Meiko to release new album on Concord in 2012

While the fourth quarter frequently seems to be a bit slow on the A&R front, it does seem like 2011 has seen an inordinate number of new signings be announced in the waning days of the year, both in the indie and major label worlds. After losing her label home when MySpace Records was shuttered by Fox Corp., much loved singer-songwriter Meiko has reportedly ended up on Concord, with her new album (originally recorded under the guidance of MSR/Interscope) due in the new year…  Speaking of Interscope, they seem to be on a signing spree of late. Insiders are scratching their heads at much of the activity, especially due to the fact the major has been steadily stripping back their marketing staff number-wise over the past year, in particular in the rock arena, and the A&R department has been radically pared back. Las Vegas alt-rock crew Imagine Dragons, after being on the radar of label scouts for an extended period, ended up part of the Interscope family, via the KidinaKorner imprint (run by hip hop/R&B producer Alex da Kid). In a deal that seemingly came out of nowhere, NYC trio The Kin inked with the Universal label in early November. Meanwhile Swedish DJ/producer Avicii signed a singles deal, in conjunction with Lady Gaga manager Troy Carter’s Atom Empire electronic label. And of course the controversial and divisive Lizzy Grant – aka Lana Del Rey - was signed by Interscope months before the news officially leaked, as the major tried to employ a strategy that the chanteuse was a hipster newcomer from the independent label world. And if all that is not enough, the label obviously also had a couple of recent much-publicized monster-artist new additions to the roster in Van Halen and Madonna, the latter of which is rumored to have signed for three albums and $30 million!! Another deal being filed under “What the hell?” is the report that former Barenaked Ladies member Kevin Hearn recently signed with LA indie Dangerbird Records…  And while info emerged that the hotly tipped Alabama Shakes became part of the ATO Records stable of artists, further digging has revealed that the deal for the foursome may just be a one-off, prompting a continuing frenzy of interest from labels to sign the band for further albums, with a large number of scouts out for their NYC shows this past week…  Meanwhile on the publishing front, indie favorites Pains of Being Pure at Heart just inked with Warner-Chappell…  Finally, reports emerged over the weekend that legendary UK act The Stone Roses, who announced details earlier in October that they were reforming for a series of shows in 2012, are working on new material – and recording deals are in place! The band have supposedly signed with Columbia Records for North America, and (the least surprising news of the week) Universal Music for the UK.

Monday afternoon saw the official news of a major deal that has been in the works for months that unites Live Nation Entertainment and Universal Music Group in a new pact joining UMG’s management properties, including Sanctuary, Twenty First Artist (and presumably the new producer management arm Twenty First Republic that was formed earlier this year with World’s End) and 5B Artist Management, all under LN’s Front Line Management… Apprehension by banks to finance private-equity firms in buyouts and mergers is growing, according to an WSJ article this week, and that might mean the stable of bidders for EMI is shrinking. It might also mean the likelihood of the music group being sold intact is also lessening… Tomorrow is Facebook’s big f8 conference, where they will announce many new features and major redesigns, and music fans are looking forward to the expected integration of new streaming services like Spotify, MOG and Rdio. Some are expecting Pandora to be added to that list as well, given the redesigned and relaunched player from the web radio service today, which includes among other things increased sharing capabilities and the removal of the cap on free-listening hours. Exactly how seamless the integration of media services into the social network is unclear, as MediaMemo points out, FB was originally planing on allowing users to access music and video services without ever leaving the site, however now that has changed. Announced speakers and panelists at the conference will include CEO’s from Spotify and Turntable.fm along with Clear Channel Chairman’s Bob Pittman who has been busy promoting iHeartRadio and manager Troy Carter among many others…  Elsewhere, video site Vimeo has launched a Music Store in a new partnership with Audiosocket, that will help video creators easily find and license music… R.E.M. is calling it quits after three decades… Van Halen is reportedly ending their longtime relationship with Warner Bros. Records and heading to Columbia Records… And Jeremy Summers has been named EVP/Chief Marketing Officer at Interscope Geffen A&M.

Meiko completes new album; finding new label home

As the News Corp. sale of MySpace is close at hand (with an announcement expected in the coming weeks), so too is MySpace Records shuttering, for good this time. Early 2010 began the initial dissolving of the label, which was formed in 2005 and aligned with Universal Music Group label Interscope Records via a P&D deal that has now lapsed, and since last year the operation has continued under a skeletal staff and somewhat ambiguous circumstances – a partnership with Downtown Music was announced back in September. However, with the writing on the wall as to MySpace’s future, and a scaling back of many divisions, MSR began to be dismantled, a process which was guided by label GM David Andreone who took the helm just over a year ago. Among many duties, Andreone has also helped the artists signed to MSR find new label homes, and even get master recording rights back – some albums previously released by the label have already been pulled down from digital marketplaces such as iTunes… One former MySpace Records/Interscope artist, and now free agent who is getting a lot of industry attention, Meiko, has just completed a new album produced by Styrofoam and Jimmy Messer, and mixed by Brian Malouf. We hear that labels on both coasts are talking to the songstress, who already has a strong track record with sales, touring and film & TV… And word is that Andreone, a veteran of both the music publishing and record label arenas, is likely to transition to one of a handful of digital music companies in play, after he departs his post at the end June… Stay tuned.

Limited edition?

In a move we tipped back in December, today came the official announcement that Luke Wood is exiting his executive role at Interscope Geffen A&M and DGC Records, to take a new post as COO at Beats Electronics. Those in the know share that the move was a reluctant one for Wood, who spent years working in A&R at the Jimmy Iovine-helmed label, and that the installation of new Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge, who wasted no time in cutting executive staff, prompted the shift. It also follows a large cast off of artists from the IGA roster… Others rumored to be making a preemptive lateral to Beats include A&R player Todd Parker, who worked closely with Wood and was also tasked with liaising between MySpace Records and the label. An arrangement that is believed to be soon coming to an end.

Google's Music Plans

Google is headed for the cloud, or so it would seem with further reporting on the search giant’s forthcoming moves into the music space. No concrete details yet, but a download store could launch as early as this year, with a cloud-based service slated for 2011. Should the Apple rival be careful not to move too quickly…? Interscope cleared the release decks this week to make way for the new Eminem album Recovery. The question from many is whether or not the highly-anticipated release that dropped yesterday will live up to its name after the industry’s recent extremely sluggish sales-weeks… Leading up to the Northside Festival in Brooklyn this weekend, Sirius XMU is featuring special artist-hosts starting today including Real Estate, Woods, Au Revoir Simone and Wavves… Jes Hudak is the Los Angeles winner of the Ourstage 2010 Lilith Fair talent search; she will perform at the July 10th festival stop… And tonight at El Cid a Gulf Coast Relief benefit concert for Global Green will feature acoustic performances from local artists Voxhaul Broadcast, Trevor Hall, Heavy Young Heathens and others…

** Today only head HERE to get a %20 discount on badges for Northside Festival with promo code “LMAG”

Heavy Young Heathens @ El Cid Tuesday Night

The theme for this week was firsts… Monday night at Silverlake Lounge saw a smattering of industry and early-adopters out for the Pittsburgh band 1, 2, 3 who will see their second single released this month via Chess Club in the UK. The band’s debut single came out on Ooh La La Records earlier this year. Monday was the group’s first show ever. Warner Bros.’s Matt Marshall and Lindsey Cook, who has recently taken up West Coast A&R reins for RCA Records, were on-hand for the indie-inaugural. Across town KCRW’s School Night had another full house for Angela McCluskey – among fans in attendance was Joaquin Phoenix, thankfully he didn’t rap… Tapas and rock were on the menu for Tuesday night at El Cid, where we caught an early performance from locals Heavy Young Heathens, check out recent love for the band on MTV’s Buzzworthy Blog. And speaking of buzz, a lot of folks were out to catch new band Group Love who took the tiny flamenco-stage after HYH that night for their first show ever. Mingling on the East Side restaurant’s patio that night was CAA uber-agent Jenna Adler (who just picked up Surfer Blood), Interscope A&R hitter Louie Bandak and Atlantic Record’s Mollie Moore. We also caught up with Flogging Molly manager and merch-master Gary Schwindt who promised to teach us everything he knows about hoodies and tees… Ian Rogers was not out at the Viper Room on Wednesday night for Get Busy Committee’s first official L.A. show, but plenty of others were there to catch GBC’s unique high-energy performance. The Topspin Media founder was however on-site for the previous day’s parking-lot party on the West Side, which featured a performance from GBC and a visit from the Kogi BBQ truck… Yum.

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…

Hot Dawg of the Week: Blue Hamilton

Warner Chappell Publishing’s A&R up-and-comer Blue Hamilton is feeling anything but blue lately. With a building track record and the ink still wet from his newest signing, we thought it was a good time to catch up with the pubcos’ young earner for a spotlight in the first edition of our new feature Hot Dawg of the Week… Blue’s roster includes singer/songwriter Audra Mae whose cut “Who I Was Born To Be” is the only original song on Susan Boyle’s I Dreamed A Dream, which has sold to date over 7-million units worldwide. He signed the Oklahoma native back in ’06 when she was only a twinkle in SuBo’s eye. Audra Mae’s debut album comes out this spring on SideOneDummy Records… Hamilton also inked famed girl-kisser Katy Perry for publishing back in ’07, prior to her multi-platinum debut album One Of The Boys. She also had cuts on last year’s All I Ever Wanted from Kelly Clarkson as well as the self-titled debut from Jessie James. Perry is currently in the studio working on her follow-up album with collaborators including Tricky, The Dream and Dr. Luke among others… Blue’s newest act is Brooklyn’s Semi Precious Weapons who recently signed to HouseofGaga/Interscope Records. The band is currently in Europe finishing a run supporting Lady GaGa on The Monster Ball tour and their debut album is slated for a spring release.

Stay tuned for our next Hot Dawg of the Week…

In a post last week we mentioned the departure of J Scavo from his role as GM at MySpace Records after being tapped for a digital marketing position at Hollywood Records.  In a seemingly unrelated turn of events, the following day word began to leak that bigger changes were afoot at the label and that a significant portion of the MSR staff was being let go. From there rumors and speculation as to the label’s future and potential demise began to fly, ranging from a slow “wind-down,” to being restructured as primarily an A&R source for its major label partner Interscope Records.

Many reports cited MSR’s likely transition into its originally intended function as an A&R source, though it’s unclear how that might work with the reduction including staff from that very department. Additionally, some are wondering what the future holds for the A&R and artist development-focused program MySpace Friends & Family, which now includes over 100 artists.  While it’s true the initial hiring priority at the label was in artist & repertoire, which is not unusual, a fully-functioning label was then assembled around that.

And what about the artists signed to the label?  Reports last week all similarly stated that MSR acts appear to be out of harm’s way despite all the big changes.  But with the presumed transformation, how can that be?  Surely some of the MSR roster could be folded into Interscope, however it seems unlikely that would be the case for all of their artists, particularly those without any sales history or those unfitting to that major label’s very selective artist mold.

Will MySpace’s principle focus be put into the struggling MySpace Music platform while MySpace Records becomes just a logo on the back of future releases?   That and many other questions still remain, though undoubtedly more answers will be revealed over the coming months. Stay tuned…