MANILA, Philippines?What?s it like to be at the helm of the country?s most prominent and musically diverse independent record label?

It?s not easy, according to Toti Dalmacion, who owns Terno Recordings ? home to Radioactive Sago Project (RSP), Up Dharma Down, Giniling Festival, Paramita, Swissy, Ang Bandang Shirley, plus three new acts (Outerhope, Musical O and Sleepwalk Circus).

Miniscule in size and operating without the machinery of the majors (Sony BMG, Warner, MCA), Terno is like a David jostling for attention amid the Goliaths in a shrinking music market. With CD sales at an all-time low and age-old industry practices of promoting records leaving little room for bright new songs to be heard on radio, it?s a small miracle, indeed, that Terno has even survived.

For the past five years, Toti has been running what he calls a ?fledgling? outfit on the level of passion and inspiration he acquired from the small ?mom and pop? indie labels abroad that carried the music he loved so much.

Music lovers

Born to a musically inclined clan, Toti (Alberto III), the only child of Tito Dalmacion and Susan Garcia, heard what his folks and relatives played at home and in gatherings. His mother is a sister of Dennis and Rene Garcia of Hotdog and, incidentally, managed the band in the 1970s.

Toti listened on his own to Top 40 radio, and was in grade 5 at Lourdes in Quezon City when he started buying and bringing his own cassette tapes of foreign jazz-fusion artists, as the older guys in high school did. He read a lot about rock ?n? roll in Creem and Rolling Stone, and was intrigued by the emergence of such bands as The Clash, Sex Pistols, Vibrators, Buzzcocks and the rest of the punk and new wave army.

This was the turning point, Toti says. He widened his record-buying habits to include a slew of new music from small labels. ?My early favorites were Virgin, New Hormones, Fast Product, Stiff, Postcard, Factory, Les Disques Du Crepuscule, Compact, Creation, Rough Trade and, later on, Sarah and EL Records. I was amazed at how they did their sleeve/cover art and liner notes, which gave the labels a unique feel and character. This was how I developed my record collection; that I would put up my own label was inevitable.?

When Toti returned home after living in the US, where he studied audio engineering, he set up Groove Nation, a record shop that sold locally unavailable albums on vinyl and CD. It mutated into an events company that promoted house and techno music, which he played as a moonlighting DJ in the US.

Then he thought of compiling songs from unsigned indie bands around the world for local and international release. ?One thing led to another,? Toti says, ?and Terno was born.?

The label?s first artist was Orange and Lemons. At first Toti thought it was just another ?80s new wave cover band until he heard an album?s worth of material which became the group?s debut album. But the band got impatient and signed with a major label, Universal Records.

RSP came on board because its front man, Lourd De Veyra, was formerly the editor of a lifestyle magazine where Toti was a record reviewer. One day, Lourd asked him to manage the band. He agreed. ?I thought ?Urban Gulaman? was incredible and showcased Lourd?s acerbic wit and musical talent, and the majors didn?t want to touch it with a ten-foot pole,? he recalls.

Artistic freedom

The rest of the bands came fueled with enthusiasm and the belief that Terno would fulfill their desire to exercise artistic freedom and flourish. ?I ended up managing them as well, except for a few that already had managers,? Toti says. ?But I think it?s advantageous for the bands when the label owner happens to be the manager as well.?

Initially, Terno did everything. It promoted and distributed the bands? CDs after recording and packaging them. But since it lacked manpower, the company struck up a distribution deal with Viva Records, which solved the problem of making the albums available in the malls and other outlets nationwide.

Toti admits that Terno, like the major labels, is currently struggling with the worldwide trend of declining CD sales. So it no longer relies solely on traditional stores to sell its titles. He says all of Terno artists? albums are now available on legal local downloading sites like Fliptunes. ?Also, it took Terno a while, but by September most of our releases should be available on iTunes US, Canada, UK/Europe, Australia, Japan, Amazon, Rhapsody and three more sites. That should make it easier for Filipinos overseas and foreign fans to access our catalogue.?

US template

He seems to have studied the local music scene well, because he has learned to adopt a practical attitude in his role as an indie player. He understands why the industry has long been perceived to be plagued by unfair business practices, like dishonesty in declaring sales reports and imposing low royalty rates for artists.

?Actually it doesn?t necessarily follow that the bosses of local major labels are dishonest (for all we know, some bands think the same of me),? he says. ?The industry itself is at fault, how it has been structured since it started 125 years ago in America. The local music business just used that template, so its contracts have always been one-sided, be it a local major player or multinational. In a sense, you can?t really blame them because, from the time the music industry was born, it has always been about making money.?

Toti is not a hypocrite to not want to make money, too. But, he says, there?s a difference in how he wants to earn it. ?I want to balance art and commerce as opposed to doing it just for the money,? he explains. ?Terno has proven that artists need not sacrifice their art for the sake of selling. We are in the niche market and we?d like to see it grow. It?s tough, but someone?s got to do it to improve the state of local music in which the mind-set has always been to give the audience what they only know and want, what?s tried, tested and safe. There?s not much option given for new sounds and ideas, so Terno and its roster of artists are offering these options.?

The good news, Toti confirms, is that several Terno bands are selling well. Its biggest act, Up Dharma Down, has been featured in Time magazine and generated a buzz loud enough for it to be contracted to write and perform a commercial jingle for a fast-food giant.