Place Your Bets: The Shuffling Artist Deck at Majors and Indies
Weezer Going To An Indie For Next Release?
Who’s signing where, and what does it mean? Indie acts going to majors, major label artists aligning with indies, and both systems vying to nab the same unsigned bands… Looking back at recent months there is a veritable mixed bag. There are artists with a history of at least a few successful indie releases under their belts, like Band of Horses and Iron & Wine, who have recently made the jump to major labels, Columbia and Warner Bros. respectively, while other acts like Spoon and Arcade Fire seem to continually be content on indies… Elsewhere new act Surfer Blood appears to have already made the move to a major; just 6-months following the Kanine Records release of the band’s debut album, the group had racked up enough sales and touring numbers to garner serious interest from multiple labels… This while unsigned acts with no real sales or tour history like GroupLove and DOM, are currently being courted by both major labels and indies, seemingly so as to not miss out on what could be… What about the reverse trend? Not counting heritage acts, or the exhaustingly-debated pay-what-you-want path taken by Radiohead and NIN among others, one could point to recent examples in Interpol and Wilco as once major label artists now leaving for an indie (their own new label in the case of Wilco). But will there be more to come (or go, as it is)? Word on the street is that longtime Universal artist, Weezer, who released all seven of their previous studio albums on DGC and Geffen, are making a move to a big indie label for their next album. Hmmm… And finally where do the two now meet? A new project to watch unfold will be The Secret Sisters, who recently finished recording their debut with producers Dave Cobb and T-Bone Burnett. A large buzz is building with the news that the first single from the duo will be released via the Jack White helmed Third Man Records, with the full-length already slated to come out on Universal Republic this fall… Stay Tuned.
07.29.10More Google Music Clues Surface
More clues are surfacing as to what form the impending Google Music service will take, as Epicenter reports that in addition to a paid on-demand streaming service, there will also be a free option similar in style to Pandora. The free option would include audio advertisements intermixed with streaming music, and it may be available via YouTube as well. This is the latest in a string of information about the new music initiative from Google that has come to light in the last week. Here’s a recap of what is known so far… Last week TechCrunch reports that Google has hired former Davis Shapiro Lewit & Hayes attorney Elizabeth Moody to assist in its industry negotiations… The following day Moody’s hiring is confirmed in a Billboard Q&A… And on Monday the New York Post reported that Google is in the midst of accelerated talks with the Harry Fox Agency. Stay tuned…
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Radio Missing Out on Billions Due to Arbitron Estimates?
Check out an interesting piece on Harker Research’s Radio InSights blog this week that compares radio measurement numbers in top markets from Arbitron PPM against a recent summary of similar markets by Nielson. Read the full-piece to get the scope of the proposed discrepancy, but essentially by using the Arbitron PPM system, which admittedly creates lower estimates, radio could be potentially missing out on billions from media buyers who are cautious of the 70 = 100 formula that Arbitron has been pitching…
07.27.10It’s All About the Data, Baby…
Data was the topic de jour in much of the industry dialogue last week with the launch of The Ultimate Chart from BigChampagne. The chart is a new weekly list of top songs and artists based on more traditional metrics like sales and broadcast, along with newer online stats like watching, listening and fans, friends and followers on social networks. While BC is at the forefront, and has been, for online metrics, others are hard at work to capitalize on the growing importance of online data too… Check out a missive from Ethan Kaplan, who heads the Emerging Technology group within WEA, on the importance of data in building a better fan experience. And elsewhere CBS owned Last.fm continues to grow, generating a reported 30-40 million pieces of listening data every day, which it plans to integrate into the CBS network of radio, tv and online properties…
Publishers Weigh In on 360 Deals at AIMP Confab
Some interesting commentary regarding 360 deals coming from publishers on a panel at the recent Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) luncheon held at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. Panelists revealed that more and more the deals they make hinge on an artist bringing them all of their rights, often so that so-called “sister” labels can have the option to up stream the artist. What about publishers signing artists who’ve already done a deal with a major record label? More and more those deals look less attractive to publishers, with comments even indicating a deciding factor may be renegotiations to include the publisher in multiple rights. This also points to why writer-producers continue to be an attractive prospect to publishers, as Warner Chappell SVP Greg Sowders, aka The A-Team’s “Hannibal,” commented, “A home run for us is signing a writer who is a producer and has direct access to artists. The self contained singer/songwriter is still possible but difficult.” But does that speak to what should be a larger concern for major labels and publishers, as they sign and develop fewer and fewer self-contained artists, increasingly in any genre not just pop, only to rely on a shrinking stable of “hit-making” outside writers? More quotes and commentary on the AIMP panel HERE…
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File Under: Stuff We like
Mercury Prize Nominee Villagers Play Hotel Cafe Tuesday Night
Mon. July 26th - Funeral Party @ Viper Room (view) (listen)
Tues. July 27th - Villagers @ Hotel Cafe (view) (listen)
Wed. July 28th – AWOLNATION @ Boardners (view) (listen)
Thurs. July 29th – Beach Fossils @ Troubadour (view) (listen)
Fri. July 30th - The Answering Machine @ The Echo (view) (listen)
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Thursday Bits & Pieces: New Music Seminar, Google’s New Legal Gun & More…
BigChampagne's New Ultimate Chart Tracks Popularity Across Many Platforms
The New Music Seminar (NYC) wrapped up yesterday after featuring a number of speakers and presenters including Tom Silverman (NMS Co-Founder), Eric Garland (BigChampagne), Corrie Christopher (Agent, VP APA), Ariel Hyatt (Ariel Publicity & Cyper PR) and Peter Kafka (All Things Digital) among many others. There was a wide range of topics discussed, all focused on the future of the business, including media, touring and breaking through. BigChampange’s new Ultimate Chart, which measures artist and song popularity using a number of metrics including the three F’s (fan/friends/followers), also created a lot of discussion following its unveiling by Eric Garland during the conference’s State of the Internet Address… Google has hired veteran music attorney Elizabeth Moody, formerly of Davis Shapiro Lewit & Hayes, presumably to help them through the label terrain as they move closer to launching their much-discussed new music service likely to be known as Google Music… July 31st will see a first-of-its-kind star studded event in India for the release of the audio to the new film Endhiran, composed by Oscar winner AR Rahman who became a household name in the West after winning Best Original Score for Slumdog Millionaire. South African label Think Music has acquired the rights to Endhiran’s audio, beating out a number of larger labels who were rumored to be vying for the rights… Elsewhere, Atlantic Records has signed Christina Perri, the overnight sensation who performed her song “Jar of Hearts” on So You Think You Can Dance recently. Perri is also the younger sister of former Shinedown lead guitarist Nick Perri… Linkin Park has teamed up with MySpace Music, Indaba Music and TopSpin Media for a new online fan collaboration contest… And Forbes discusses music in the cloud with Thumbplay Music chief exec Evan Schwartz…
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Indie Dispatches: See Here, Now Do This!
Ten activities to make this week a fun one…
1. Head to the Urban Outfitters website to get a sneak preview of the debut album Crazy for You from Best Coast, before the official release date on July 27.
2. Contemplate booking a last minute trip to New York to see the final live performance by blissed-out rockers Spiritualized of their classic record Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space on July 30 at Radio City Music Hall. If you cant afford the price of a summer air ticket, plan B may be to search out the vinyl reissue of the album, recently released by SF’s Plain Recordings.
3. Head to the LA show by Phosphorescent at the Troubadour, Tuesday July 27. The latest album, Here’s to Taking it Easy from the NY group seems to be a tastemaker favorite. The band have had a rollercoaster time recently, having their van and gear stolen recently in Brooklyn on the eve of a national tour, before (thankfully) getting it recovered by the police a week later.
4. Buy Admiral Radley’s album I Heart California. AdRad are, of course, the veritable indie rock supergroup featuring Jason Lytle and Aaron Burch of Grandaddy, paired with Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart.
5. Pre-order your copy of Mines, the fourth full-length from much beloved Portland combo Menomena (due out on Barsuk Records July 27… a busy day for indie rock it seems!) Listen to it here
6. Watch the trailer for Upside Down, the forthcoming documentary on Creation Records – quite possibly Britain’s greatest independent label. The film is scheduled for release in the UK in September.
7. Check out the latest in the ever growing list in the 33 1/3 series. If you haven’t yet discovered these wonderful music books, each tome is a marvelous and individual treatise on a classic album – everything from the Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique to Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. Just try to stop at reading only one…
8. Early evening on July 27? Plan a visit to the Hotel Cafe in LA at 8pm as Ireland’s Villagers finally hit the west coast.
9. If you happen to be in Kansas City (or Leawood, KS to be exact) – head to the Apple Store on Thursday July 22 for the free instore by locals The Belles, supporting their S-Curve album Time Flies When You’re Losing Your Mind.
10. Fire up an iTunes pass for the 4th season of Mad Men, which premieres Sunday July 25. Well, it can’t all be about music can it?
-Cool Hand Luke
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Trent cruising with a new bicycle
New reissue of NIN breakthrough debut
On a recent hang with Bicycle Music player Jake Wisely, the seasoned publishing exec shared with us that the indie publishing house is currently working with Trent Renzor on a reissue of theNine Inch Nails debut album Pretty Hate Machine, which will include new mixes, bonus content and new artwork. The reissue is slated for release in late 2010. Bicycle acquired the TGH Music catalog earlier this year, which was originally built by TVT Music. It contains the catalogs of Nine Inch Nails, the Connells, Gravity Kills and several other seminal 90’s alternative rock bands. In addition, the acquisition included the master recording rights to Pretty Hate Machine, which is rare for a pub catalog purchase. For the NIN fans out there, you may recall that Pretty Hate Machine was out of print from around 1997 to 2005 due to a falling out between Renzor and TVT Music. The deal also includes co-publishing rights to Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails catalog, which consist of songs from all album releases from Pretty Hate Machine through Year Zero. Meanwhile, Bicycle recently acquired a substantial interest in the Roy Ayers music catalog, consisting of Ayers’ soulful jazz works that spans five decades, and is also one of the most sampled, used in significant hip-hop works by artists such as Tribe Called Quest, 50 Cent and Erykah Badu, among others. Looks like the major pubcos have some serious competition in play…
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Apple’s Antennagate & Live Nation’s Slideshow
Become an Arena Act in the time it will take to get your free iPhone 4 Case
Lots of chatter continued over the weekend on the heels of two high profile presentations last week… Steve Jobs addressed the infamous antenna on Apple’s new iPhone 4 with a range of figures and explanations, including a comparison of other popular smartphones that were shown to be equally or more deficient in the same area that is raising huge concerns over the new iPhone. The other phones mentioned included the Blackberry Bold, made by Research in Motion, who following the presentation issued a statement declaring, ”Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation.”… Elsewhere Live Nation is facing increased derision, adding to an already highly publicized poor summer concert climate, after last week’s investor presentation from Michael Rapino and Irving Azoff. The presentation included one slide in particular that is getting a lot of industry attention for its illustration of the company’s “new model,” which has an artist’s trajectory going from relative anonymity to arena sell-out in just 3 months…
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