Syngate closes its doors

SynGate will be closed in 2025

Dear SynGate artists, friends and fans,

quite a while I have been thinking about the development of SynGate Records. In 2025 the label celebrates its 25th birthday, ususally an occasion to prepare a big party. But on the other hand as well a moment to sum up about the pros and cons for the future prospects. Being honest with myself, the future is weak. I have always said all the years, SynGate lives from my passion for electronic music, but the label will only exist as far as I do not have to feed it. And yes, I am getting closer and closer to exactly this border. Physical sales have declined strongly in the last yeaars and despite a good development of digital sales, online sales demand very complicated accounting with all those different tax regulations from different countries. So far, my tax consultant cared for this but recently he announced to quit his mandate.

This was the trigger for me to pull the ripcord! I will close SynGate Record this year

SynGate Bandcamp as well as SynGates Webshop will be closed during the next months, possibly step by step to still enable sales of the current releases and offering the stock.

Only a few releases that have already been in the pipeline will still be released, but no new albums anymore.

Distrokid will withdrawl all affected albums from all streaming platforms, if you want to continue there, you need to care for yourself.

Once those marketplaces are closed, I will keep working on orders for quite some time, so if you are in need of any albums, I may produce them still even after the label is closed.

I am sorry to possibly disappoint you with my decision. As there is no successor for me, I have no other choice.

SynGate Records will stop its activity at a moment, where its reputy is on a very strong state, so it will be kept in good memory as a label, that has influenced the niche of good electronic music in the spirit of Berlin School for the first quarter of the century in the new millenium. All SynGate artits may claim for themselvers having been a part of this influence in the first 25 years of the ne Millenium!

I hope, you understand my decison.

Thank you very much for all those wonderful albums, you have contributed to let SynGate grow to on of the most important labels for electronic music in the spirit of Berlin School.

I appreciate all your efforts to compose this great music and support your label.

I was looking for a successor in the past, but there is no one. I reccommend to you, to launch an artist account on Bandcamp (if not already existent) and accentuate your past as a SynGate artist which will give you an additional reputy.

If you consider looking for another label you could check this link and possibly find a matching marketing platform.
https://www.empulsiv.de/links-a-z/labels-und-shops

Whishing all the best to you and yes, as for myself I will keep existing contacts and will visit musical events, so I hope to meet you whenever this is possible.

Thank you to all artists and supporters who made SynGate being a major label in a niche of great electronic music. This has shaped my life and will always stay a part of me.

Warm regards, Kilian

(...) Running a label enterprise -- no matter how big it is -- can be a tiresome affair, and it does make a huge difference whether you are running it for yourself and your own music or for other artists who more or less depend on you.

Maybe it goes to show that CDR as a medium has lost its appeal for good (particularly in direct competition with digital downloads)?

Maybe it's also pointing at an ever dwindling number of potential listeners (with no new generation of listeners coming up), facing a steadily growing heap of new artists and albums that beg attention and want to be listened to?

After all, this type of music has become a niche market, even more so as it has never been something to have mass-market appeal.

Now it's time for all those affected to get going and take care of their own fate. Which can be quite a lot of responsibility.