Taking a Chance on Greyson: Blind Item of the Week
Justin Bieber 2.0?
Which major-label A&R player caused quite a stir in the Greyson Chance camp after making an 11th-hour trip to Oklahoma, tracking down the YouTube “sensation” in hopes of signing the 12-year old before Interscope Records closed it down?
Meanwhile, label folks are questioning the timeline of the viral video and recent publicity blitz that supposedly resulted in Chance getting a record deal. Some A&R folks share that the kid was already signed prior to his television appearance on Ellen, and the whole thing was rigged, while other label execs shared…real or not, with so many eyes on the young singer, if it was staged, the move was genius!
02.11.10It’s Been Said…
DIY Currency: Solid Gold
SXSW is 6 weeks away and if you’re starting your ‘must-see’ list, be sure to add Minneapolis’ Solid Gold. The indie-electro trio has been building one of the more impressive DIY stories of late. They’ve sold close to 10,000 albums, received press nods in Billboard, NME, Pitchfork and Filter among others and their new video is premiering on MTV2 and mtvU this month. We hear labels are circling in on this one with some offers already in. The band has two upcoming hometown shows if you want to beat the SXSW rush.
Labels and pubcos are taking notice of Oren Lavie, as the buzz continues to build around the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter. Lavie, who has now garnered over 10.5 million views of his “Her Morning Elegance” video on YouTube, played a string of recent dates at the Hotel Cafe that brought out majors and indie A&R folks (with no record or pub deal in place, and an a new album’s worth of material, it’s no surprise). Attorney Ben Laski is handling legal duties…
The story keeps building on Matthew Mayfield. His new EP Breathe Out in Black was sitting at #1 on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart this morning, just two days after being independently released. In fact the entire EP was recorded, mixed, mastered and up for sale digitally in the span of a week. Check out www.matthewmayfield.com for more… Keep an eye on L.A. locals The Sequel. The band has been popping up on label radars of late and has more than a few showcases already on the horizon. EMI Music Pub players Dan MacCarroll and Declan Morrell snapped up the band early for publishing. Get on it…
Young gun Ben Adelson settles in at a new A&R gig at Epic Records. Adelson was previously at Universal Republic and brought in Flobots and Owl City. He also co-manages recent Roadrunner signing Young the Giant (formerly The Jakes)… Meanwhile, we hear there is an established big-rock act who is currently a free-agent and is being courted by multiple labels on both coasts. Inquiring minds want to know? Here’s a hint, they didn’t play the Super Bowl Halftime Show…
IN THE MIX: K Sera, Moonlight Bride and Tyrone Wells…
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The Brits Are Taking Over
With today’s announcement from Vivendi on the appointment of Lucian Grainge as Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group, expect the rumor mill to pump up the volume on what changes we can expect to happen within the UMG labels in the coming months. But before we delve into conjecture on the UMG side, it’s significant to point out the number of British executives running US major labels. Outside of Warner Music Group, the remaining three major label groups are run by Brits. The UK presence is quite prominent at the Rob Stringer-run Sony Music, particularly with the addition of Amanda Ghost at Epic, the recent addition of Ashley Newton at the Steve Barnett-helmed Columbia Records. And the Terra Firma-owned EMI Music Group maintains its US operations under Nick Gatfield, who served under Grainge during his stint as President of Island Records UK prior to his EMI post. Aside from Ghost, the aforementioned execs have solid working experience in US music companies. Barnett has been in the Sony US system for years, Newton’s previous post at RCA and his tenure co-running Virgin Records US makes him a very well-respected US exec, while Gatfield ran Polydor Records in the states during the ‘90s.
Back to UMG, Grainge will assume his new post on Jan. 1, 2011, succeeding current UMG CEO Doug Morris. Rumors of Grainge assuming Morris’ position have been swirling for months. Grainge is scheduled to relocate to NY in July as part of the transition. Industry insiders share that Universal Republic head Monte Lipman and brother Avery will have an expanded role at the music group, as well as Mercury Records head David Massey. It leaves to question the future roles of Island Def Jam ruler LA Reid and Universal Motown head Sylvia Rhone, who was a longtime Doug Morris protégé. And it’s fair to expect no major changes to happen at Jimmy Iovine’s Interscope label. Stay tuned…
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Endless Summer…
The Drums have labels & pubco's marching to their beat
Monday night at Spaceland was like a good ole’ label brew-ha of days past, with A&R posses from around the league filling the room to catch The Drums (those keeping score may remember a couple of the members from former incarnation Elkland, who was signed to Columbia). Those marching to the Brooklyn-via-Florida band’s jangly surf-pop beat included barneys from all major music groups, with a particularly large showing from the bunny… Pubco’s are in the chase as well with Warner/Chappell making a strong play, but word is Sony/ATV may drop-in on the deal at any moment. Just remember, leashes are for pansies…
Elsewhere, some insiders are wondering what the future holds for Shangri-La Music, as the boutique label has been quietly handing back masters to some of its artists. Word on the street is that it will come down to founder Steve Bing’s decision whether or not to continue funding the music component of his larger Shangri-La business group. Recent coups for the label include the release of the highly anticipated Monsters of Folk debut album and a building story for new UK artist Band of Skulls. Stay tuned…
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Musical Chairs
Columbia Wins
As reports come in, well-respected A&R veteran Ashley Newton will be staying in the Sony Music family, transitioning from RCA to Columbia Records. We were alluding to Newton in our Aug. 20th post: “Which Head of A&R is making a jump to another label? Is the move to replace a soon-to-be exiting creative head? Inquiring minds want to know…” As Sony Music ruler Rob Stringer and Columbia Records head Steve Barnett were orchestrating Newton’s transition, Warner Bros. Records was indeed courting Newton in the last minute and insiders share that the bunny was offering a 7-figure annual salary to the seasoned exec. With a new A&R player in the Columbia fold, how does this affect Rick Rubin’s role at the company? Meanwhile, what’s going on at the Amanda Ghost-helmed Epic Records?…
In The Mix: Steve Moir, Freelance Whales, Pete Giberga and Kevin Day…
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Bands, booze, industry schmoozing and other things that happened that stays in Vegas…
VMS 2010 will feature Pedro the singing monkey...
The Vegas Music Summit 2009 is in the books. We’d like to thank all the industry folks who attended and all the artists who performed. It was a fun and wild ride in Downtown LV. Big thanks to event sponsors: Miller Lite, Smash Magazine, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and our host hotel the El Cortez Casino and Cabana Suites. The conference’s formula of mixing headlining acts with local Las Vegas talent and a select group of artists from out of town allowed for LV music fans to see new talent and for artists with no LV following playing to a packed house of music fans. For those who didn’t attend, here’s a list of the selected acts on the bill: Imagine Dragons, One Pin Short, Links, Saint Motel, Love It or Leave It, the Study Band, Air Raid Anthem and Cursive. We hear some of the acts above have already been getting calls from industry folks as well as invites to play SXSW. Meanwhile, planning for VMS 2010 is in the works for September next year. Hope to see you again in Sin City next year…
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Vegas Music Summit Artist Schedule
One Day Away...
VMS starts tomorrow! Below are the set times for the artists who will be performing at the Beauty Bar. We’ve handpicked the best emerging acts in Las Vegas for the Wednesday line-up, and the Thursday night acts have been selected by A&R Knights. If you’re attending we look forward to hanging and drinking with you. Comp drinks are provided for badge holders at both the Beauty Bar and Griffin each night, courtesy of event sponsors ASCAP, SESAC and BMI… Viva Lost Wages!
WEDNESDAY, SEPT 23, 2009
8:45pm – 9:15pm – Air Raid Anthem
9:30pm – 10:00pm – Love It Or Leave It
10:15pm – 10:45pm - One Pin Short
10:00pm – 11:00pm – The Study Band ** Smash Magazine presents @ The Griffin
11:00pm – 11:30pm - Imagine Dragons
THURSDAY, SEPT 24, 2009
9:00pm – 9:30pm – Saint Motel
9:45pm – 10:15pm – Links
10:30pm – 11:30pm – Cursive
Las Vegas is the only place I know where money really talks–it says, “Goodbye.” — FRANK SINATRA
Well, Frank. We’ll soon walk the walk and talk the talk as we’re less than 2 weeks away from the Vegas Music Summit. The event happens Sept 23-24, 2009 and will feature 2 nights of showcases and 1 day of panels. RM 64 is offering complimentary industry badges and the daytime panels are FREE and open to the public. Did we mention…FREE!!! Our host hotel, the El Cortez has informed us that the VMS reserved rooms are sold out! But there are still some rooms available at the Fremont Hotel and the Golden Nugget. VMS sponsors include: SESAC, Miller Lite, BMI, Smash Magazine, A&R Knights, Hell Ya! and ASCAP. For more info, log on to: www.VegasMusicSummit.com. In the meantime, here’s a brief list of confirmed speakers:
Sara Berkowitz / Viper Room (Hollywood)
Joe Fleischer / BigChampagne
Jeff Sosnow / Interscope Records
Matt Messer / EMI Music Publishing
Jennifer Knoepfle / Sony-ATV Music
Mark Weinberg / Producer (O.A.R, Matt Nathanson)
Josh Feingold / SESAC
Tom DeSavia / Notable Music
Eric German / Mitchell, Silbbererg & Knupp
Jason Reynolds / Myspace Records
Josh Briggs / ASCAP
Jennie Smythe / Girlilla Marketing
Adrian Amadeo / Geffen Records
Eddie Meehan / GroundCtrl
Jon Nelson / Band Bitch
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We Don’t Need No 9/9/09: Wolfmother’s New Pubco, Kids of 88, Rumble L.A. & More…
Rumble L.A. Tonight @ 3 of Clubs
In our last update on the Wolfmother pub derby, we reported that the field had seemingly narrowed to two majors (Universal Music Publishing and Sony/ATV) and that the numbers were ratcheting up. However, in classic bidding derby form, one contender leaves the race only to be replaced by a dark horse who most had counted out. As Sony /ATV exited the derby, Cherry Lane Music appears to have made a last minute play with a huge offer topping all others on the table. But it didn’t end there, not to be outdone UMPG pulled out all the stops putting up an even bigger number and switching lead executives on the deal to keep this one in the family. Wolfmother’s new album Cosmic Egg will be released in the U.S. on October 13th via Interscope Records.
Speaking of Interscope, the label that brought you Beats by Dr. Dre headphones (available here) is in search of a singer to front a new Americana/Country/Rock & Pop band. Auditions are being held in Nashville on October 6th, for more info head to: http://interscopeaudition.wordpress.com
Kiwi duo Kids of 88 are causing quite a stir with their 80’s influenced electro-pop, as labels here in the states and in the UK have the band making the long flight over. Their song “My House” was featured in a recent promotion for New Zealand’s C4 television network, which quickly propelled the song up the country’s Top 40 singles chart. Stay tuned…
Finally, join us tonight (9/10) for the Rumble L.A. party at 3 of Clubs. Tonight’s show is a big one featuring The Library, United States of Electronica and The Dance Party, who incidentally we hear will become the first signing to the new Hell Ya! Records imprint through Elektra/Atlantic. Congrats to everyone involved (you know who you are)…
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Pink Dollaz & Random Impulse @ Viper Room 9/10
There are already a lot of reasons you would know about Pink Dollaz, including a recent sold-out show at the Key Club, over two-million plays on their MySpace, an L.A. Weekly cover story about the Jerkin’ movement featuring the Dollaz, but just in case, now you have one more… Next Thursday September 10th Pink Dollaz will be playing a FREE show at the Viper Room.
Also playing that night will be Random Impulse. The 22-year old from London has already made a name for himself in the UK with his early mixtapes that helped rejuvenate the hip-hop scene and even caught the attention of BBC Radio and KISS 100 FM. This will be only his 2nd performance in the states. Check it out: www.myspace.com/randomimpulse1
Email for RSVP to: ASCAPunicorn@gmail.com
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