‘Getting things made’ is CorpoRat Records owner Kris Martin’s wheelhouse

The cogs and wheels of a local music scene as rich as Spokane’s are not a bunch of money-hungry businessmen in top hats and monocles, but rather time-giving patrons and grass-roots individuals championing business models focused on community success, helping people and, most important, music.

Kris Martin, the owner of local label CorpoRat Records, is one such man: a born-and-raised Spokane native who, having done the leaving-the-Northwest thing (his stint was in Los Angeles), returned to Spokane in the early 2010s.

Martin works with six local groups through his label, providing for them as many services as he can.

“Getting things made,” he described, “the logistical … is kind of where my wheelhouse is.”

Music backend, yes, but also physical product. Martin’s first business in Spokane was his small screen-printing shop. The two might seem only marginally related, but in today’s music industry, one revolutionized by streaming services like Spotify, making physical product for bands is crucial to their survival.

“What I have, basically, out here in my shop is an ability to give power back to bands because, ultimately, they’re not making money on their music,” Martin said. “(Streaming’s great), but that’s not where their bread and butter is.”

Instead, it’s from playing shows and selling merch that up-and-coming bands make their living.

A screen-printing shop, then, was what Martin brought to the table when he got up and running, at least as tangibles are concerned. The real distinction of CorpoRat, though, lies in his overall approach.

“I am a big, firm believer in grass roots. That’s longevity, like the customer base, the people that support you stick around,” Martin said.

It’s a business model, he said, less about the business and more about people.

“Those guys have been my oldest friends,” he said of some of the bands’ members “It’s much more family-oriented and community-oriented.”

It’s an ever-prudent statement as Martin is soon to be a father, the pandemic bearing at least one gift for him and his wife. As business is concerned, the past year has not been quite so kind.

“My business has gotten decimated,” he said. “Structuring it around the music industry and small businesses sounded great two years ago, but it’s been a nightmare for the past year.”

Martin is fortunate enough to be able to slow down for the moment and take things as they come.

“What I set out to do with both my businesses, the print shop and then the record label, was be able to hit pause if I needed to and not get so far over my head,” he said.

It’s the industry as a whole that concerns him.

“You couldn’t make a worse situation for the community spread than a live music show,” he said.

For his bands, the pandemic has been a time to “get your life figured out and get situated to what this new reality is for a while.”

The future, though bleak, is perhaps looking up.

Martin’s understanding of the Spokane music scene as an “ecosystem of music” motivated his valuation of each member of that community. Of the bands, he spoke in a caring manner. Of the venues, the spoke with a little caution – particularly about putting them in dangerous situations.

Of the record stores, as “friends vital to our community” aside from “being businesses” that he works with regularly. It’s certainly put a strain on his music life, but Martin is showing that grass-roots business models can survive even when the dirt is shaken out from under them.

When the basis of your livelihood is a simple, undying passion for music – “first and foremost, I am a fan” – you’ll do anything to keep afloat. Everything Martin does now is in anticipation of a brighter future, one which he is confident will arrive eventually, even if he can’t be certain what form it will take.

In the meantime, check out CorpoRat’s six bands on the website corporatrecords.com, from which you can access digital and physical copies of the music as well as the merch right out of Martin’s print shop.

Julien A. Luebbers can be reached at julienluebbers@gmail.com.