Collider is passionate about sharing the stories of entrepreneurs and small business owners in Rochester! We recently chatted with Adam Lange, who was inspired to fulfill his lifelong dream of starting a record label through challenges faced by the music industry during the pandemic.

Adam Lange, owner and operator of a passion project record label and distribution company, Clever Eagle Records, had a longtime dream of working in the music industry. However, it was not until the pandemic, and the accompanying shipping problems that arose, that the opportunity to turn that dream into a reality presented itself.

“I’ve been really into music since I was a kid with my compact disc collection. I went to a lot of concerts throughout high school and college and always in the back of my mind thought it would be really cool to work for or start a record label. But life happens and ideas like that don’t often work out. So this is something I’ve wanted to do for over twenty years.” Adam explained.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Adam acquired a degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. After college, he relocated to Kentucky for a job in computer mapping. Eventually, he moved again, this time to Rochester where he met his wife. He began working for small businesses, predominantly assisting with e-commerce, and now works from home full-time for a company based in the Chicago area.

“When I moved to Rochester, I quickly learned that there was not much work to be had for a geography major, so I learned the ropes of small business project management, particularly relating to e-commerce, a skillset that later transferred really well to starting the record label.”

During the pandemic, international shipping became complicated and greatly delayed; several carriers stopped shipping internationally altogether. At that time, Adam came across an Instagram post from a record label based in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, seeking assistance in getting record orders to the United States. Adam decided to reach out and start a dialogue with the company.

“Eventually we were able to figure out a way for their company to send me bulk orders of records which I was then able to transfer into individual order fulfillment within the U.S. utilizing the postal service. It was a lot easier for them to navigate one big order getting through customs and whatnot, rather than getting a ton of individual orders through. Once the records were here, I could easily ship them nationwide.”

Adam continued, “It ended up working out well for both of us, to the extent that the record label now has a dedicated U.S. e-commerce site, and I have continued managing their U.S. and Canada order fulfillment.”

Throughout the process of organizing and shipping sales on behalf of another company, Adam was learning the ropes of the business and making valuable contacts. He realized that his longtime dream of having his own record label was not outside the realm of possibility.

“I started out working with other small indie record labels that were doing a lot of cool releases with other labels to help alleviate costs for everyone. These days I do a lot of vinyl releases with international record labels for international bands. I collaborate with, for example, a French label and a Hong Kong label to pool costs of production, split up the product, and overall make it cheaper and easier for everyone involved.” Adam explained.

Adam launched Clever Eagle Records in the summer of 2020, and just as the pandemic was one of the greatest reasons for getting started, it also provided the most challenges, particularly through shipping.

“During COVID, shipping conditions were changing all the time, sometimes daily. Navigating that while trying to fulfill orders in a timely manner was definitely a challenge.”

Other challenges have persisted past the pandemic, such as making sure orders arrive undamaged through shipping, finding solutions for long production turnaround times, and navigating language barriers between international clients.

“Through the process of starting Clever Eagle, I somehow became connected to the Japanese music scene, and now a big part of my business is importing a lot of Japanese vinyl, cassettes, and CDs. A lot of music from that region is highly sought after, but for some reason really hard to get in the U.S. because a lot of labels and record stores just don’t carry them. It can be really expensive for a consumer to purchase the item online and then also pay a crazy amount for international shipping.”

Adam continued, “I have the opportunity to buy the product at wholesale cost and then sell it here at a fair, reasonable price. It’s really evolved into something cool. I’ve been able to minimize that barrier to entry for people getting the music they love and I’ve had the opportunity to work with Japanese bands and record labels to do special releases.”

In addition to selling pre existing records, Adam also works with artists who are looking to have their music made into CDs, vinyl records, or tapes.

“As a small, independent record label, artists can come directly to me to work with them to have products made and sold, even very small orders. This is beneficial to both parties, since we can work together to split costs in a way that makes sense for everyone. We’ve been able to work with artists to put out thirty different releases over the last two and a half years.”

Clever Eagle’s record offerings can, for the most part, be found on their website, and they predominantly distribute genres such as screamo, emo, post-hardcore, and shoegaze. They have recently begun collaborating with two local record stores, Treedome and Hidden World Vinyl Records, to carry some of their stock. Adam has also made an effort to connect with a local audience through being a sponsor of and vendor at The Rochester Thaw, a local music festival.

“Though it just wouldn’t work right now, having a physical record store sometime in the future would be great, but I do want to keep moving forward with making more local connections and increasing awareness of the business in Rochester in the meantime.”

As a word of advice to aspiring business owners, Adam said, “Try to make as many connections as you can. You can learn a lot from others. I didn’t have a background in selling records or working with artists when I jumped into this business. I’m really lucky that it’s a very collaborative community of people, many of whom do it as a passion project as well. But we’re all able to learn from each other and help each other accomplish more than we could have as individuals.”

Outside of work, Adam enjoys time with his wife and young son as well as attending concerts as often as he can.

“Clever Eagle Records truly is a passion project for me. It exists to help spread the music I love around the world. All the proceeds stay within the label to help fund new releases and keep our prices accessible for music lovers and creators.”

Thank you for taking the time to read Adam’s story! If you find value in this content, please consider donating to help Collider continue amplifying the voices of Rochester entrepreneurs. You can also find out more about Clever Eagle Records by clicking the link below!

Clever Eagle Records

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Article by Corrie Strommen, Director of Communications at Collider.