"Indie Music Done Right"
Melt Records is an independent label based in Cebu City, Philippines. Its roster includes artists from all around the Philippines and other parts of the world, but with the majority of the roster based in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, the label hopes to do justice in presenting the vast musical diversity and talents in the southern half of the Philippines to the world, in an ethical way that respects the rights and best interests of its roster of artists. Read all about our story.
Our Story
Since our beginnings in 2010 (circa Bomba Press), Melt Records has always been just about doing what we love and creating opportunity for others to do the same – an indie label run by musicians for musicians. Our goal was simple – do more with less and create limitless beauty within our limits. Through our team’s ceaseless (and often thankless) efforts, we did just that, bringing to light the diversity of indie music throughout the country, particularly in the culture-rich south.
2023 was a turning point for the indie music landscape in the Philippines. The returning dominance of major labels began to be apparent, as they acquired some of the biggest indie labels in the country and consequently a stronger hold of the distribution and promotional channels. Long story short, 2023 made things.. let’s say, complicated for indie labels. But despite the challenge, we had ourselves a record year, releasing more than 70 songs and returning to live form with eight live shows around the country.
But boy, was it a struggle. “Doing more with less” definitely took its toll.
At this crossroads, we had to decide on one important thing – how big did we really want to be? And the answer wasn’t hard, we didn’t want to be big at all, at least not as a label on its own. As far as we’re concerned, small means transparent. Small means creative. Small means indie. We just don’t think there’s any way around it – our impact would need to be achieved not through one giant label, but through a hundred small ones.
And so we renew our commitment to indie music done right. We’ve learned and will continue to learn new ways to create a collaborative and ethical working relationship between artists and labels, and new ways to make it work financially. And we want to enable other music businesses to do the same, by making our principles, infrastructure, and capabilities available to them.
It’s a long road ahead, but we’re in for the ride!
Why We Do It
Because we believe in a few important things:
- That a lot of artists that create beautiful art don’t get the attention they deserve, and we want to change that.
- That “local” music can be anything, from artists in your city to artists shared in your favorite Facebook groups, and we want to find the right “communities” that our artists will touch, wherever they might be in the world.
- That artists should not have to use up their energy on business matters, if they don’t want to, and should have all the time they want to make art, and we want to make that possible.
- That reputation and relationships – not contracts and ownership – are key to a sustainable, valuable music business, and we want to prove that.
- That full transparency of information and participation in decision making are key to building a good reputation, and we want to uphold these.
The Core Team
Dexter Sy
Label Manager
PJ Ong
Creative Director
Debb Acebu
Sales & Partnerships [Manila]
Mic Pacalioga
A&R
