Singing the Bilyeus

“I was always a musician first,” said Mark Bilyeu, one of the five cousins that formed popular local band Big Smith in 1998.

The musician turned businessman in early 2004 when Bilyeu and his wife, Liz Lairmore, officially started MayApple Records.

“We were on our fourth CD release, and we realized that for all means and purposes we were functioning as a record label, putting out our own records, albeit a small record label,” Bilyeu said. “We decided to give it a name and put up a Web site with the intention of including other artists in the future. It grew from there.”

As Big Smith’s CDs sold, Bilyeu learned that he enjoyed the business side.

“I find it rewarding and challenging. I get to balance that out with making music, so it’s able to give both sides of my brain a good work out,” he said.

MayApple Records now works with about 13 artists from a recording studio and office in the basement of Bilyeu’s and Lairmore’s Springfield home.

“We’re in the office every day, and most evenings I’m in the studio,” Bilyeu said.

Bilyeu declined to share annual revenues but said Big Smith is the label’s biggest moneymaker, bringing in more than $100,000 in gross sales for 2005.

“But not all of that goes to MayApple,” Bilyeu said. “A lot of that is there for covering their touring expenses and things like that.”

Making it big

MayApple promotes the remainder of its artists almost exclusively from their debut CDs, taking an active role in establishing their careers. A couple of MayApple’s artists have now released their second CDs, and Bilyeu said it’s rewarding to watch their careers grow.

“We are leading with our hearts in this business,” he said. “If we were entrepreneurs looking for a way to earn our wealth, this would not be it. We’re in this to promote the artists and advance their careers and, of course, we’re trying to make money doing it.”

One artist who’s getting a lot of MayApple’s attention is Cindy Woolf, a 2003 graduate of Missouri State University. Her debut CD, “Simple and Few,” was released in January.

Woolf is pleased with her relationship with MayApple.

“The press stuff is really valuable,” she said of Lairmore’s services, which include contacting the media in towns where Woolf is scheduled to perform. “I’ve had lots of interviews and radio station in-studio things. I wouldn’t have near the press without (MayApple).”

Within MayApple are two distinct arms – the record label, which promotes the CDs and artists, and the recording studio, giving the outfit a unique situation in the industry.

“Most record labels will send the artist to a recording studio, and they’ll pay the studio for the time they incur,” Bilyeu said. “Since the studio’s in our basement and it’s owned by the same people who run the label, it’s a lot less expensive endeavor.”

He declined to share the fees MayApple charges its artists but said that it varies by artist.

“We don’t have a set way that we do it. Part of it depends on the financial needs of the artist,” he said. “Traditionally, that’s what record labels do. They incur the cost and thereby the financial risk. Some artists we’ve invested more of our resources (in), and sometimes we split the cost and the risk with the artist.”

Digital downloads

MayApple Records sells its artists’ CDs at its Web site, www.mayapplerecords.com, where the music also is available for digital download. Retailers Barnes & Noble, Borders, CD Warehouse, Vintage Stock and Well Fed Head carry MayApple CDs, said Lairmore.

The biggest challenge, Bilyeu said, is trying to make money in an industry where illegal downloading runs rampant.

“That’s something that’s been felt throughout the entire music industry,” he said. “The major record labels’ sales are declining. It’s just a bad time to be in the business, but it’s what we love so we do it.”

The Web site also offers what Bilyeu dubs “Internet radio.” Visitors may click to choose from a list of MayApple artists’ songs.

“We imagined it as a way where people in their offices or homes could start that thing running and listen to a sampling of what the label puts out,” Bilyeu said.

It’s also a way to promote the local music industry.

“There isn’t a lot of support for local music here, yet it’s amazing the talent we have in this town and the people who’ve been playing here for years,” Lairmore said. “There’s such a roster of talent, and that’s what we really believe in – the songwriting and the musicians.”

MayApple Records

Owners: Mark Bilyeu and Liz Lairmore

Founded: 2004

Address: 1006 S. Delaware Ave., Springfield, MO 65804

Phone: (417) 866-0631

Fax: (417) 832-1295

Web site:www.may

applerecords.com

Services: Record label and recording studio

MayApple Artists

Amsterband

Arkamo Rangers

Jonathan Bentley

Big Smith

The Hosea Bilyeu Family

Mark Bilyeu

Dallas Jones

Mincks and Miller

Moore-Healey

Grady Oaks

Robin Rees

Sour Mash

South Haven Upper Chamber Singers

Mike Stevens

Bill Thomas

Uncle Cuckleburr’s Champion Possum Carvers

Cindy Woolf

Did you know?

Big Smith and the Bilyeu family were featured in a 2005 documentary called “Homemade Hillbilly Jam.” German writer/director Rick Minnich calls it “a musical romp through the Ozark Mountains with a handful of rascally modern-day hillbillies.” For more: www.homemadehillbillyjam.com.