INTERVIEW: Inside knifetwister Records: The Artist-First New York Label

knifetwister records: Building New York’s Punk, Ska, and Metal Future

An independent label and music magazine putting artists first, community over profit, and passion over business.

knifetwister records is an emerging independent record label and interview/profile magazine based in New York. The project was born from years of working closely with local bands, learning the ins and outs of music promotion, streaming distribution, lyric publishing, YouTube artist channel setup, and effective show promotion.

While still in its early stages, the label is built on a clear mission: to support New York’s metal, punk, and ska scenes with an artist-first approach. This is a passion project rather than a profit-driven business, with the team focused on providing artists with fair opportunities, creative control, and genuine grassroots support.

What inspired the creation of knifetwister records, and how did the idea first come together?

“It felt like time to put this knowledge into practice.”

This has been in the planning stages for a long time; we were waiting for the right time to pull the trigger. The idea first came together by working with several bands over the past few years. We essentially taught ourselves the ins and outs of band promotion – getting music onto the streaming platforms, getting lyrics out there on the major lyric platforms, setting up Official Artist YouTube channels, promoting shows on local websites, syncing lyrics and creating background canvases for Spotify, and about a dozen other things.

knifetwister records focuses on punk, ska, and metal in New York. What drew you specifically to those genres and this local scene?

Because every other genre is inferior. No, I’m joking, there’s room for everything, but this is what we were exposed to. Def Leppard’s Pyromania came out when I was 13, and I was hooked, although that record is kinda cringe in retrospect; their first two albums are far superior. Went through a long metal phase, and strange obsession with The Scorpions, and then onto harder and heavier stuff. Punk and hardcore came next, and then when the third wave of ska came along, primarily out of Orange County but also from all over the map, that was a game changer. So, simply love of the music really.

You describe the label as artist-friendly. Can you explain what that means in practice for the bands you work with?

“This is for love of the scene here in New York.”

Actively scouting and signing bands is down the road, we need to raise the capital to do it the right way, offer small advances, be able to do effective promo work. This is not a money-making venture, we’re already in the hole for this, and there’s really no opportunity to monetize in any way.

Most record labels are profit-driven, but you’ve said this isn’t a moneymaking venture. Why was it important to take that approach?

Well, for starters, our politics and social positions dictate that art is a public good and should not be a venue to make a buck. Second, the bands we’re interested in are not going to make money themselves. Every small band is going out of pocket. Studio time, booking venues, instruments, running a website, having your music mixed and mastered. Yeah, you can sell five t-shirts at a show, but then you run the risk of having inventory on hand that will never sell and having to keep boxes in a closet. So these bands are in it for the love of music. And we are too.

How do you plan to discover and select the artists you sign or feature in your interview magazine?

Pounding the pavement. The only way to make connections is to go to shows. You can follow people on social media, and they’ll follow you back, but organic growth takes personal connections – chatting with people, checking out bands live. As for interviews and profiles, we encourage bands to simply ask. It’s a win-win, your band gets exposure and we get to fill out our profile section a bit.

What kind of response have you received from local bands and fans so far?

Very positive. And there’s something gratifying about hearing “thanks, we appreciate it” to be honest. If likes on social media and traffic on the website are a barometer of anything, we’re moving in the right direction.

As a startup, what challenges have you faced in getting the label and magazine off the ground?

Honestly, not many – probably getting enough sleep is the biggest challenge. Everything else has been pretty easy. We have gotten so many followers on Instagram that our account has actually been locked for a week; they think we’re using automated tools to get likes and followers. We’re not, and it’s annoying. We’re simply building ourselves up, hopefully that gets resolved.

Can you share any details about upcoming interviews or collaborations that readers should look out for?

We don’t want to name names, because we have sent out interview questions to about 8 bands, and we’re not sure if all of them will follow through – you know how it is, people have lives, people have jobs, bands are out there hustling. Things can get lost in the shuffle. But we hope to be posting many more in the near future.

Where do you see knifetwister records in the next few years, and how do you hope to impact the NYC music scene long term?

We are in talks with one band, and we hope to sign more. It’s an issue of raising capital, which we are actively working on. Yeah, we can sign bands on paper, you promo us, we’ll promo you, but we want to do it the right way – be able to offer a small advance to a band. Here you go – build a website, get yourselves on the major streaming platforms, make some interesting merch, etc. We’ll reassess in 6 months, see if this is a good fit. If it is, we’ll sign something a little more detailed; if it isn’t, we’ll part as friends.

Where can we find you online?

• 🌐 Website: www.knifetwisterrecords.com
• 🌐 Magazine: www.knifetwistermagazine.com
• 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/knifetwisterrecords
• ▶ YouTube: youtube.com/@knifetwisterrecords

knifetwister records is a grassroots New York-based label and music magazine dedicated to punk, ska, and metal. Founded by dedicated scene supporters, the label’s focus is on giving artists creative freedom, community support, and fair treatment without prioritising profit. With future plans to sign bands and an expanding interview section, knifetwister is building a lasting presence in the NYC music scene through authentic connections and real-world support.