Digital Syndicate Network - Tom Kat Records ...An American Label

Las Vegas -- The music business has really taken a hit since the digital revolution at the turn of the century. With music available via so many new media platforms such as online and mobile, record companies are struggling to survive.

The dominant players are the major labels, who have merged and bought and sold each others assets many times over in the last decade. However, many independent labels have proven to be true mavericks, successfully competing in an over saturated global music market.

Tom Kat Records is one of those emerging labels that has a positive game plan for success. Not only is it one of the first all-green music companies to arise, but it is also looking for quality as opposed to quantity. This record company is hand picking artists out of thousands, to create a sound for its own niche. Cutting edge rock, as well as alternative-pop, a fine ingredient to distinguish the label's brand. Tom Kat Records is targeting the "MySpace" generation, who are used to music on demand, and looking for a new sound miles away from corporate dominated music. Tom Kat Records is truly independent and alternative in its company fiber.

In addition to just being involved and having a passion for music, the label also has experience with music marketing via the Internet, which has become a multi-million dollar industry surging past domestic sales.

Tom Kat Records was founded by veteran media executive Thomas J. King in 2007, following his exit as partner in Los Angeles-based label Long Live Crime Records. King, a former regional VP for Clear Channel bought into Long Live Crime Records in 2005 to parlay them into his entertainment marketing company, Multimediary Entertainment Marketing. "I reached an Impasse with the management of the label based on basic values and the handling of finances," stated King. "I just thought it made sense to pull what I could of my investment and take the artists that I brought on board."

King started two new labels to accommodate the artists he is taking with him. "Cage9 will join Icelandic rock band Dust on Tom Kat Records. Pat MacDonald and Adam Macintosh will join alt country artists Mishka Shubaly and Kasey Anderson on Stumptown Records|Terra Soul," King remarked. "I plan on running the labels with a keen eye to sustainability e.g. manufacturing on 100% post consumer waste paper with soy ink and utilizing digital distribution and taking tours off of the tradition grid and having busses run on bio-diesel."

Stumptown Records began to grow and found successful niche, in the Americana/Adult Rock market. The fledgeling music group was expanding in one area and stalling on the other end. Tom Kat Records was targeting an Active Rock audience, and needed new management to carry on.

King decided to spin-off Tom Kat Records from the consortium, and cut a deal with Guy Giuliano's DSN Music, which already had a joint venture with the label. In 2008, DSN took a controlling interest in Tom Kat Records, and immediately began reshaping the roster of artists for the label.

With DSN's extensive relationship with independent artists, Tom Kat Records was now in a position to pick and choose quality acts. Under new ownership, the record company began a slew of new record deals with emerging musicians.

Since its new incarnation, the label has signed Fresno rockers Mercury Bullet, Las Vegas alternative group Left Standing, New York's Punk/Aternative Action Toolbelt, and Heritage rocker Bo Wilson. Tom Kat Records is truly American maverick in every sense, as a independent and alternative choice for aspiring musicians and music lovers.

Mercury Bullet on stage with DSN's Scott Bergevin

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History of Tom Kat Records

The history of Tom Kat Records is really a history story in American culture, which begins back in the early days of recorded music. In 1927, James Hamilton King founded Tom Kat Recordings Ltd. in West Lafayette, Indiana. King created his record label due to his love for Jazz, and wished to showcase up and coming artists.

With the development of the turntable, 33 rpm records became a new item to consumers, and recorded music began to spread across the country. During the “Jazz Age”, Tom Kat Recordings stood out from the rest with its popular “Tom Kat ” cartoon character, who looked like he had been out all night on the prowl.

Unlike the corporate brand names of the time such as RCA Victor and Columbia, Tom Kat Recordings was an independent label, and had limited distribution in the Midwestern United States. As the Great Depression began to take root in the early 1930’s, music sales dropped off and King was forced to shut down the studio doors to Tom Kat Recordings in 1931.

80 years later in 2007, James Hamilton King’s grandson Thomas J. King revived the label, after a brief stint as partner in a Los Angeles-based record company, and a successful career in radio. King decided to carry on the family tradition with Tom Kat Records, showcasing up and coming independent music.