(Full disclosure from Reentry Central's editor: I met Fury Young several years ago when we were trying to bring his idea of recording music and songs in Connecticut prisons. We were unsuccessful.)
From Fury Young:
In 2013 I was a 23-year old kid with a dream, a paper, a pen, and an envelope addressed to prison. Ten years later I am the founder of the first US record label for prison-impacted musicians. It's been a journey.
Over the last decade I have met exceptional people who have changed my life forever. We have formed an amazing team and a roster of artists who I'd put head to head with mainstream hitmakers. Ten years in, our future is more exciting than ever.
On Dec 16, we'll be celebrating our historic milestone with the premiere of "DJCX or How We Got FREER," a documentary about our first ten years, and performing a Musical Medley featuring eleven DJC artists from across the country, four of whom are still incarcerated.
It is going to be an epic night. Please RSVP in advance if you can make it! If you won’t be in NYC, the event will be live streamed in high quality (see prior link).
Some of the things -I'm most proud of:
A wide reaching voice. Especially for artists in prison, where it is extremely difficult to gain access to record anything - especially music - we provide an outlet for musicians to be heard beyond prison walls: in their own
words, their own voices.
Artist-friendly, empowering recording agreements. Artists own their masters and DJC retains an exclusive license during the agreement term. All royalties are split 60/40 - artist majority -with artists receiving gross royalties from the gate.
- High quality albums, cutting edge art direction. We do as much as we can in-house at DJC, from producing music to editing videos to designing merch. And we do it all in conjunction with our artists, getting to know their stories and incorporating this into the art. As a non-profit that does not rely on private
investment, we’re able to take creative risks on projects that might
not otherwise be funded.
Music industry support. We set up our artists with the platforms they need to be on in order to receive international royalties, get licensing opportunities, and have their music widely distributed. We book shows for artists and liaise with media and tac- tical partners to expand their reach.
“When people ask me about what DJC is to me I tell them it’s a form of
resurrection. To have a label that comes into the darkest places and
connects with the most forgotten people is powerful. Work- ing on [our
album] gave me an addition- al purpose and drive every day outside of
the grind of the prison routine. I could always escape into the
creative process of songwriting or beatmaking. And along the way I
learned so much on so many levels.” - Silent Jungle, served 22 years.
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