“We Aren’t Kidding Around Anymore”
Final Girl Records On Overcoming Obstacles, Their Recent Rebranding, And Staying Fiercely Independent
By Riiza
Photo by: Lilli Harrison
It’s not often that you come across a small label with a crystal clear voice and vision for its artists such as Final Girl Records. They’ve moved mountains in the music community by prioritizing queer and BIPOC artists, striving to create events, concerts, and mixers that are safe spaces for all to attend. I sat down with the creators and founders of the label, Deanna DiLandro and Madison Hetterly, about the success of their artists, the struggles of being forced to rebrand this year, and the importance of queer spaces in the music community.
Final Girl Records (f.k.a Weird Sister Records) has had a fruitful couple of years since 2021, representing artists such as Um, Jennifer?, Madge, and Enny Owl. Placements on major editorial playlists and write-ups from major magazines, such as Billboard, have solidified their place in the music community. The original idea for the platform was born out of “Indie Witches”, a music blog created by Hetterly, that heavily inspired the label’s focus on specifically covering women, trans, and non-binary artists. “The fact that she started the blog on her own inspired me, and the punk + magical aesthetics added to how both Madison’s and my vision for a label would ultimately align!” DiLandro said of the label’s infancy.
The pair share a wealth of knowledge in press, marketing, and label dynamics, but starting their own company from the ground up has been no easy feat. Hetterley remarks on the ins and outs of government paperwork, registering the name, and the specifics of starting an LLC, “So many things about that are exhausting that people don’t talk about as much. It’s the not-so-glamorous part, but absolutely necessary”.
Although Final Girl’s roster of artists and platform has grown exponentially in just a few short years, the pair are comfortable and content with remaining an independent label. “The creative control we have as an independent entity is just lovely - who we want to support, how we want to support them - we have total control of that. That’s why I wanted to start this in the first place” says DiLandro. There are always pros and cons to staying independent, but they’re confident in foraging their path until the right people and the right opportunity come along.
“The label was born out of anger for the way the white dude music business machine operates. We’re not kidding around anymore.
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Earlier this year, the duo was met with the difficult decision to change their name from Weird Sister Records to Final Girl Records due to a “legal dispute with a band of the same name”. In a statement they released to their social media, they stated “They were unwilling to come to a co-existence agreement or to approve the small adjustments to our name we offered them as an attempt to keep the brand we built and love. Because of this, we were left with no choice but to update our name since we do not have the funds to go to court.” While the change was born out of tense circumstances, the new name was inspired by the ‘final girl’ trope - being the last one alive to kill the villain and tell the story. The new logo, a dripping knife with the eyes of the final girl reflecting back, encapsulates the messaging of the label - stay strong, and take absolutely no one’s shit. “The label was born out of anger for the way the white dude, music business machine operates,” says DiLandro, “we’re not kidding around anymore”.
The eyes of the final girl are a mix of Pinterest ideas and the talents of their graphic designer, Audrey Subra (@aud_pizzanova), who actually used the eyes of Hetterley’s dog, Bowie, as inspiration. “He’s like Wednesday Adams in dog form” she laughs, “it’s the brainchild of Megan Fox and my dog - which is iconic”. It’s a new chapter of proper badass-ery for the team, and that includes searching for more great talent. Final Girl doesn’t stick to the standard protocol of vetting artists - they look for the unique, the “left of center”, the ones that turn the Final Girl team into fans first. “We have a lot of interest in dynamic sounds and the people behind them”. The introduction into a business relationship is different for each artist they come across, and they work hard to understand the needs and wants of people potentially signing.
NOA JAMIR Photo by: Paulette A.
Final Girl Records will be hosting Queer Prom at Rubulad on June 14th with performances from Deadbeat Girl, Um Jennifer?, Zola Simone, and TWINFLAME. The night will also include tattoos by Lollygag Lab and Tarot by Chelsea Smith. Also looking forward to new releases this summer, with Noa Jamir’s new album coming this July, Um, Jennifer?’s new single out this August, and TWINFLAME’s single “Good Girls Go To Heaven”, out June 13th.
🎧 Presave TWINFLAME’S “Good Girls Go To Heaven”
🎫 Grab tickets for Queer Prom @ Rubulad
📻 & follow Final Girl Records to stay tuned on everything else to come
