Apparently it's not enough to be a musician these days, you have to have your own record label too. Among the latest stars to set up their own labels are Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgins, and the strangest one of all, Guy Ritchie.

Madonna's ex-hubbie and Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie is moving into the music industry by starting up a label called Punchbowl Recordings. The label is a subsidiary of Universal Records and takes its name from Ritchie's first signing – his local pub band The Punchbowl Band. The Punchbowl Band feature on the soundtrack to Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, alongside the Oscar winning composer Hans Zimmer, who's responsible for music for Pirates of the Caribbean and The Dark Knight, among many others. Ritchie told The Sun "It's exciting to venture into the music industry. It's a tough place but I've seen this band connect with people. They have every chance of being embraced by a wider audience."

Amidst the recording of his new 44 free track project, Teargarden By Kaleidoscope, and a supposed collaboration with rumoured new girlfriend Jessica Simpson, busy Billy Corgan has found time to set up a new record label by Pumpkins producer Kerry "Studio Dog" Brown. Brown announced plans to release albums byLA hardcore punk rockers The Germs, as well less well known bands Fancy Space People, The Electric Prunes, The Strawberry Alarm Clock (a San Fran psychedelia band, not the FM104 breakfast show, obviously), YoHoWha 13, and Starchildren within the next year.

Before news of new material from his Monsters of Folk sideproject with Conor Oberst, M.Ward and Mike Mogus turned out to be fake, My Morning Jacket's Jim James was already announcing plans for a new record label with his cousin and former MMJ guitarist Johnny Quaid. The digital only label will be called Removador Recording and Solutions and has plans to release Nashville singer Cortney Tidwell's second album 'Boys' as well as 'Slight Spell', the debut album by Quaid's new band, The Ravenna Colt.

Finally, Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson has set up a label called Chewing Gum with his girlfriend. The label has already signed Hull band The Neat, and Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson is said to be designing a logo for the label with the skills he picked up when he worked as an art teacher.