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.
10.6.10Industry Round Up: McCarroll Upped @ EMI, Lyor’s Hot Seat, The Head & The Heart & more…
Post Shake Up Changes Continue
As was rumored and expected for weeks, it was announced this morning that current EVP NA of creative at EMI Music Publishing, Dan McCarroll, will be taking the top spot overseeing A&R operations for the entire music group in North America. In his tenure at EMI’s pubco, McCarroll signed and oversaw a number of successful artists including John Mellencamp, Cobra Starship, Travie McCoy, Death Cab For Cutie, Butch Walker and Panic At The Disco among others. In his new role, at the newly dubbed Capitol & Virgin Label Group, McCarroll will be tapped with reinvigorating the company’s creative performance in the US, leaving many to wonder the fate of the current creative team on the recorded music side. In his statement, Roger Faxon also announced that current A&R executives Steven Melrose and Leonard Brooks would be exiting their positions…
Switching gears, with Warner Music Group ruler Lyor Cohen enjoying an indian summer on the West Coast, anecdotes abound, including one involving an A&R assembly where Cohen in true-to-form fashion, put creative execs in the hot seat. As the dust settled, there were more artists than reps to match, leaving a couple acts unaccounted for. So who signed them? When the junior staffer responsible for the act was summoned, his detailed knowledge of every aspect of the artist, and his general chutzpah, led to him being granted a seat in the meeting… And what about all those expected departures from the Bunny in the wake of the regime change? Rumblings seem to indicate they might not be coming as soon as predicted due to financial implications…
THATH
Elsewhere, keeping up with the chase, it was a regular industry frenzy on this past rainy Monday night in Los Angeles, as many scrambled to make it out to see Seattle combo The Head and The Heart, who played both an early and late set at Silverlake Lounge and Bardot respectively. The band, who has been wowing audiences in their native Pacific Northwest – drawing large crowds and rave reviews, played to a throng of industry onlookers at both L.A. shows. With representatives from most major label groups present, including Warner Bros., Universal/Republic and RCA (maybe EMI reps were preoccupied – see above), along with some publishers and bigger indies, the currently unmanaged group has succeeded in spawning a double derby, with reps from some of the top management firms present too, including Red Light Management’s newest comrade Mark DiDia…
Speaking of, the recent buzz on a few of the bigger boutique labels with major label ties, is that they’re are making internal moves that would shift them into scaled-down management operations and away from the label business… And are major label imprints in trouble? Jive Records urban imprint Hitz Committee will be shutting its doors, and a pending deal for an established LA-based indie label has been shuttered due to the exit of a recent major label head. Expect more to come… In recent signing updates, it looks like Nashville act Mona has been picked up by Island Records in the UK and Mercury Records stateside, while NZ darlings The Naked and Famous seem to have landed with UMG affiliated Fiction Records - both deals are rumored to have been for massive sums. Meanwhile, some are starting to wonder who will be the last through the gates for these kinds of deals, as insiders share that some label heads are starting to put the kibosh on high-dollar signings for uberly-hyped indie acts. Stay tuned… IN THE MIX: Michael Goldstone, Glenn Delgado, Craig Aaronson and Paul Pontius
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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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