. But it was a real company, where the mail and phones got answered! Although labor was never paid for (the band did the grunt work, and Uncle Herb forwarded the calls and the mail for free), it is still impressive that Branded Records made money on its first album release, Just Water’s “The Riff“. We wonder if the Ramones (and not Sire Records) made any money on their first album, regardless of how many they sold? Just Water got about two bucks wholesale for every album, which brought in the $10,000 that supported the band’s rehearsals, advertisements and recordings for the next year. After the Singin’ In The Rain single (a radio hit), Branded Records worked with Band Apart, PT-109, and Mitchell Dancik & The Senators. Branded slowed down in the 1990’s as Dancik’s software company became more and more successful.