Name: Phil Loutsis, Chris Gibbons, Tom Wilkinson
Company: Darlings of the Splitscreen
Website: www.darlingsofthesplitscreen.com
Sector: Music
Inspiral programme: I-start
Inspiral helped with: Funding and business plan
What do you do?
“Various activities to do with being in a band – we make music, we play live and we record. We moved to Sheffield a couple of years ago to see if it was a good place to do what we do. After going through several different line-ups, we got settled and started writing songs.
Two years ago we started our own record label so we could release our music. Now we’ve reached the point where we’d like to become a bit more business-like so we can ditch our day jobs and start living off the proceeds of making music. We hope Inspiral can help us do this.”
What help has Inspiral given you?
“The most exciting aspect initially has been the meetings with music consultant Roo Pigott. He’s helped us put structures in place and given us ideas like turning ourselves into a limited company. He’s also helped with his knowledge of the industry. We now know what it would take to get our records in HMV.
There is some money to come further down the line but initially the main thing is Inspiral giving us the confidence and belief that we can do this on our own terms, turn it into a business and make money out of music.”
How has Inspiral’s help impacted on your business?
“Before we met Inspiral, we weren’t a business. Giving us that goal to work for is much more productive than the traditional route of trying to get a label involved, sending off demos and playing shitty gigs in London for people who can’t even be bothered to turn up. Since we’ve teamed up with Inspiral, everything we do has practical consequences which get us further towards our goal: making money out of the band.”
What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own business?
“If you were a band like us and you thought you’d come along, get the money and buy yourself a new guitar, it wouldn’t actually get you anywhere. You need to make sure you get everything out of Inspiral that they have to offer. For us, the most important thing is the help and advice. It’s really helped to get the ball rolling.”
