Whales Records

Whales Records is an independent French record label founded by Julien Marchal and based in Bordeaux. The label describes itself as "built by artists, for artists," a philosophy that grew out of Marchal's own experience as a musician navigating an industry he found complicated and opaque. Rather than accepting the status quo, he set out to create a label that keeps what works, learns from what does not, and puts transparency, fairness and trust at the centre of its relationships with artists. The label's musical focus is neo-classical, ambient and electronic music. Its public identity is closely tied to its founder's dual role as director and artist, and its communications emphasise artist empowerment and fair dealing. The team includes founder Julien Marchal, label manager Léa Hardouin-Finez and graphic designer Enoa Izac. Whales Records operates as a private, independent entity headquartered in Bordeaux, France, and presents itself to an international audience through its website. It is a small, artist-led label rather than a major or subsidiary imprint, and its roster and releases centre on the genres named in its own positioning.

Whales Records was born from Julien Marchal's journey through the music industry. According to the label's own account, that path was filled with encounters, opportunities and tough lessons: he met the right people, experienced both inspiring moments and frustrating setbacks, and saw firsthand how complicated and obscure the industry can be for artists. Instead of holding on to the negative, Marchal chose to build something different — a label that keeps the good, learns from the rest, and turns those lessons into a space where artists can truly thrive, with transparency, fairness and trust at its core. The label is based in Bordeaux, France, and is described as a French independent record label founded by Julien Marchal. Its public identity is closely tied to its founder's dual role as director and artist; the homepage carries the statement "Built by artists, for artists" and a quotation from Marchal asking whether one day it might be the artist who has the power, recalling his own start with no contacts and no instruction manual. The label's musical focus is neo-classical, ambient and electronic music. The team behind the label includes founder Julien Marchal, label manager Léa Hardouin-Finez and graphic designer Enoa Izac. Whales Records operates as a private, independent entity and presents itself to an international audience through its website.

• Whales Records is founded by Julien Marchal as a French independent record label based in Bordeaux.

• The label publishes its "built by artists, for artists" positioning and artist-first philosophy on its website.

Independent, artist-first label built by artists for artists, with transparency, fairness and trust at its core.

• Neo-classical music releases

• Ambient music releases

• Electronic music releases

1. 1Whales Records — Independent Record Label | Neo-Classical, Ambient & Electronic Musicwhalesrecords.com
2. 2About Whales Records — Independent Label Founded by Artists, for Artistswhalesrecords.com
3. 3Whales Records — Wikidatawikidata.org