When Polydor was “folded into A&M to make A&M stronger” all the setup/planning we had done for “our” baby bands went out the window. They were tossed into A&M’s already clogged release schedule without a care, an A&R rep, a trusted contact at the label.
Needless to say it did not go well for Fretblanket (dumb name, but catchy single was break out MTV clip), Dubstar (lush electro pop w/Pop radio potential) plus 2 fine Americana bands: The Hollowbodies & Big Back Forty. We’d signed Buffalo Tom album the previous fall, so that album’s release didn’t involve anyone involved in bring BT to the label or anyone familiar with the band. I still feel shitty about all of it. It wasn’t my call.
I've heard sooooo many stories of bands that would get signed to a major only to find their A&R guy, usually the only advocate they had there, had gotten fired or took a job somewhere else leaving them in a deal at a place with nobody to go to bat for them.
Great essay. I feel like a lot of the value a reader derives from this site is that it fearlessly names names and uses real-life examples (as Albini did in the essay this one references). So it'd be interesting to know which band and what label perpetrated the Friday-to-Monday massacre. But that's probably not necessary -- the point stands that it's just brutal when an act loses its champion at the label. (Listening to "Little King" by Hollowbodies right now...)
As one of those almost-never-was artists from the 90s that spent time on two major labels, your commentary is spot on. I do appreciate how you haven't let the hideous reality of the business destroy your enjoyment of the artists and their creations.
On the contrary, I’m doing whatever I can to build structures to avoid the evils and excesses of the old business. I’m not alone. But we have to keep these stories front of mind.
The record business started going wrong when the model flipped from "We'll Sell What You Make" to "You'll Make What We Sell (or else)". The couple major labels are the worst place for any artist not super-well known + backed outside their structures, bc those artists are "experiments" who can be dumped at any time for any reason or none. Often regime change is that reason, bc the top of the structure seems to "clean house" every 6 months or so with many casualties. The label goes on as before, but the casualties are often irreversibly maimed in the business thereafter.
When Polydor was “folded into A&M to make A&M stronger” all the setup/planning we had done for “our” baby bands went out the window. They were tossed into A&M’s already clogged release schedule without a care, an A&R rep, a trusted contact at the label.
Needless to say it did not go well for Fretblanket (dumb name, but catchy single was break out MTV clip), Dubstar (lush electro pop w/Pop radio potential) plus 2 fine Americana bands: The Hollowbodies & Big Back Forty. We’d signed Buffalo Tom album the previous fall, so that album’s release didn’t involve anyone involved in bring BT to the label or anyone familiar with the band. I still feel shitty about all of it. It wasn’t my call.
I've heard sooooo many stories of bands that would get signed to a major only to find their A&R guy, usually the only advocate they had there, had gotten fired or took a job somewhere else leaving them in a deal at a place with nobody to go to bat for them.
More often than not.
Great essay. I feel like a lot of the value a reader derives from this site is that it fearlessly names names and uses real-life examples (as Albini did in the essay this one references). So it'd be interesting to know which band and what label perpetrated the Friday-to-Monday massacre. But that's probably not necessary -- the point stands that it's just brutal when an act loses its champion at the label. (Listening to "Little King" by Hollowbodies right now...)
You don’t need to know but it’s a great band that never broke out and a label you’re familiar with.
As one of those almost-never-was artists from the 90s that spent time on two major labels, your commentary is spot on. I do appreciate how you haven't let the hideous reality of the business destroy your enjoyment of the artists and their creations.
On the contrary, I’m doing whatever I can to build structures to avoid the evils and excesses of the old business. I’m not alone. But we have to keep these stories front of mind.
The record business started going wrong when the model flipped from "We'll Sell What You Make" to "You'll Make What We Sell (or else)". The couple major labels are the worst place for any artist not super-well known + backed outside their structures, bc those artists are "experiments" who can be dumped at any time for any reason or none. Often regime change is that reason, bc the top of the structure seems to "clean house" every 6 months or so with many casualties. The label goes on as before, but the casualties are often irreversibly maimed in the business thereafter.
I can confirm
Great essay- nice touch with the “EMI” video.
I hope you start your own label. Just resist that PE buyout when it comes....