OVERVIEW

One of the strongest, artist-friendly and fan-serving independent labels in the world of rock music, Silver Lining Music prides itself on combining world class business practices with AN individual, bespoke service for all its clients. 

Founded in 2017 by Thomas Jensen, the globally-successful co-creator of ICS Festival Service and Wacken Open Air, Silver Lining Music’s roster contains international star names such as Saxon, Europe, Uriah Heep and Dokken, as well as core acts such as Soen, Morbid Angel, Michael Monroe and Raven.

Despite being a small independent, Silver Lining Music boasts over 60 years of experience gained at major labels such as Warner Music, Sony Music and Essential. Add to this a large network of agents, promoters and publicists, the fact that Silver Lining Music only works with acts that they truly believe in, and the staff’s vast experience in executing successful campaigns, it is no wonder that Silver Lining Music remains a major in the world of independent labels.

PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy at Silver Lining Music is simple yet remarkably rare in the modern world, let alone THE music business: provide highly professional, yet bespoke and friendly services and products which help artists fully express their creativity to the consumer with minimal bureaucracy, maximum passion and expertise, and a flexible approach to artists and their needs.

Silver Lining Music does not believe in a large staff, phone trees or voicemail.  Instead, artists and vendors alike are always able to engage with Silver Lining Music and discuss the best options available for whatever task at hand in a collaborative and creative fashion. The results are relationships between artist and label which produce successful results in terms of creative fulfilment and commercial achievement. Aside from the well-publicized successes of Saxon and Europe, the Swedish progressive supergroup Soen stand as testimony to the careful -and ultimately successful- approach Silver Lining Music takes with its artists.

ALL AREA ACCESS

Silver Lining Music is equally committed to utilizing all technologies available to bring their artists to a global audience and retains experts in the fields of digital streaming and downloads, while remaining at the forefront of creation -and curation- of physical and Direct To Consumer projects.

Whether utilizing its relationships with the traditional press or digital media, Silver Lining Music manages to gain maximum exposure and attention for its artists and releases.  With coverage in titles such as Rolling Stone, The Independent, The Guardian, and on digital platforms like People, Goldmine and Forbes, Silver Lining Music reaches the same exposure that bigger major labels attain. Add to this a willingness to invest marketing money in alternative channels and in cross-branding partnerships, plus a robust radio/DAB/podcast world, and it is clear Silver Lining Music achieves results which transcend its ‘indie label’ status.

MISSION STATEMENTS

THOMAS JENSEN, OWNER

 “I love music, and I particularly love rock ‘n’ roll music. A simple statement perhaps, but it is the foundation of everything Silver Lining Music is about. We don’t have anything on Silver Lining Music that is not a passion project for us, and it is why we dedicate ourselves so wholly to every release we have. Our small staff brings with it such a passion for rock ‘n’ roll, that coupled with their vast experience in the business itself, Silver Lining Music behaves with the energy and efficiency of a major label. Add to that my own experience as co-founder of the world famous Wacken Open Air Festival, which sells out instantly on the line-up announcement, and the result is a fiscally-responsible, profitable label.

Our roster could easily be the prime record shelf in my own home! The mighty Saxon, Europe, Diamond Head, Uriah Heep, Soen, the great Michael Monroe! What a privilege! And then we are blessed to have the likes of Morbid Angel who are a foundational death metal band, Raven who are such a vital cornerstone of heavy metal music, and Dokken who remain world class songwriters. Again, excuse me if I sound perhaps a little too much like a fan, but I am one!

It is important to note that Silver Lining Music is a total democracy when it comes to the roster. Every one of these bands, and others, receive the same attention as if they were U2 or Metallica, because we believe in everything they do. Again, Silver Lining Music does not bother with bands it cannot treat in this way. I believe the artists see and feel this, which is why I believe Silver Lining Music continues to thrive and grow, in the process establishing itself as one of the best indie rock ‘n’ roll labels in the world. We are all very proud of who we are and what we stand for. We welcome you to join this most exciting of journeys as it continues its ascent.”

SERENA FURLAN, HEAD OF LABEL

“I believe that the key to both business and career success lies in having a vision, a passion, a work ethic and desire to deliver the very best for both your clients and yourself. These are the cornerstones of Silver Lining Music, a record label which has delivered the very finest rock ‘n’ roll music for more than half a decade with passion, commitment, quality and trust. 

Music legends such as Europe and Saxon engage our services because they know that we deliver both quality and success as a consequence of never shirking our responsibilities to an artist. We serve their needs, we utilize their various ingenuities and fuse those ideas and wishes with our experienced team to reach the perfect pinnacles of strategy and delivery. With our marketing and advertising, we offer all our artists individual packages specifically tailored to them, developed together from the design of the product all the way to fulfillment and distribution to ensure the very best release possible. We make sure we work closely with the artist on all areas of a project, and whether that be design, production or any area of a new project, we are available at all hours.

 I am not the type of label executive who sits behind a desk and delegates. I enjoy getting into the action with both my co-workers and our artists because rock ‘n’ roll is a passion, and Silver Lining Music is a dream I get to live every day alongside Carly, Rod and Catherine. That is because our mission at Silver Lining Music is to ensure that our artists are also living the same dream with us in all aspects of the services we provide them.” 

TESTIMONIALS

MICHAEL MONROE

“At a time when I didn’t think there were labels like that anymore, who do hands on things with bands and artists, who send artists on promo tours, Silver Lining Music do it all. They’ve been a great pleasure to work with, they stay on the case, an exceptionally great label with a committed hands-on approach. Serena and Carly are fantastic, always on the case, always available and both with exceptionally good music business experience. They have that great, old school working ethic of the classic major labels but with the bespoke approach of a cool indie where they really pay attention to their artist. An absolute pleasure who also deliver!”

Brian Tatler [Diamond Head, Saxon]

“I think they’re great, a great company, it works very well -the staff and me -Serena/Carly/Rod have all been very helpful and hands on. Nothing is too much trouble to help the artist, and there’s great attention to detail. It feels good to me. In the past, with some people, I’ve felt like one of many, but at Silver Lining Music they give you 100%, their full-on enthusiasm and whatever you need. It does feel like they treat you as a special artist. You can talk to people; there’s none of this ‘department shuffling’ thing, I’ve been with them since 2019, and we’re continuing.” 

Martin Lopez [Soen]

“I think the biggest difference is that with Serena and Carly, it feels almost like they’re part of the band because we have the same goals. With a label, it normally feels that the sole goal is selling records and making money, not maybe the band’s longevity and career. With Silver Lining Music, there’s a togetherness that I’ve never felt before, and I’ve been with many labels before where there are good relationships but still a fence between us. That fence is not here. Of course, we also get all the tools of a major label, they’re extremely professional, and they also have a very good creative marketing department which comes up with great ideas. Previous labels would have an idea and we’d have to say no every time, but it seems like Serena and Carly can really read where the band is at and what we need, then help us find it. I’m quite reserved when it comes to my art, I don’t let many in because we have a vision, and most of the time someone outside doesn’t see your vision, but this label has shown us it’s worth letting them in and sharing. They earned our trust, and that is possibly the best thing any artist could say about their label.”

Adam Parsons, manager [Europe, Uriah Heep]

“They’re a marvelous label to work with, and you do work with Silver Lining Music. Whether on marketing or even looking for a little extra in the creative department when it comes to things such as fulfilling artwork and design, Serena, Carly and Rod are instantly available and ready to go the extra mile whenever needed. I think the fact they really do love music is a major factor, plus (and you can’t overestimate the value of this) they are wholly honourable and decent people. Their word is their bond, and when I tell you Serena is someone I consider a good friend, understand how rare it is for me to say that in this type of relationship.”

Gunter Ford, manager [Morbid Angel, Mike LePond]

“I’ve done three records with Silver Lining Music so far, and I will certainly do more. There were two albums with Mike Le Pond, as well as the last Morbid Angel album. They did a really great job on all three. The Mike Le Pond projects were worked very efficiently despite being a non-touring band, and when we did the Morbid Angel album, they did a fantastic job, worked closely with us, spent real money making sure things were right, and gave us the necessary time to do things properly, the result being one the best Morbid Angel albums ever which sold really well. Serena, Carly and Rod all committed to us, and the best thing about them is they work like an intimate indie. You get their attention, they really focus, on these projects we worked extremely closely on the marketing and promotion and did as well as we could’ve have expected. Everything they do is top shelf!"