Complaint Review: Red Cord Records - Rockford Illinois

My band was signed to Red Cord Records. I say was because following a series of miscommunications, contract breeches, and downright dirty work ethic, we were mysteriously removed from the Red Cord Records band roster, website, and all subsequent label affiliates. We knew what we were getting into with this label. We knew we weren't promised free recordings, artwork, booking, touring, or merch. It was clear from the get-go that the label had one job: to print and distribute our music. We had a very mutual understanding of this and moved forward with the work, bright eyed and bushy tailed.

It was a rocky start. Our recording dates were pushed back- twice- and Mr. Matthews didn't seem to care much about it at all in that regard. We were bummed but determined, and rolled with the punches until we couldn't be thrown under the bus anymore. During our first recording stint, both of our vocalists quit. After many hours of conversation, we were still set to be under Red Cord and would immediately find a new vocalist to finish the album. It wasn't hard, but suddenly we were even less cared about than before. Communication to Joey almost halted. Again we had our dates pushed back, and had to pay an additional amount for all of the extra days. Still we trudged on. We wanted our music.

It took us longer than expected to get our music back. no big deal, but we had our own eyes set on our own prize and we had stuff to do. We had a business goal in mind and at this point, Red Cord was beginning to hinder it. We got our tracks back from Joel; no word from Matthews. We paid an additional amount to get our stems and backtracks, which we didn't get until over a year and a half later... and we only got five out of the nine tracks we recorded.

We funded $10,000 for a music video, and one of the few times Joey spoke to us was to push our first release back, claiming he had PR work he wanted to do. Not only did the PR never happen, but we were delayed another 2 months, just waiting for word back from him. A year had gone by since we recorded the album, and we were still thrown under the bus in terms of our release. A couple months later we personally funded a lyric video, and again our release was hindered under the same claim. And when release time came, both our band name and song title were incorrectly spelled. I personally began spearheading a campaign to begin printing and releasing under our own accord, without Red Cord involvement.

 Finally it was time to print our album. We had discussed deals with Joey in the past, but when crunch time came he was nowhere to be found to even strike a deal. We repeatedly asked when our release date would be, with literally zero response. Our album wasn't being printed, despite paying for all of the designs and sending them to Red Cord multiple times. We ended up printing them ourselves, with the Red Cord logo to portray that we were still on good grounds with them but refused to wait on poor management. The same applied to merch: we knew they weren't going to buy us merch, but we at least would have liked them to honor their contractual agreement to print and distribute. That was, after all, their one job. Our album was hurriedly released on iTunes... a day earlier than the release date they had thrown out to us loosely to get to us leave them alone.

The last phone call we recieved was from Mr. Matthews angrily demanding royalties from an album he didn't help print, distribute, or promote in any way shape or form. We've been robbed out of thousands of dollars, and a good deal of dignity, as well as being put three years behind on our business plan by being duped with the promise of promotion and distribution.

Would I called this label reputable? No. Would I say Joey Matthews has a good ministry as a Christian? No. I'd say this is a scam to find young, uneducated bands and squeeze a couple thousand dollars out of them without doing any work, unless you're Phinehas. They're website just recently went down, and I've heard rumors of the label dissolving soon.

Just be wary of what you're getting yourself into, especially if you don't know the field you're getting into. We're going to keep going with what we started, but it wasn't with any help from Red Cord Records

Its called being signed to a label and its a very big blessing. Sure sometimes you have to bend a little to do what a label wants you to do but that's a very small price to pay to say that you have a recording contract. Especially one that is doing as well as Red Cord Records.

When we were first told that Red Cord was going to sign us I felt as happy as ever and bragged to everyone I knew. Sure that may not have been the best thing to do since it is all about the ministry but I just couldn't help.

It would be fine to feel the way as this person who made this report does if Red Cord actually acted this way but they don't. I mean they are giving some of these bands a chance that they may not get elsewhere. You get to use an amazing studio to record in, hotels to sleep in, merch, album reviews, etc. Everything that a label should be doing.

Deep down in side I can't think of one thing that they are doing wrong. They treat each band as if they are the biggest band on the label and Joey Matthews is personally involved with each band. He has always been sure to extend a handshake and/or a pray before getting down to business.

Again, its called being signed to a label.

Hey. I'm a guitar player and clean vocalist for a band on the label. I just wanted to post that I couldn't be where I am spiritually and musically if it weren't for this label. I've taken huge sacrifices to be where I am. From what I've experienced from my time on this label is that the hard work we do and the sacrifices we make is worth seeing the crowds we play for fall into the music we write. We have very loyal fans, not just us, but the label itself. Joey Mathews is a very busy guy handling all of the bands that are signed with his company. He delivers what he promises. And honestly, I see very many potential bands from red cord, and even Bridgeway. These companies are what keeps us writing, playing, and loving the music we write. I can say for a fact in my opinion that red cord works just as hard as the bands do, if not more to make the world of Christian hard rock, metal, hardcore ect, an extremely well thought out, organized, knows what's best for the fans type of label. I will never abandon my duty as an employee of red cord, or abandon my passion as a guitarist/songwriter as long as this label remains our pride as musicians. We work together to be the family we are as friends, brothers, and Christians.

Hello everyone,

I am in the band that is talked about in this report.  Although we treat our band as a democracy and vote on everything, I am what you'd call the band leader.  I take care of logistics, promotion, a fair amount of shows, etc etc, and also a performing and writing member. 

First, it's extremely important to state that this is NOT the view of the band.  These views are held by the writer, and ex member only.  We love them, but do not agree with this statement and feel it completely necessary to speak against this.  
Our Red Cord experience has been a good one. The studio has up to date high quality equipment and programs.  The sound quality is great.  Anyone can go online and listen to any Red Cord band and hear that the cd quality is professional.  We worked with a great guy who tracked and produced us.  That's what he is hired for.  That's exactly his job.  To track and produce.  Production isn't fun to go through some times.  Yet, it helped us greatly and he's a wonderful guy.  He also took time to listen to us and considered our input.  There was no problem with Joey taking care of office business while the tracking/producer did his job with us.  Although recording is stressful, we had a great time.  We did have to change parts of our songs.  That's just the industry.  A few were changed in small ways and were made to sound much better than they did when we went in.  There was one part of our cd that was changed that none of us wanted to change.  However, that's how it goes.  It wasn't bad.  The song still sounds great.  We have to understand as musicians, things get changed.  It's no big deal.

As far as the mixing/mastering goes; we had to go back and forth a few times to get everything the way we wanted it.  As far as I'm concerned, we were blessed to be able to communicate what we wanted as much as we got to.  He could have just said, "here it is, it's how I like it", but we got plenty of input.  In the end, the cd came out great.

We were never promised booking.  It was stated at the beginning that Red Cord has a booking guy who is plenty busy.  We were given the option of contacting him to seek booking.  We chose to do it on our own.  It was made clear that they can help, but aren't responsible for our shows.

Yes, we have been waiting on our shirts and second batch of cds for a very long time.  That is inarguable. However, Joey did make the order.  There were problems with the orders being processed and shipped out.  He even gave us an expected date, but the order didn't come.  To help us out, he gave us the few cds he had on hand to hold us over till our shipment comes in.  

A while back we drove 8 hours to a show we then found out didn't have room for us to play.  It wasn't organized by Red Cord, so it was no fault of theirs.  Actually, it wasn't even the fault of the people running the stage.  It was the park's staff that cut the stages time, forcing a band out of the lineup.  I said all that to say- When Joey heard we busted our butts to get there only to find out we couldn't play he said "If they don't take care of you, I will". He wasn't going to let us lose all that gas money for no show.  The people running the stage were great and gave us a generous amount of gas money to get home.  If the wouldn't have, Joey had our backs.  

That's who he is and how he cares for his bands.  Ask any band on Red Cord.  No person or label is perfect, but this is far from our experience.

I, and the rest of our band, are happy on Red Cord and recommend them to bands who ask about them. 

Hello everyone,

I am in the band that is talked about in this report.  Although we treat our band as a democracy and vote on everything, I am what you'd call the band leader.  I take care of logistics, promotion, a fair amount of shows, etc etc, and also a performing and writing member. 

First, it's extremely important to state that this is NOT the view of the band.  These views are held by the writer, and ex member only.  We love them, but do not agree with this statement and feel it completely necessary to speak against this.  
Our Red Cord experience has been a good one. The studio has up to date high quality equipment and programs.  The sound quality is great.  Anyone can go online and listen to any Red Cord band and hear that the cd quality is professional.  We worked with a great guy who tracked and produced us.  That's what he is hired for.  That's exactly his job.  To track and produce.  Production isn't fun to go through some times.  Yet, it helped us greatly and he's a wonderful guy.  He also took time to listen to us and considered our input.  There was no problem with Joey taking care of office business while the tracking/producer did his job with us.  Although recording is stressful, we had a great time.  We did have to change parts of our songs.  That's just the industry.  A few were changed in small ways and were made to sound much better than they did when we went in.  There was one part of our cd that was changed that none of us wanted to change.  However, that's how it goes.  It wasn't bad.  The song still sounds great.  We have to understand as musicians, things get changed.  It's no big deal.

As far as the mixing/mastering goes; we had to go back and forth a few times to get everything the way we wanted it.  As far as I'm concerned, we were blessed to be able to communicate what we wanted as much as we got to.  He could have just said, "here it is, it's how I like it", but we got plenty of input.  In the end, the cd came out great.

We were never promised booking.  It was stated at the beginning that Red Cord has a booking guy who is plenty busy.  We were given the option of contacting him to seek booking.  We chose to do it on our own.  It was made clear that they can help, but aren't responsible for our shows.

Yes, we have been waiting on our shirts and second batch of cds for a very long time.  That is inarguable. However, Joey did make the order.  There were problems with the orders being processed and shipped out.  He even gave us an expected date, but the order didn't come.  To help us out, he gave us the few cds he had on hand to hold us over till our shipment comes in.  

A while back we drove 8 hours to a show we then found out didn't have room for us to play.  It wasn't organized by Red Cord, so it was no fault of theirs.  Actually, it wasn't even the fault of the people running the stage.  It was the park's staff that cut the stages time, forcing a band out of the lineup.  I said all that to say- When Joey heard we busted our butts to get there only to find out we couldn't play he said "If they don't take care of you, I will". He wasn't going to let us lose all that gas money for no show.  The people running the stage were great and gave us a generous amount of gas money to get home.  If the wouldn't have, Joey had our backs.  

That's who he is and how he cares for his bands.  Ask any band on Red Cord.  No person or label is perfect, but this is far from our experience.

I, and the rest of our band, are happy on Red Cord and recommend them to bands who ask about them. 

This kid clearly has no clue how the industry works.  I'm not in a band but for the past couple years I have followed both the label and the band that is stated in this article.   I know the band does not feel the same way and the label is one of the best labels out there right now.   The kid who posted this got kicked out of the band a couple weeks ago and obviously has nothing better to do but blame everyone else for his problems.  Frankly I'm glad your not on this label or in the band anymore, with an attitude like that your not worthy of success.  

Oh and By the way just because you went to school does not make you a professional engineer, it takes both education and experience something Joey clearly has over you 10 to 1.  I kind of feel bad for you because I assume your under contract to protect this from happening, your career in the music business is over. 

I am in a band on RCR and have been with the label for over three years. 

Labels don't get you shows, that is your responsibility. They don't buy you merch, that is on you. 
Labels aren't there to hold your hand or manage your career, that is your job. 

The label's producer did a great job on our new record, we had a great experience in the studio this year. The mix on the record is also very very good.

As a member of a band you have to conduct yourself as the business owner that you are, write great songs that a producer won't feel the need to make drastic changes to, come to the label with a gameplan for a brand, strategy, timeframe for a release, book your own darn tours (if you can't do that you're in the wrong line of work.) Take responsibility for your ministry and business, your band is yours...you are accountable for the calling that God placed on your life. On judgement day Joey won't be held responsible for how you handled your ministry, YOU will be.

On a different note, ranting on this website is not the means to get what you want, it comes off as unprofessional. Naming names is never a good thing when it comes to ministry, take care of business behind closed doors.

I am in a band under Red Cord Records and we have had a great experience thus far.

Red Cord has opened doors for us that we never would have been able to open on our own.
My band signed with Red Cord a year ago and we were never promised shows or told that the label would book anything. In fact we were told quite the opposite; we would be expected to work harder and put more time into booking our own tours and getting our name out there than we ever did on our own. The label does have people that can help get you in contact with promoters, venues and other bands to get on larger tours or book you own tour, but your band is your business, not the labels and you should be the one running down the leads not expecting anyone else to do your job for you. You can't expect to be a rock star just because you sign a piece of paper. You have to put in the work.

We understand that Joey is busy yet we are still in contact with him on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. He even takes to time to call and check up on us while we are on the road to see how our tours are going. While I cannot speak for the other bands under Red Cord, I am friends with several and I haven't heard any complaints from them.

The record deal we signed is pretty sweet in comparison to most bands with other labels that I have spoken to. No record label is perfect, but Red Cord has been good to us. With any business you will run into bumps where you disagree with the boss but Joey has done his best to do what he can for us. We have gotten all of the radio promotion we were promised and we are charting on the christian rock charts. Overall, Red Cord has been great and we are pleased. 

I am in a band under Red Cord Records and we have had a great experience thus far.

Red Cord has opened doors for us that we never would have been able to open on our own.
My band signed with Red Cord a year ago and we were never promised shows or told that the label would book anything. In fact we were told quite the opposite; we would be expected to work harder and put more time into booking our own tours and getting our name out there than we ever did on our own. The label does have people that can help get you in contact with promoters, venues and other bands to get on larger tours or book you own tour, but your band is your business, not the labels and you should be the one running down the leads not expecting anyone else to do your job for you. You can't expect to be a rock star just because you sign a piece of paper. You have to put in the work.

The record deal we signed is pretty sweet in comparison to most bands with other labels that I have spoken to. We understand that Joey is busy yet we are still in contact with him on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. He even takes to time to call and check up on us while we are on the road to see how our tours are going. While I cannot speak for the other bands under Red Cord, I am friends with several and I haven't heard any complaints from them.

No record label is perfect, but Red Cord has been good to us. With any business you will run into bumps where you disagree with the boss but Joey has done his best to do what he can for us. We have gotten all of the radio promotion we were promised and we are charting on the christian rock charts. Overall, Red Cord has been great and we are pleased. 

I am on a band on the label, and I love it.

First off, I know personally that From the Eyes of Servants made the decision (yes, the members in the band) to get vinyls very last minute.  Vinyls take a LONG time to get produced.  It was also told to everybody who ordered them, that they would be delayed. So, you are wrong there.

Next, about the recording studio.  Did you ask anybody what the studio was like, or what methods were being used? The gear at the studio is very professional and the recording engineer is wonderful. If you listened to some of the bands before, then after going to the Red Cord Studios there is a HUGE improvement in pretty much all of them.  Some really high quality stuff has been done there.  If you don't like programmed drums, did you not ask before you dished out the money? Sounds like your fault there.

Also, Red Cord does help book tours and promote, but it's not like it's free to do!  If you are a TDWP or some randomly huge band, then maybe your label will dish out money that you don't have to pay back.  Honestly, you just need to learn how the record business is run before you start complaining because you weren't responsible.