As a music journalist living in Vienna, Austria, and someone who is largely focused on the music scene here, I am always happy to see a new Austrian indie record label pop up in town.
After all, musicians here need all the support they can get as Austrian artists often struggle to become better known outside the tiny country.
Last month then I was thrilled to see an Austrian indie record label make its proper debut in Vienna.
I was even happier to find out the label is not only owned by a woman, German singer songwriter Anne Eck, but Silvertree Records itself is also focused on women artists.
Considering female singers and female-led bands in Austria have it even worse than their male counterparts, both in and outside the country, the founding of Silvertree Records is a welcome addition to the country’s music industry.
By both the female artists currently being published and promoted by it, and by those who will be in the future.
Who is Anne Eck and why Silvertree Records?
I came across German singer songwriter Anne Eck a few months ago when she began following my Instagram account.
Now, I get a lot of musicians from around the world that follow me and, 10 minutes later, most of them have un-followed if I don’t immediately follow them back. Most of the rest un-follow me a couple of days later when I haven’t yet publicized any of the music they are promoting.
Anne Eck, however, was different. And that is initially why she grabbed my attention.
Because I didn’t follow Anne Eck’s Instagram account for a few weeks after she followed mine and, although I kept an eye on the photos she was uploading and watched some of her YouTube videos, I didn’t pay her any attention.
Publicly, at least.
Eck was smart, however, so kept liking my photographs while not showing signs of getting pissed off and walking away even though I was, as far as she was concerned, ignoring her.
Of course, being a woman who doesn’t give up easily myself, I like equally bull-headed women, which is why I liked Anne.
Because in the dog-eat-dog world of indie music, (and especially here in Austria where the music scene is often dreadful when it comes to indie musicians getting support from the mainstream music industry and media), female artists especially need to be hard-headed if they are going to be successful.
Anne Eck most certainly is that.
That is also why I am sure Anne’s new label Silvertree Records will be successful as, just from seeing how she behaved on Instagram and in my private dealings with her since, it is obvious Anne is street smart, but that she also has the drive and staying power to make it succeed.
More than that, though, she is extremely professional and polite both in how she promotes her label and her artists, and in how she interacts with people in the industry. Meaning, she understands the music industry, and how it works, well.
And man, she works her ass off.
All of these things together give her and her label’s artists a distinct advantage in the national and international music industries.
As for Anne’s baby, Silvertree Records, it was initially founded back in 2018, but only as a vehicle for Anne to publish her own music.
But as Anne herself explains,
“In the process of publishing my own debut EP, I founded the label Silvertree Records in 2018, never intending to distribute the work of other musicians. When several artists approached me in 2019, this decision changed from the “never, not ever” to “I really need to do this”. And then I did.
I became CEO Anne Eck, and Silvertree Records a women focused record label that distributes exclusive music releases by women and serves as a premier platform for women of all genres.”
The women on the Silvertree Records label
Along with herself, Anne Eck has signed two Austrian female singers since she decided to welcome other women artists to her label.
Maddy Rose, a soul and pop singer songwriter from Salzburg, who has just released a lovely new single called ‘You Ain’t Got Me Waiting‘, and Flickentanz, a singer songwriter who usually performs with her life partner, pianist Bernhard Käferböck, and whose excellent new album handgemacht (handmade) is now on Silvertree Records.
Flickentanz sings in German and Maddy in English, — so Silvertree is already aiming for both the German-speaking music market and the international market with its artists.
A smart decision, I say.
Indie pop/alternative pop singer songwriter Anne Eck, who is extremely talented in her own right, also has two EPs and two singles on the Silvertree Records label (remember, Eck initially began the label to publish her own music), and is currently working on her second studio album, which will be released on the label in 2020.
You can listen to the music of all three of these superb female women artists in the videos and Spotify widgets above and below.
And, of course, keep an eye on Silvertree Records, Anne Eck, Flickentanz and Maddy Rose, as I expect all of them to be making a big splash in Austria in 2020.
Leo Sigh will have interviews with all three women sometime in the New Year, so keep checking back.