Offshore Music marks 10 years with docuseries

INDEPENDENT record label Offshore Music is celebrating its 10^th anniversary with a five-part documentary series chronicling its journey.

The label was founded 10 years ago by former Eraserheads frontman and OPM icon Ely Buendia with an “artist-first philosophy, unwavering commitment to creative authenticity, and dedication to cultivating artist communities.” It is now in a global distribution and promotional partnership with Sony Music Entertainment.

Charting the label’s path from “winging it,” to near-bankruptcy, to having over 30 artists in its roster, the docuseries features archival footage, candid interviews, artist testimonials, and behind-the-scenes storytelling.

Some of Offshore Music’s current artists are Ena Mori, Pinkmen, ALYSON, Ligaya Escueta, neytan, Carousel Casualties, and Stef Aranas, though it started in 2016 with Mr. Buendia’s own band, Apartel.

On May 31, the first episode of the docuseries will premiere on the label’s YouTube channel, with the rest of the episodes set to drop monthly until September.

“It’s really for the layman who knows nothing about the music industry or is just curious about it. Maybe we can educate them on what goes on behind a record label,” said Mr. Buendia at the 10^th anniversary press conference on May 21.

“For the loyal fans of Offshore, it’s a way to celebrate the anniversary. It could also be for artists who may be thinking of joining us.”

Some of the topics tackled throughout the series are music production, vinyl culture, branding, and artist development.

The five episodes are: “One Vision, One Product”; “Championing Artist Growth”; “Board Member Reflections”; “Artist Stories”; and “The Epilogue.”

For Offshore Music General Manager Audry Dionisio, the label’s approach can be summarized with the word diskarte (resourcefulness), especially now that the music landscape has shifted to social media, and their signed artists and target market are mainly Gen Z.

“It’s a learning opportunity every day. We learn a lot from our team, because they’re the ones who are chronically online. So, we get the information from them,” she explained. “But in terms of adjustment, I think it’s proven that, from 2016 to now, we’ve become really good at adjusting to whatever comes our way.”

Mr. Buendia said that their mindset since the COVID pandemic was simply to keep going.

“It’s like in boxing. I just kept fighting and fighting, and waiting for the knockout punch from my opponent,” he said. Thankfully, for Offshore Music, they didn’t get knocked out of the game — in fact, the pandemic was when they ramped up signing artists.

Pat Sarabia, A&R director of Offshore Music, added that the way they handled their artists was to give them as much creative freedom as they could.

“We let them do whatever they want. We don’t just shut down their ideas just because it’s not trending,” she shared. “We ask them if they’re really sure they want to do a crazy idea, but we never just shut them down.”

They also reflected on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the music landscape. Mr. Buendia drew a hard line against supporting the release of AI-produced music.

“For me, the novelty is wearing out. We’ve heard what AI can do with music, and I draw the line with AI-produced music. We’re definitely not releasing any of those,” he said. “It’s fun at first, but I think alam naman ng tao kung ano ’yong may soul at wala (people know what has soul and what doesn’t). Right now, AI doesn’t have any.”

Ms. Dionisio also announced some of the 10^th anniversary activities that fans can look forward to this year. One is the second vinyl re-pressing of the Eraserheads album Ultraelectromagneticpop! and another is the much-awaited vinyl release of the Eraserheads’ Christmas album Fruitcake.

For more information on Offshore Music’s documentary, its artist roster, and future activities, visit their social media pages. — Brontë H. Lacsamana