Recording in a live room made for bands
Studio A is a live room with a Neve console and two isolation booths. Signed artists receive five days of recording time, a house engineer and a producer of their choice at no charge against royalties.
Independent label · Pilsen, Chicago · since 2011
Records pressed small, paid out fairly, kept in print.
Lowlight Records has released sixty-three albums by Midwestern bands and songwriters. We split profit fifty-fifty after pressing costs, return your masters after five years and keep every title in stock until the last copy is sold.
Shop open Thursday to Sunday at 1941 W 18th Street, Chicago.
Everything between the demo and the record shop
We are four people who answer the phone. This is what happens when we sign you.
Mastering and pressing, handled
Our mastering engineer, Hollis Park, cuts every record himself. Lacquers go to a plant in Nashville, test pressings reach you within six weeks and you approve the sound before a single copy is made.
Distribution to the shops that matter
Your record reaches 140 independent stores across the United States and Canada, every major streaming service and our own web shop. We also place two songs a year with film and television supervisors.
The Lowlight catalogue
Six titles customers ask about most. Everything ships from the shop floor on Wednesday and Saturday.
Marlowe Kane, Night Freight
$28The Brass Pilots, Second Shift
$27Odessa Ray, Glass Hours
$18Kerosene Flowers, Paper Moon 7-inch
$9Various Artists, Lowlight Sessions Vol. 3
$36Record-shop bundle
$24Twelve years of small pressings
How a back-room shop became a label that artists recommend to their friends.
- 2011
A shop with a back room
Founder Dana Whitcomb opened a used-record store on 18th Street and pressed 300 copies of her cousin's first album as a favour.
- 2014
The first real signing
Marlowe Kane walked in with a demo on cassette. His debut sold out in eleven weeks and paid for the console in Studio A.
- 2018
Fifty-fifty becomes the policy
After a conversation with our artists we wrote the profit split into every contract and published the template on this site.
- 2022
Masters go home
We introduced a five-year reversion clause. Eleven artists have already taken their recordings back, and nine of them still release with us.
- 2025
Sixty-three releases
A catalogue of Midwest bands, from the brass soul of The Brass Pilots to the piano loops of Odessa Ray.
What our artists say
“I read the contract at my kitchen table and understood every line. The royalty statement arrived on the first of the month, with receipts.”
“Hollis cut my record and told me honestly when a mix was not ready. I was annoyed for a day and grateful for a decade.”
“When our album sold out, they repressed it without us asking, and the invoice showed exactly where every dollar went.”
Send us your songs
We listen to every submission, usually on the drive home. Send three to five songs and a few lines about where you play. Expect a reply within four weeks, whatever the answer.
Questions from artists
What does the contract actually say?
Profit is split fifty-fifty after manufacturing and mastering costs. You keep your publishing and your masters return to you after five years. The full template is available on request before you sign.
Do you sign artists from outside the Midwest?
Occasionally. Most of our artists live within a day's drive of Chicago because the label depends on touring, but we have released records from Memphis, Montreal and Minneapolis.
How long does a release take?
Typically seven to nine months from signing to shelf: five days recording, six weeks for mastering and test pressings, and a lead time for pressing and promotion.
Can I buy a record if I live outside the United States?
Yes, we ship worldwide from the shop. International orders leave on Saturdays and include tracking.