Out on the Street: A&R round up – new signings, who’s buzzing & more…
New Warner Bros. Records signing Kimbra
Following on from Wednesday’s info about Gotye, it looks like Universal-Republic have also been busy elsewhere with their checkbook. There is whispering that the label is in line to scoop LA’s Youngblood Hawke out of the free agent pool, with Rob Stevenson once again the A&R rep in the chase. And the label’s interest in new Australian acts may stretch beyond just Gotye to include fellow-countrymen Boy & Bear. Word has it that the deal is done, with a US release for the Sydneysiders’ album – yet another slab of post-Local Natives/Fleet Foxes layered harmonies – Moonfire upcoming.
In related news, it seems like Andy Olyphant and Warner Bros. Records may have inadvertently stumbled onto a gold nugget with their signing of Kimbra earlier this year. They did beat out some other labels to sign the New Zealand-born pop artist, but there is no disguising the complete lack of Stateside profile for her at the time. That of course has changed with Kimbra’s appearance on the Goyte “Somebody That I Used to Know” single, giving her at least wider name recognition. Just goes to show that A&R is luck, some times more than talent… Meanwhile, Rob Cavallo has signed L.A. singer and songwriter LP, who was most recently working with producer RedOne prior to be signed by the WBR chairman.
And last week came word that popular New Jersey act Gaslight Anthem left the indie world and their home at SideOneDummy for Mercury Records. The move prompted much head scratching in many quarters, especially in light of the burgeoning dominance of the independent scene in the 2011 marketplace. The choice by the band flies in the face of general wisdom amongst canny managers and lawyers, as more artists of Gaslight’s stature (such as Wilco?) are actually fleeing the major system. With many independent labels achieving sales and chart debuts of the scale previously only reached by the Big Four, on terms much more equitable for the artists, and without the plenitude of multi-rights demands of the larger companies, the decision is somewhat baffling.
Label interest in Hanni El Khatib is now possibly spanning the Atlantic, with folk from both XL and Wichita spotted at the LA act’s recent hometown show at the El Rey. Both companies would make sense as a possible home, with XL of course flush with money from the success of Adele, and as the long time home for the White Stripes outside North America, while Wichita has spent the last year signing some of the best new US bands, including Best Coast and WILD FLAG… Meanwhile, XL-affiliated label Abeano (run by the the UK A&R rep instrumental in signing Vampire Weekend) has licensed much blogged about Danish punk/hardcore act Iceage, recently re-releasing the band’s debut album New Brigade… On the indie front, Beggars Group’s Rough Trade label quietly signed Howler during the summer, scooping them up when many other labels were still snoozing… Sacramento’s Sea of Bees – the nom de plume of Julie Ann Bee – an NPR favorite, highly rated in Europe with their releases via Heavenly and popular in the film & television licensing world, are on the lookout for a new US home… San Diego act The Drowning Men have signed with Borstal Beat Records, the new label started by Flogging Molly, and the Paradigm Agency has signed on with the band as well… And it may be early days, but one act that seems to be starting to draw the interest in the biz, especially in the indie world, with their prodigious talents, are newcomers Alabama Shakes… Elsewhere, Minus the Bear are once again rumored to be looking for a new record deal, after a brief one album stint on LA’s Dangerbird label.
11.17.10Wednesday Bits & Pieces: eMusic Loses Big Indies, Warner Re-Ups with Spotify & UMG Looking to Get Lean
Indies On the Way Out
Last month digital music retailer eMusic announced that they would be adding a quarter-million more songs to its service in a new partnership with Universal Music Group, this following previous deals with Warner Music and Sony over the last year, a move which had some questioning whether the service was getting away from its ‘independent’ roots. While too early to tell the larger effects the new major label partnerships will have on customers, some big indie labels have decided they will no longer make their music available, including Domino Records, Merge and the Beggars Group of labels, which includes 4AD and Matador among others. No small exit, as those handful of labels are home to some of the most popular current and past independent acts including Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Bon Iver and many many others. A statement from Beggars Group made it clear that the split, at least for them, is directly in response to the arrival of the major labels to the service and new terms that they “have found impossible to accept, in our own interests, those of our artists, and ultimately those of their fans”… In the latest Warner Music earnings call, it was revealed that the company has renewed their existing deal with Spotify, which currently covers European markets. And while no update on a agreement covering the U.S., many still suspect that deals with multiple majors for the startup to launch its service in America are in motion. In reference to the continued gap between physical and digital music sales, CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. made it clear that he (and presumably all the labels) are hopeful for digital increases with the launch of Google’s impending music service among others, like Spotify?… More talk of looming cutbacks at UMG persist after the CFO of parent company Vivendi made recent ominous comments about cost saving needs, including “A lot of fat can be taken out without hurting muscle and bones” – onlookers continue to keep an eye on Island Def Jam as one of Lucian Grainge’s prime targets for restructuring… Elsewhere, Amazon.com is getting into the movie business by launching Amazon Studios… Check Your Pulse songwriter Bonnie McKee talks to Billboard about launching her own recording project after a string of credits on some of 2010’s biggest songs… And inquiring minds want to know, which former major label head has been spotted moonlighting on lead guitar in a Neil Young cover band?
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
One Million + Sold
The clock is ticking for Terra Firma to come up with enough funds to keep control of EMI – recent reports indicate Guy Hands has rallied some of the investment firms’ largest backers in an effort to raise the minimum needed by the fast approaching deadline… Apple announced at the start of the week that they have already sold one-million iPads, that’s less than half the time it took to sell the same amount of iPhones… Elsewhere, Warner Music Group reported a 15% rise in digital revenue in its most recent quarter… Tunecore delivered stats from 2009 that included a total of $35-million in download and streaming income for artists… And The Register takes an interesting look at Beggars Group in an interview with indie label-group head Martin Mills…
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Indie Dispatches: Many Questions, Few Answers… A Look at Growing Indie Label Rosters
Dangerbird Records Signs Milwaukee's Maritime
Last week Dangerbird Records announced another new signing, adding Milwaukee’s Maritime (featuring ex-members of The Promise Ring) to their growing roster. This follows the L.A. label’s recent inking of locals Fitz and the Tantrums in late April, and a slew of other high profile acts (Minus the Bear, Delphic, Hot Hot Heat) earlier this year. Sub Pop has also been on a signing spree of late, inking deals with Jaill, Coco Rosie, Papercuts and others so far in 2010. Looking at the Seattle label’s upcoming line-up of releases, it numbers at least two or three (often high profile) album releases per month; June alone has forthcoming records from Blitzen Trapper, Foals and Wolf Parade. This begs the question for some, if an independent label has an overflowing release slate, can they still guarantee the attention to detail that is expected?
Traditionally one of the main upsides to signing with an independent label is that they are able to dedicate the time and manpower to individual projects, concentrating on marketing an artist in the long term; a strategy opposite of the storied one and done scenario that is all too familiar on major labels. So is there such a thing as too many artists for an indie label?
Over at the Beggars Group – which is now comprised of 4AD, XL, Matador, True Panther, Rough Trade and more – the volume of releases is even more pronounced, releasing at times five albums per month. Their forthcoming schedule shows new records from The National, New Pornographers, Holy Fuck, Ariel Pink, Ratatat, Karen Elson and more… Is it despite, or because of this non-stop stream of releases that business at the Beggars Group is solid? According to Beggars head Martin Mills in a piece this week in The Register, the indie label group invests in 20 new acts a year, sees digital revenues around 50% of total and they’re moving albums, not just tracks. It seems their recipe includes serving many niches, not just a few or one, as past indie labels have… For now many are surely watching to see if recent independent records like Minus the Bear’s Omni and the Titus Andronicus Civil War opus The Monitor will meet their hefty sales potential. Only time will tell…
- Cool Hand Luke
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