For the anniversary: 18 years of recordJet. What remains, what's next, and what recordJet should be capable of at 25. An interview with our Captains Carolin and Jorin

18 years of recordJet. What began in 2008 with an idea, a lot of idealism, and two people regularly exchanging ideas via Skype, is now a company with 42 employees. Jorin Zschiesche founded recordJet, and Carolin Wohlschlögel joined shortly after. Since then, they have been jointly building a distribution system through which artists can release independently.

For the birthday, our favorite Captains Caro and Jorin talk about shattered founder dreams, a platinum record in the bathtub, sleepless nights, and the big question of whether you can eventually make yourself redundant in your own company.

18 years of recordJet: What would you tell your past self and what would you rather keep quiet?

Jorin: If I told my past self what is reality today, it would probably give me the bird and send me away. Back then, I couldn’t even imagine that we would ever make it into the charts or have more than five employees. And now there are 42. Crazy.

Caro: I would say: “No stress, everything will work out.” And I would keep quiet about how tough it can get sometimes. Although we actually knew that back then. So we were warned.

Jorin, when did “I have an idea” really turn into “I’m founding a company now”?

Jorin: Actually, it was the other way around. I had known for a long time that I wanted to found a company in the music industry. I just didn’t know which one yet. I studied as a precaution, so I would have something to fall back on if everything went wrong. During my studies, the idea for MusicJet came up. Unfortunately, the name was already registered as a trademark. After about three million more name ideas, it finally became recordJet. So everything happened very quickly. (laughs)

Caro, when did you first think: Okay, recordJet could actually become something?

Caro: Last Monday. No, just kidding! (laughs) I think it really was in 2016 when we hired our first permanent employee. More joined in 2017. Suddenly, it wasn’t just Jorin and me anymore, but a real team. And the crazy thing was: We could actually afford these people! That’s when I first thought: Okay, this is apparently really going in a pretty good direction.

What was the most absurd reaction you got to your idea back then?

Caro: Honestly, I didn’t get any absurd reactions. Everyone loved the idea. “Wow, awesome!”, “How cool is that?” – things like that. Many people at the time didn’t even realize that the music industry could be democratized in this way.

Jorin: On the other hand, I often heard why our idea would never work. But I thought to myself: It’s worth a try. Today, I regularly hear what a great idea it was back then. I’d say it’s a draw. We’re going into overtime.

When did you first realize: We are changing something for artists here?

Caro: When the first artists consciously switched from the majors to us. They said: “We don’t want that anymore. We want what you offer us.” That was an incredibly important moment because we realized: Our idea not only works economically but actually changes something. We give artists a real alternative.

Jorin: Actually, right from the start, through the feedback from the first artists. But it became truly impressive when artists came to us who had previously been rejected by all the majors and then went on to have a global career. Those are, of course, stories that stick with you.

In these 18 years, was there a moment when you would have preferred to throw in the towel?

Jorin: Luckily, never. But bureaucracy regularly drives me to the brink of madness. I think most self-employed people and entrepreneurs know that feeling. I could write a whole book about it. I’m just missing the happy ending.

Caro: There were a few moments when you thought: Seriously? For example, when our application for a founder’s scholarship was rejected. The reason: Our idea wasn’t innovative enough. Later, we found out that a recipe platform was funded instead, even though there seemed to be a thousand of those at the time. Of course, you briefly wonder if the world is even ready for this music revolution or if it prefers the umpteenth pumpkin soup recipe.

But seriously throw everything away? No. I did have some minor existential crises, especially after my second parental leave. But nothing that would have really made me give up.

And what was the exact opposite moment?

Jorin: Almost every day that I get to do what I really enjoy with our team.

Caro: Luckily, there were quite a few! The first big chart placements, the first gold or platinum record. Or when customers and employees tell us how satisfied they are. These are the moments when you think: This is exactly why we started all this. And suddenly, all the strenuous phases are forgotten, at least for a moment.

What is completely different at recordJet today compared to 2008, and what is surprisingly still the same?

Jorin: Our idea and our mission are still the same. Otherwise? Pretty much everything.

Caro: Well, strictly speaking, recordJet didn’t really exist in 2008. That was our founding year. recordJet back then essentially consisted of Jorin and me talking on the phone or Skype almost daily and discussing ideas. Besides that, Jorin programmed, looked for a name, handled the bureaucracy, and founded the company. That was recordJet in 2008.

And today? 42 employees, a real company. The house is built! Actually, almost everything is different.

Which decision would you make differently today?

Jorin: Hard to say. Even from our mistakes, we learned something in the end. In that sense, maybe they weren’t so bad after all.

Caro: I probably wouldn’t hire some people again who later turned out not to be a good fit. But you often don’t know that beforehand. In the meantime, we’ve learned a lot about who really fits us and our company culture.

What did you argue about most often in 18 years?

Jorin: Did we ever argue? If so, I’ve successfully repressed it.

Caro: Probably about communication. That is, about how we formulate, present, or outwardly communicate something. We sometimes had different ideas about that. But we’ve gotten into a good groove by now. And obviously, we never argued so much that Jorin would still remember it.

What is Caro better at than Jorin, and what is Jorin better at than Caro?

Jorin: We complement each other pretty perfectly. Caro can do everything I can’t. And that’s a lot.

Caro: It’s actually quite clearly divided. Jorin is good with numbers, data, facts, math, and finances. I’m more responsible for language, communication, gut feeling, and interpersonal matters. Especially at the beginning, I wrote a lot of texts and handled external communication. So, luckily, we have quite different strengths. Otherwise, everything probably wouldn’t have worked out so well.

Which recordJet artist or release has personally touched you the most?

Jorin: That so many of my childhood heroes suddenly appeared with us. I can still barely comprehend it sometimes.

Caro: I’ll never forget when we received our first really big award: the platinum record for Milky Chance. We took a photo with the record in the bathtub back then.

And the best part was how the record even got to us. The doorbell just rang. We opened it, and someone stood there and essentially said: “Hello, I have a platinum record for you.” It was completely surreal. We hadn’t expected that at all. And suddenly you’re holding something like that in your hand. Amazing.

What do you miss about the old recordJet days?

Jorin: That we were all together in a small room with the whole crew and worked. Unfortunately, that’s no longer possible with our current size.

Caro: Quite a bit. Everything used to be a bit simpler and more personal. We were less than a handful of people, knew each other incredibly well, and could interact in a completely different way. You could even make a pretty weird joke without anyone misunderstanding it.

And what I really miss: our gigantic lunch salads! Jorin and I used to make a huge bowl of salad almost every day. After that, we were stuffed. That was great.

And what do you not miss at all?

Jorin: The constant financial worries. They caused me many sleepless nights back then.

Caro: That we practically had to do everything ourselves. What is now distributed among 42 employees, we managed on a smaller scale with just the two of us back then. And that doesn’t just stop because you’re on vacation.

Jorin sometimes didn’t take a proper vacation for five years and also worked on weekends. There was always something to do. And everything took three times as long because there was no one to delegate tasks to.

So no, I really don’t miss that constant overwork. Not even a little bit.

If recordJet were a person and just turned 18: What kind of 18-year-old would recordJet be?

Jorin: That sounds suspiciously like one of your famous Monday questions. And as always, I can’t answer it.

Caro: I think recordJet would be a pretty responsible 18-year-old. Not someone you’d constantly have to worry about getting completely lost. But someone who knows pretty exactly where they want to go and what they want to achieve. And who also wants to make a positive impact on the world.

Jorin: So, actually a very sensible young adult. Almost a little uncanny for an 18-year-old.

And what should recordJet be able to do at 25 that it can’t do today?

Jorin: Oh, we have quite a few ideas. But they’ll remain a secret for now.

Caro: Preferably function largely without us! (laughs) So, that we’ve eventually made ourselves redundant in our own company. And yet everything continues exactly as we wish. Without the whole thing suddenly veering off in some completely crazy direction.

That would actually be the nicest gift recordJet could give us.