Friend Request Accepted: David Andreone to Head MySpace Records
Photo Taken Off Facebook; Sorry David
David Andreone has been appointed the new head of MySpace Records, reporting to MySpace Music’s Courtney Holt (President) and Sam Wick (SVP Music). Andreone was formerly an A&R executive at Columbia Records and Warner Chappell Publishing - where his signings included Disturbed, Michelle Branch and Hoobastank… Those keeping score will remember the exit of nearly the entire MSR staff earlier this year, leaving many to wonder what the future would hold for the label. Stay tuned for more clues…
06.29.10Indie Dispatches: The Unstoppable Local Natives & The Shins New Album
Local Natives Building Momentum with Non-Stop Touring
One look at Local Natives upcoming tour schedule should leave little doubt that the LA five-piece are one the hardest working young bands out there. The group has always been a touring machine, but the list of forthcoming shows for the remainder of 2010 would make even a seasoned road warrior gasp in admiration. And showing that rewards are there for those who work, all their time on the road seems to be paying dividends. It was barely 15 months ago that Local Natives were playing SXSW for the first time, getting a Local who? response and a collective shrug of the shoulders from record labels; few suitors stepped-up with an offer to sign the band before they ultimately inked a deal with NY indie label French Kiss. Since then the group has become a global presence and have built a fan base the old-fashioned way, by touring, touring, touring. This summer sees them playing a host of A-list festivals worldwide – Oya, Glastonbury, Pitchfork, Reading, Leeds, Roskilde, Summer Sundae and Fuji Rock in Japan to name a few. This is all before setting off on North American dates that stretch from September 17th to October 28th. The opening show of the tour at the Henry Fonda Theater in their hometown sold-out in a matter of hours, requiring the addition of a second date (the sell-out nights also seem to have brought some bigger labels sniffing around). Whether or not the sales of their album Gorilla Manor are commensurate with their live business, there’s no disputing that Local Natives are rapidly turning into the indie rock version of The Little Engine That Could.
In an interview for Pitchfork last week, James Mercer announced his next project will be a fourth album from his main combo, The Shins. Since the band have fulfilled their initial Sub Pop record deal, the two million dollar question is, which label is in line to release the album? Will it be the Seattle indie in some new-model arrangement? Or will Mercer follow the path of former label-mates Band of Horses and bring The Shins to Columbia Records – also the current home for his Broken Bells project with Dangermouse? There’s always the possibility of another label stepping up with an offer too good to turn down, but Mercer & co. are also in a position to go it alone and turn their backs on the traditional label system. With the three prior Shins releases selling in massive quantities (both Oh Inverted World and Wincing the Night Away received gold certifications) and Mercer currently riding high with Broken Bells, to say the album is highly anticipated is an understatement.
-Cool Hand Luke
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In Case You Missed It: Who’s In & Who’s Out Edition
MySpace Co-Prez Jason Hirschhorn (L) leaves; Mike Jones (R) Remains
With an announcement out of London this morning, Roger Faxon is in as the new group chief executive for EMI, moving from his previous position as chairman and chief executive of EMI Music Publishing. Recently appointed non-executive chairman of the group’s recorded music division, Charles Allen, will now become an advisor to EMI and Terra Firma… MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn is out as shared head of the troubled social network, leaving Mike Jones to remove the “co” from his title… News yesterday revealed that veteran A&R executive Mark Williams is in as the new Sr. VP of A&R at Columbia Records. William’s most recently worked on M.I.A.’s new album for Interscope Records… Limewire is in for more trouble as members of the National Music Publisher’s Association including EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner/Chappell filed a copyright complaint in federal court against the file-sharing service this week… And free concerts are out in NYC, as the city cracks down after the recent Drake concert fiasco…
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And the Livin’ is Easy, Fish Are Jumpin’: Our Pre-Summer Industry Roundup
Columbia Records Hoping for Pumped Up Hit from Foster the People
Summer is around the corner and things are heating up all around the industry with bidding-derbies, swelling festival line-ups and a new batch of summer-infused singles dropping… The buzz surrounding the Monotone Inc-managed Foster the People turned into a good old fashion label bidding-derby recently. Their song “Pumped Up Kicks” is being touted as the next potential summertime hit. With lots of label suitors coming to the table, it looks like congratulations are in order for Columbia Records, who has apparently closed the band… On the management front a different kind of derby is winding up, as managers are vying to land The All American Rejects. The band recently parted ways with their former management, but kept their longtime day-to-day man Nick “Fish” Fishbaugh. We heard Fishbaugh has been meeting with numerous management companies for a new management home for him and the band. We hear the short-list is down to only a few. Stay tuned… The grass is only getting greener over at the Josh Abraham-helmed Pulse Recording, where Jason Bernard and the manager/publisher coterie has had producer Luke Walker working on material with new Universal/Motown signing Christian TV, including the first single released this week, “When She Turns 18,” while Bonnie McKee co-wrote Katy Perry’s latest single and ode to Cali, “California Gurls” – we just hope the fellas keep the daisy dukes at home… More heat out of EMI Publishing where the pubco’s Matt Messer and Amanda Berman recently signed Nations Afire, a band comprised of former members of Rise Against, Ignite and Death By Stereo. The group is currently writing and recording new material, and will play the Detroit Bar in the O.C. this Saturday. Messer will be BBQing at the show… Speaking of BBQ, the 2010 Austin City Limits lineup was announced this week with The Eagles and Muse taking top spots, while a host of other notables include Yeasayer, The xx, Gaslight Anthem and Local Natives; see the whole list here… Finally, expect a lot of industry folks to be at the Troubadour in the next couple nights, as Casxio and Imagine Dragons take the famed-stage tonight (Thursday), while on Friday, radio-darlings Dead Country will support Far whose new album comes out next week (May 25)…
IN THE MIX: Carl Stubner & Paul Pontius
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Indie Dispatches: Columbia’s Horseplay & Remembering Ian Curtis
Band of Horses Release New Album 'Infinite Arms'
This week marks what will be another interesting case study in the annals of indie-artist-gone-major with the release of Band of Horses third full-length, Infinite Arms, the act’s first album on a major label. After two well-received and bestselling albums for Sub Pop, the former Seattle-based combo’s latest effort is out via Columbia Records. The question for many is whether they can achieve the same level of sales as their prior releases – both of which easily topped the quarter of a million mark on the legendary Northwest indie label. In making the switch, Band of Horses are following a similar path as former labelmate, James Mercer, who transitioned from Sub Pop to Columbia for his Broken Bells release. That album has seen healthy sales so far, but is it poised to out-strip the numbers The Shins sold? The jury is still out, but the history of indie rock is littered with tales of bands making the switch from independent label to the major label world, many times with damaging consequences. So will the new Band of Horses album embolden more indie bands to make the leap to major labels, or will it reinforce the grass isn’t actually greener attitude of acts like Spoon and Arcade Fire?
An altogether different milestone is this week’s 30 year anniversary of the untimely death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who committed suicide on the eve of the band’s US tour in 1980. Joy Division, of course, were a groundbreaking act. Recording for legendary UK indie Factory Records, they were a major influence for a host of maudlin rockers since. Their neo-gothic majesty has been a template for everyone from New York’s Interpol and UK acts like Elbow and The Editors, right up to current day favorites The National - whose new album High Violet just smashed into a #3 chart debut this week. Even three decades later, the argument could be made that the Manchester band’s run of singles from “Atmosphere” to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” remain unsurpassed through today.
And a final notable item for the week… Treats, the debut album from Sleigh Bells that was released last week on Mom & Pop Records, looks to have unexpectedly smashed into the top 40 chart. With no prior records this is quite an achievement for the Brooklyn duo, though maybe most significant is the fact that the sales were 100% digital – a physical release is slated for next month. Welcome to 2010 – it’s a different world out there…
-Cool Hand Luke
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Indie Dispatches: L.A. gets Waved Out & Dangerbird’s Signing Spree
Dangerbird Records Signs Manchester's Delphic
The balmy Los Angeles weather had a whole stack of music fans and industry folk checking out bands on the rise, eating bacon-wrapped hot dogs and generally hanging out in historic Echo Park for the recent inaugural Waved Out Festival at the Echo/Echoplex. Kudos to the folks at Spaceland, who with help from Aquarium Drunkard put on the eastside event that was full of good vibes and from what we’re told is the first of what will be a series of similar affairs coming in 2010. Think of a mini-version of NY’s Siren Festival. The ‘one admission’ ticket across the two venues encouraged people to check out acts that they otherwise might have not investigated. This included local up-and-comers Gamblehouse and Atlanta’s The Coathangers, who came out with classic Pacific Northwest 90’s Riot grrrl rock swagger. The surprise of the day was San Francisco’s psychedelic Moon Duo – the two-piece is buzzing after some Pitchfork love for their recent SXSW shows. The all-day event was topped off with sets from Best Coast, the nom de plume of L.A. local Bethany Cosentino who has over 20k digital downloads and more than a couple premier indie labels in pursuit, followed by one of this year’s most-talked about acts at SXSW, Surfer Blood. The latter played to a packed room, including a heavy contingent of top brass from Warner Bros. Records. Their release Astrocoast has sold over 20k on Kanine Records, and many are wondering if they will be the next act from the indie to be launched onto a major label following Chairlift’s promotion to Columbia Records…
More from the indie label front as Dangerbird Records continues their signing spree. After recently announcing the addition of both Minus the Bear and Hot Hot Heat to their expanding roster, this week they added more international flavor by signing Manchester’s Delphic. The combo’s new album Acolyte debuted in the UK top 10 earlier this year and will see a June release in the states.
- Cool Hand Luke
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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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