Ed Van Zijl is the founder of Mascot Records, a Dutch independent record label specializing in guitar and rock music. Ed helped launch the careers of guitar legends like Joe Bonamassa and Walter Trout.

The following recaps an interview with Ed Van Zijl as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be partnering with.

Ed Van Zijl is the owner and founder of Mascot Records. Ed’s first love was car racing, but when he couldn’t turn that into reality due to safety concerns, he turned to his second love: music.

Ed founded Mascot Records in 1992, and after some initial releases, began searching for distributors.

“It was right after a recession. And one of the responses was: ‘We need a new label just like we need a hole in the head.’ So I had to start down. I put a record out for an English pop band called To the Fountain.’”

That move was an experiment to gauge the waters, but Ed reveals it fired him up to keep going. “I decided to start my label. From there, we visited some smaller, independent distribution companies.”

Although there were several metal labels in the US at the time, it wasn’t the same music dynamic in Europe. “I was alone in the Netherlands.”

Utilizing his network, Ed reached out to industry professionals. That’s what led to an evolution of Mascot from metal music to a specialization in guitar.

“We did jazz, instrumental guitar, blues — and that’s how we developed to where we are now.”

Ed believes that stepping into America in the early 2000s was a mistake. Back then, Mascot didn’t understand the market well enough to be able to thrive. “It’s very different [from Europe] because it’s enormous. The US had chain stores like Musicland and Tower Records that had over 1,300 stores. How could you [tackle] that as an independent label?”

“Europe has always been a more contained market. If you work in Germany, you speak the language and can oversee things, Same if you work in the UK. So we focused our entire development into specialization in Europe.”

“If you had a band in America on an American label, we could be the European label. That’s how we developed Joe Bonamassa. That’s how we developed Walter Trout.”

“I love great guitarists. I just love guys who can do what only a few people in the world can do.”

As Ed grew the company, he explored various styles. “We have a blues label called Provogue, and Mascot is a hard rock label. As we expanded, we opened offices in various countries. That’s when we finally relocated to the United States with a new setup. And we made sure to have artists that could actually tour the US and be on the radio.”

“In America, if you don’t fit a radio format, you lose. I might hear something that I like but we won’t sign it because it doesn’t fit with the radio. Our Mascot brand in the US is all about fitting that format.”

Speaking about the impact of radio vs social media on actual revenue generation for artists and labels, Ed reveals radio simply doesn’t cut it anymore. “We don’t see an effect from radio on our streaming and physical. Maybe if a rock artist is in the top ten or top five on the charts, you might see some numbers move. In comparison, if your social media is in order, a band that’s original and makes good music will definitely generate revenue.”

While discussing the ‘new world’ of streaming platforms, Ed reveals that a small portion of an artist’s tracks usually rake in a majority of their total streaming revenue,

“You might have a band that makes a considerable turnover, and when you analyze the numbers, you find that out of 200 songs, 3 or 4 songs bring in 80% of the total turnover.”

But as long as an independent label is ‘staying true to their specialty,’ they can excel at building a brand and developing the best artists. “We have to watch out for consistency. If we signed a hip-hop act tomorrow, it would look very odd. I might love the artist but we can’t sign it. It doesn’t fit our needs. Plus, we probably wouldn’t know how to handle it either.”

Speaking about Mascot’s distribution partnership with Downtown’s FUGA, Ed says the choice came down to his feeling that FUGA is ‘like an independent.’

“With FUGA, we feel way more in control of what we do. We’ve hired new team members and expanded our digital team.”

Although Ed admits Mascot Records was late developing the digital side, they caught up fast alongside FUGA.

“The balance of working with FUGA is a compelling independent situation. We feel delighted and free in [this partnership] and I think we work together really well. For us, it’s been a liberation. Being back, being an independent label again, doing independent label things.”

As an independent label, Ed’s view on artist management and development is refreshing. It sheds light on the ‘human’ side of what’s routinely viewed as ‘business and money.’

“The way I see it, we have a present, a future, and also a past. And if you run an independent label surrounded by four walls from behind the desk, there’s no feeling in what you’re doing.”

That’s a very cold and closed-off way of running an independent, ‘like it’s a business and nothing else. Like you’re selling groceries.’

Ed shares that what many don’t realize is that ‘a lot of independent label owners develop an emotional attachment to the artist.’

About The Music Industry Lives Here: Downtown Music’s interview series allows powerful conversations with the voices shaping the music industry. To gain weekly access to exclusive interviews with music executives, artists, record label owners, and influential figures who drive the rhythm of the industry, join here.