Joseph Karre, the 22-year-old owner of ML1 Records in Lafayette, La., has worked with a variety of bestselling artists. Herman Fuselier
Joseph Karre raises profile of ML1 Records
A record label in Lafayette can claim a Kanye West song that also has John Legend, Alicia Keys and other platinum-selling artists. The song, “All of the Lights,” won two Grammys, sold 5 million copies and has more than 179 million views on YouTube.
But label owner Joseph Karre isn’t ready to buy beachfront property in Malibu. Karre, 22, is happy in Lafayette, doing what he sometimes calls “busy work.”
“It’s not glamorous at all, but I enjoy it,” said Karre. “But not everything is easy. You get a lot of rejection or a lot of things that won’t go your way.
“But you’re in this for the long run because you like what you’re doing. If you’re in it for the money or to have your name up in lights, it’s temporary. You just have to be in it for the love of music.”
Karre’s label, ML1 Records, has acquired a percentage of “All of the Lights,” a 2010 single from West’s platinum album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” GQ ranked the recording at the top of its 21 Best Albums of the 21st Century list.
ML1 has also purchased a percentage of “Drive Slow,” a single off West’s “Late Registration” album. The record won the 2006 Grammy for Best Rap Album and landed at no. 118 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The singles help ML1 build its songwriting catalog and brand as a management, marketing and distribution service for musicians. Karre likens his work to a hospital management group acquiring a new hospital. But the deals are in music instead of the medical field.
“Whenever big, established artists see somebody with a label that’s growing and growing, they want to jump on it and co-sign,” said Karre, a digital media graduate from South Louisiana Community College and student with Harvard Extension School. “Everybody’s looking for who’s going to take their place. P Diddy or Jay-Z will go out and sign these young artists. If they blow up, get really big and win 10 Grammys, they can say, we worked with them first.
“I am actively still working with these people in various capacities. With some, it may be digital marketing. I may be doing graphic designs for a tour poster, for some. I could be pitching their music to Spotify or Apple Music.”
A decade ago, Karre was still in middle school when he broke into the business as a photographer for concerts and YouTube videos. His life changed at the age of 15, when accordionist Chubby Carrier hired him for a music video for the title song on his Grammy-winning album, “Zydeco Junkie.”
That production connected Karre with artists, songwriters and producers across the country. Some, like Benny Blanco and Scott Storch, were wildly successful creating songs for other artists, but ran into dead ends for their own work.
Their rejections inspired Karre to launch an independent label that could also lead marketing and management efforts. Last year, he tasted concert promotion success with a local show that featured hip hop stars Meaku, BENJ and Cali Swag District.
Karre has more plans for concert tours, publishing and other opportunities. But his work will be done where people know how to pronounce boudin and Atchafalaya.
“A lot of people have asked me, ‘Do you want to get bought out?’ I don’t want to get bought out by anybody. Anybody building anything from the ground up independently, you have to respect that. In Lafayette, there’s so many people doing that.
“I want to be one of the independent labels headquartered in Lafayette, La. You can go anywhere with this stuff. But I’m happy to say Lafayette is my home base.”