The Catapult Recordings Group is a collective of music fans who share a vision of “catapulting” artists and labels from their very first release. Originally started as a label in 2019, they expanded their reach to support independent/DIY labels and organizations. Their passionate team collaborates closely with artists and labels, delivering tailored support in distribution, marketing and creative direction. In addition to distributing and assisting labels, they also help unsigned artists and bands distribute their music with Catapult Direct, their DIY distribution service.
Can you tell us how and why you started your business?
As a freshman in high school, I started Catapult as a label to release music that my friends were making. Everything from our tapes and CDs to our digital distribution was DIY. It’s now flourished into a three-part business: a group of labels with an in-house label and a full-scale distribution company.
What services do you provide within the music industry?
Our primary focus is digital distribution for labels, artists, bands and collectives. We also provide editorial marketing, physical distribution & manufacturing (tapes, CDs, etc.), e-commerce and royalty accounting services for our label group.
How has your company grown to meet the needs of Oklahoma’s music industry over the last 3-5 years?
We’ve built our own processes for local artists who want to get tapes and CDs made for their music, and this summer, we’re opening our digital distribution services to unsigned/DIY artists and bands.
What are the benefits of basing your company’s operations in Oklahoma?
I believe the community here is the top advantage of running a company in Oklahoma. The local music scene and the people surrounding it have always been incredibly supportive of what we’re doing, and it’s amazing to be at the forefront of building an infrastructure for a developing music industry here.
What would you consider your business’s greatest accomplishment to date?
Our greatest accomplishment so far has been the launch of Catapult Direct, our distribution solution for independent artists and bands. It’s the longest-running project we’ve been working on, and after three years of work, it’s amazing to see the feedback from our beta testers and active musicians using the service. We’ve wanted to provide something for artists and bands that are not on a Catapult-related label that can give back to our local music scene. Launching this service is something I’m incredibly excited about. We’re excited to be the first full-service independent music distributor built in Oklahoma, by Oklahomans.
Are there any recent successes your company would like to highlight related to work within the Oklahoma music industry?
Last year’s “Help Oklahoma Teachers” compilation, a collaboration between Alex Coleman and Catapult (along with 17 other contributing musicians), was something I am still incredibly proud to be a part of. It was Catapult’s first fundraiser-based project, and it inspired me to develop more projects that can help give back to our music industry and the Oklahoma non-profit community.
What are you working on now/next?
We’re rolling out our Direct distribution service this summer and will make that our company’s primary focus for 2024. The Catapult label has lots of releases from both local and non-local artists that I’m personally very excited about.
What is your goal/vision for the future of your company?
Our primary goal has always been to build trust and transparency with our clients, and doing that on a larger scale will be a big part of Catapult’s future. Since Catapult is the “middleman” for many labels and musicians, improving our internal systems to report more transparency-based data builds the essential trust that a large part of the music industry lacks. Once we can do that, I’d love to expand the company nationally with our team and clients.
What advice do you have for others who are considering starting a music business in Oklahoma?
For those who want to start a music business, I always encourage people to get started without hesitation. We need more labels, managers and music industry-focused entities who can help build a solid industry in the state.
What opportunities do you believe await Oklahoma’s music industry in the future?
While I believe there’s an opportunity for the whole music industry to grow, I want to mention specifically that there’s a lot of opportunity for sync licensing in Oklahoma, as our growing film industry can help grow our music industry’s economy. I’d love to see more music supervisors in our state, and I believe that both micro-syncing and large-scale projects are necessary to grow our local industry.
Each featured individual or business is given the provided questions to answer in their own voice. Other than formatting and grammar, the answers are personal to each featured voice, and are not provided by the Oklahoma Film + Music Office.
