FREER RECORDS IS THE FIRST RECORD LABEL IN THE UNITED STATES FOR PRISON-IMPACTED MUSICIANS. OUR MISSION IS TO BUILD THE CAREERS OF OUR ARTISTS SO THEIR WORK IS WIDELY HEARD, UNCENSORED, AND UPHOLDING OF THEIR HUMANITY.

We started as a one-album project in 2013 and became a non-profit record label in 2019 to meet the urgent need for a platform for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated musicians to share their voices and stories with the world.

We fulfill our mission by:

  • Recording, produce, and release music by people in prison and returned citizens.

  • Developing multimedia projects and live events that bring prison impacted people’s stories to life, connecting them with a wide audience.

  • Training prison-impacted musicians in music, media, and administration skills.

  • Improving conditions for people inside prisons by sending in instruments and staying in close contact with our incarcerated collaborators.

  • Building a strong community of musicians, activists, and listeners.

OUR IMPACT

  •  3 LPs, 4 EPs, and 18 Singles by prison-impacted musicians released to international acclaim and a growing audience of 100,000+ streams. [UPDATE NUMBERS]

  • 65 incarcerated musicians recorded. 18 formerly incarcerated musicians recorded. 17 prisons visited or recorded in 10 states across America. [UPDATE]

  • [QUANTIFY] concerts that connect incarcerated artists to a live audience, [provide examples]

  • ## of Visual Albums/Music videos

  • Wide-ranging critical claim for our artists, with features in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC, Pitchfork, The Marshall Project, Grammys.com, Washington Post, Colorado Public Radio, Detroit Metro Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Oxygen, WNYC's The Takeaway, Interview Magazine, Arte TV France, The Atlantic, and Passion of Weiss, among others

  • Our PPE Into Prisons virtual concert series at the height of the pandemic, featuring major musical acts alongside prison-impacted artists, raised $25K to send 30,285 masks to 26 prisons and jails in 16 states.

  • Our Instruments Into Prisons campaign with the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers has sent 13 facilities 150+ pieces of instruments/gear, serving dozens of incarcerated musicians with a market value of over $20K in equipment.