Being a musician is genuinely hard. Simply affording instruments is a barrier to creativity. Beyond that, the cost to record, manufacture and distribute an album is monetarily impossible for many musicians. For this reason, creativity becomes stifled, community suffers and self-expression is repressed.

To solve this problem, we are developing a DIY, VHS Tape Label called Four Headed Records. It will be the only VHS Tape Label in existence and will be the first of its kind. Simply put, Four Headed Records will release albums on VHS Tapes instead of Cassette Tapes, CDs or Vinyl.

But why VHS? There are many reasons! It hasn't been done before, the medium is inexpensive, it allows musicians to release music and video in one package and VHS tape quality is surprisingly awesome!

Our project will be free and will benefit underserved musicians from Oakland. To get the community on-board, we will feature new artists each month. Each release will include two bands, one from Oakland, and one from any other part of the world. By connecting underserved musicians from different parts of the world, we inspire new creative bonds while simultaneously building a bridge between various underserved music communities.

With each new release, Four Headed Records will gradually archive Oakland’s distinct musical voice. In this way, we will impact thousands of Oakland based musicians for generations to come.

Our outreach plan includes:

• Getting public service announcements on college radio and public access TV stations
• Teaming up with local venues like Oakland Secret
• Doing outreach at local concerts, open mics, local music communities, online forums and social media
• And Partnering with local recording studios like Santo Studios to find artists

With your help, Four Headed Records will transform the VHS medium into a lean mean community-building machine. We will preserve our musical past, while inspiring our musical future.