While the creative spaces in Snyder-Philips hall that include microphones, mixers and instruments might have predated Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) professor Austin Oting Har’s founding of the label, they became the perfect home for it. Dave Sheridan, who runs these spaces alongside Marcus Fields, said the two board members have “always wanted to support the creative works of students and community members,” and called Har’s proposal for a record label a “natural progression” and a “good fit for the mission of the college of RCAH.”

“I think it would be of great benefit to students and this record label, to offer resources and opportunities to grow skills in recording and presenting music,” Delgado said. “I really think that if folks want to pursue their craft seriously, they need to step it up as far as recording skills.”

Having known many students who write or perform music, Delgado knew all too well that the missing piece for them was a path and structure to get to the recording stage, which helped him develop this idea and keep it a free opportunity. 

The program acts as more than a record deal; it aims to truly develop these artists in professionalism, business habits and artistry. Har plans to work directly with these artists throughout the process to help develop what he calls, “the craft behind the composition.”

Strongly believing that “artists need feedback on their creative work,” Sheridan calls this a “tremendous opportunity” for artists because they get to work with a team of people who care about music, understand the technical practices and want to help them succeed.  

The label has produced multiple professional artists based in Lansing and is enthusiastic to engage more with students from a wide range of backgrounds and majors. Har would also like to expand beyond the electronic and ambient genre that they have produced thus far, while “paying homage to those roots.” 

Following suit of their past works, most of which highlighted contemporary issues, the label is searching for music that “has something to say,” in their upcoming projects, as Har put it. Along with this main message, artists must have ties to Michigan and their final album must be original and not contain offensive content in order to be considered for this program. 

“Prioritizing work that engages with society and with the surrounding culture, is very aligned with the mission of RCAH,” Sheridan said. “And that's something that we've been doing since the beginning of our unit in 2007.” 

Submissions are anonymous and are open on the label’s website until Sept. 25 at 11:59 p.m. From there, the label will review submissions and make their final selections on Nov. 1. They will help develop the artists and their projects until release in May 2027 to follow the grant’s timeline. 

While demos for the Sept. 25 deadline don’t need to be completely finished or even contain original work, the label wants to see a “certain level of confidence that (artists) can make it through this process, and end with a 40 minute album,” Fields said. They want demos that clearly communicate the vision and showcase some effort and development into them already. 

With the understanding that each artist is different, the label plans to tailor budgets and marketing plans to each act’s specific needs throughout the process. Once their product is ready, the exposure and advertising efforts can begin. Social media manager and arts and humanities junior Cole Carlson will arrange performances and try to get airplay and reviews for the artists.

As one of a few student board members, Carlson has a boots on the ground perspective of the student-made music scene at co-ops and around the community, which he calls “one of (his) favorite parts about MSU.”

“I feel like there's a great opportunity for something like Bogue Street Records that is more affiliated with the university to partner with that kind of DIY stuff and have a kind of a great intersection there,” he said. 

In addition to the albums, Bogue Street Records hopes to explore making music videos and plans to spotlight these acts in their one-year anniversary concert in January.