WHAT WE DO

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

We connect with incarcerated musicians and gain access to prisons so that we can bring in recording gear and ensure the musicians have access to instruments and practice time. Our recording and production are held to the highest standards, ensuring every project is competitive in the music industry. Artists on our label own their masters and receive 60% of royalties during our exclusive license. Whenever incarcerated artists cannot be compensated, we hold the proceeds until their release or dispose of them according to their directives.

Develop multimedia projects and events that bring stories to life and connect them to a wide audience.

We complement musical releases with visual albums, music videos, and documentaries. We market our releases to a wide audience, seeking press coverage in major publications and in local news sources. We host vibrant and celebratory live events, and use visual storytelling to connect our incarcerated artists with a live audience. We regularly partner with prison-impacted grassroots activists doing frontline work, creating music and visuals that uplift their work.

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

We are dedicated to providing prison-impacted musicians with resources and support they need to flourish artistically. As an organization that is co-led by a formerly-incarcerated musician, we are also committed to providing concrete work and leadership opportunities to the musicians we work with.

In bringing our projects to life, we create opportunities for prison-impacted people to work with us as paid contractors. This allows them to earn income and learn key skills in music production, video editing, graphic design, and business operations. We also provide paid opportunities for returning citizens to gain experience in non-profit administration, development, and communications.

Build a strong community of musicians, activists, and listeners.

We build strong, long-lasting relationships with musicians, so that we can support their well-being and artistic development. We were built on a DIY spirit of social justice and engage in activist efforts that benefit our community, whether it be showing up to a parole hearing or supplying people in prisons with musical instruments.

WHO WE WORK WITH

We work with talented musicians that we discover through word-of-mouth or who’ve reached out to us directly after hearing about our work. 

We started off as a concept album about the Black experience of incarceration and re-entry in America. Our roster of artists continues to reflect the fact that the prison system is deeply intertwined with anti-Black racism, but features a diversity of perspectives on the American experience of incarceration: we work in men and women’s prisons, and have collaborated with senior citizens, people with disabilities, Native Americans, veterans, queer and transgender people. We are committed to uplifting underrepresented voices in an already marginalized population.

HOW WE GOT HERE

First, a concept album. In 2013, musician and activist Fury Young embarked on a journey to make a concept album, Die Jim Crow, about racial injustice in the U.S. prison system. For six years, Young gained access to prisons across the country, built close relationships with musicians and writers both in and once-in the system, and recorded over 60 incarcerated musicians.

Then, a record label. After a 2019 trip recording over 25 new artists in three prisons, it became clear that Die Jim Crow couldn’t just be a single album project. With dozens of unreleased tracks and so many powerful voices demanding to be heard, FREER Records - at the time Die Jim Crow Records (DJC) - officially launched in 2020 as the nation’s first non-profit record label for formerly and currently incarcerated musicians. In June, we released our first full length-album, Assata Troi by BL Shirelle, to critical acclaim. Over the next few years we released projects by the incarcerated collective Territorial, former lifers such as Simply Naomi and Lifers Groove, and an incarcerated rapper in a women’s prison  B. Alexis, demonstrating our commitment to lifting up diverse voices and to breaking down barriers to artistic expression for incarcerated artists and artists navigating the challenges of reentry. In 2022, long-time FREER Records artist BL Shirelle joined Fury Young as Co-Executive Director.

To a FREER future. In January 2024, shortly after Die Jim Crow celebrated its 10 Year Anniversary, the label evolved into FREER Records. Die Jim Crow had started as an album about the Black experience of mass incarceration in America, yet after a decade of hard work it became clear to us that the artists we work with were telling stories that extend far beyond the original concept behind the project. It was time to change our name to reflect the fact that we had become a diverse and inclusive organization, representing a wide range of creative perspectives of people impacted by prison and a wider community of artists. Our new name, FREER Records, reflects our commitment to open creative expression for all, and that though we may never be free, we can always be freer.

OUR IMPACT

→ We have a track record of groundbreaking releases and many “firsts”, but most importantly, the music is good!

• Our groundbreaking releases include: a solo album by an incarcerated woman (B. Alexis), projects produced by prison-impacted producers (B. Alexis, Lifers Groove), an album by a collective of 5 elders who were serving life sentences before being paroled or having their sentences (Lifers Groove), and an album recorded by a collective of incarcerated musicians in Colorado (Territorial). 

→ Our releases and multimedia projects have connected over [X#] incarcerated and formerly incarcerated musicians with audience around the world:

• We have recorded 65 incarcerated musicians and 18 formerly incarcerated musicians recorded. We have recorded in or visited 17 prisons in 10 states across America.

• In total, we have released  3 LPs, 4 EPs, and 18 Singles by prison-impacted musicians to international acclaim and a growing audience of 100,000+ streams.

• Label releases have been met with critical acclaim, including 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 activist efforts have improved conditions inside prisons around the country.

• 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.

• 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.