Wilco releases The Whole Love on their new label dBpm
In the indie sector, this week qualifies for landmark status, as the much revered and critically acclaimed band Wilco officially turned their back on the major labels with the release of their new album The Whole Love. The Chicago combo had spent their entire career through Warner Music, firstly on Sire/Reprise, before controversially being dropped, and ironically re-signing to WMG via Nonesuch. In fact the new Wilco album constitutes band leader Jeff Tweedy‘s first indie release for almost 20 years, ranging back to when his prior group Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label after their March 16-20 album and signed to Sire/Warners for their final record Anodyne in 1993. The Whole Love is the first release on the Wilco’s own imprint dBpm, distributed via Anti, part of Epitaph Records – not a small indie, but still a far cry from the WMG behemoth. And significantly, the early signs on the record show it is business as usual in the Wilco world, and they are not rueing their departure from the major label. In fact, to the casual observer there is no difference, with the obligatory NPR piece and album stream, a TV performance on Letterman, the glowing reviews, the slew of articles, and a general blitz in the media.
In the broader scheme of things, onlookers will also be curious to track the success of the album, as it could serve as the template for a number of other alternative and indie bands with a similar sales base and stature (such as Bright Eyes and Fleet Foxes, who have both reportedly fulfilled the terms of their recording agreements), looking for non-traditional release options in 2011 and beyond. Not only could more artists be looking to turn to the independent world and snubbing the majors and those dreaded 360 deal terms (though The Shins bucked the trend, signing to Columbia), but more could also be really choosing to take control of their own destiny, following the example of Wilco (and other artists like The Get Up Kids), and forming their own record labels.
- Cool Hand Luke
