Label News, Signings, Producer News, and Layoffs
Posted May 24, 2007 — in Music News
The Parlor Mob inked a deal with In De Goot records. Sounds a like a 60’s - 70’s throwback ala WolfMother. Check them out if you are into jam bands.
Maroon 5 may approach the 400k mark in first week sales. A great campaign along with strong songs still proves to be fruitful.
Producer David Bendeth (Breaking Benjamin, RJS) is in the studio with Your Vegas (Republic). 10 Years (Republic Universal) will be jamming with Dean and Robert DeLeo from Stone Temple Pilots, Carl Bell from Fuel with a new record expected soon. Producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters) is finishing the new Coheed & Cambria’s album due out on Columbia Records.
Linkin Park debuted with sales of 622,000. Fans will always support an act that creates a record like Hybrid Theory that redefined a rock moment that goes onto sell 10 million+ records. Very nice!
Warner Music Group’s Rhino Records has let go 15 employees . (Billboard)
Managers Rick Smith and Scott Frazier tell KOAR that they will be arranging a (2 day event) in louiseville, Kentucky showcasing the best bands come September. Details will follow soon.
The EMI drama is tiring KOAR. Read the NY Post column ‘Suitor Circling EMI’.
American Idol Final Results…..
‘IDOL’ FINAL RESULTS SHOW PULLS 18.4 RATING/29 SHARE, IN OVERNIGHTS [DOWN FROM 21.5/32 IN 2006]… LAST 30 MINS OF SHOW HIT 21.2/31 [25.1/35 IN 2006]… THIRD MOST WATCHED BROADCAST OF SEASON, BEHIND ‘SUPER BOWL’
AND ‘ACADEMY AWARDS’
K-Rock returns to NYC………..
Well its about time K Rock returns. They got rid of that piece of crap FREE FM. The ratings were horrific. New Yorkers can now claim they have a rock station again. They kicked off the new format with Guns N Roses. Amen!
I got a question for you all????
did rap/rock ever die? or did it just kind of go away. papa roach, pod, linkin park had huge success in the genre and then they all just stopped doing it? why?
there is a band in my area that is just coming out with that old sound and creating a huge buzz in the area. they dont have myspace or anything but have had huge response by everyone…they are kind of underground i guess.
anyways, just wondering if the genre is actually dead or if this sound could come back, especially in a dead music era like now?
Comment by DB — May 25, 2007 @ 8:07 am
Its not dead .. good music sells .. no one has control in the labels anymore .. the top execs are out of touch .. kings of a&r nailed it before .. they all want formulated bands that don’t sell .. yet they blame it on digital download .. which is a load you know what.
Comment by realmad — May 25, 2007 @ 9:22 am
I mean think about it.
Top selling bands:
Hinder, Linkin Park, Daughtry, etc .. are those guys emo/rock which has been pretty heavy in 2004-2007 NO! These guys are outselling FOB, AFI, My Chemical Romance, The Used, etc..
That was a trend .. its time to bring back non-formulated bands that write and for fans to stop complaining about Nickelback’s success .. jealously can only go so far.
Comment by realmad — May 25, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Eh, I still personally prefer music that isn’t so calculated, but that’s just me. Sure those bands sell a ton of records and yes the emo bands are pretty lame… but it ALL just seems so contrived. Maybe it’s because everything majors touch has that air of fraud to it.
It’s all so carefully plotted out by money hungry people, it is stripped of any kind of soul it ever managed to muster. Yeah, some of the songs are good, but if any one of those bands fell off the planet, would anyone notice? Would the world miss Daughtry? No way. Would it miss FOB? er…no.
Rap/rock, pop, hip hop, metal, country, rock, etc… it doesn’t matter the genre…please just be different and real. MEAN SOMETHING! Believe in what you’re preaching and strive for true originality. And if you can’t be original, at least be technically superior to your counterparts, ala Linkin Park when they first hit.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — May 25, 2007 @ 9:53 am
I understand AJ,
But I disagree .. I feel the world would miss Daughtry .. the numbers don’t lie .. same with Linkin Park.
Daughtry has opened an entrance to the music industry with his success on American Idol. People are now bored with the current format .. it seems good music is coming back with the addition of searching for bands
Comment by realmad — May 25, 2007 @ 3:17 pm
Question: got a question for you all????
did rap/rock ever die? or did it just kind of go away. papa roach, pod, linkin park had huge success in the genre and then they all just stopped doing it? why?
KOAR ANSWER:
Rap rock itself didnt die, the bands died. Creativity died.
Lets look at Linkin Park as an example:
HYBRID THEORY - The Best record they made, sold 15+ million
Meteora - Not as good as nearly as strong as Hybrid Theory sold half the numbers..5 million
Minutes to Midnight - Although record aint BAD its certainly their weakest effort. Will sell less than Meteora.
Papa Roach -Infest was their best record and they followed the same pattern as Linkin Park. Same with POD.
This is actually a good sign, it shows you that music takes priority over marketing and you cant fool consumers. Regardless, Linkin Park, PAPA ROACH, POD, are good bands and definetely a cut above the average which is why they were successful. Average is a C+ student, above average is a B student, and an extraordinary student gets Straight A’s.
Hybrid theory = A
Papa Roach Infest = A
POD Satellite = A
Its simple as that….
Who knows why Linkin Park abandoned the roots! sometimes they get bad advice from managers, label employees, and a producer. I can honestly tell you that Rick Ruben aint as hot as he was. I think The linkin Park press was awful, they came out like scardy kids. A far cry from Trent(NIN), Jonathan Davis, and Amy Lee.
Go read KOAR’s article “THE FIGHT FOR CREDIBILITY”
Comment by koar — May 25, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
“Top selling bands:
Hinder, Linkin Park, Daughtry, etc .. are those guys emo/rock which has been pretty heavy in 2004-2007 NO! These guys are outselling FOB, AFI, My Chemical Romance, The Used, etc..”
give me a break, im not defending emo or anything but seriously i bet the top dogs of the emo genre get played less than half as much as the formula rock bands like hinder, daughtry…
the wheels turn slow. it takes a while to unseat an established sound but it always happens…….
Comment by nathan — May 26, 2007 @ 7:27 am
“Daughtry has opened an entrance to the music industry with his success on American Idol. People are now bored with the current format .. it seems good music is coming back with the addition of searching for bands”
Realmad…can you guess what kind of bands will make the A.I.band contest?you know no real rock bands will have a chance.if they don’t sound or look like whats on MTV or top 40 radio.A.I.judges will be looking for bands that the fans of A.I. can relate to.we entered the A.I.contest for bands and we know damn well we don’t have a chance in hell of making it pass the video audition.i’ve been on the A.I.fan forum….and well you would just have to read how these fans of A.I. look at all the singers and the show.
Comment by larry anderson — May 26, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Comment: you know no real rock bands will have a chance.if they don’t sound or look like whats on MTV or top 40 radio.A.I.judges will be looking for bands that the fans of A.I. can relate to.we entered the A.I.contest for bands and we know damn well we don’t have a chance in hell of making it pass the video audition.i’ve been on the A.I.fan forum….and well you would just have to read how these fans of A.I. look at all the singers and the show.
——————————————————
American Idol isnt looking for bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Cold Play, Or AFI. Those are Do it Yourself bands. American Idol is a TV show, need to attract advertisers. They are looking for cover bands/solo singers.
Comment by koar — May 26, 2007 @ 10:37 am
“Top selling bands:
Hinder, Linkin Park, Daughtry, etc .. are those guys emo/rock which has been pretty heavy in 2004-2007 NO! These guys are outselling FOB, AFI, My Chemical Romance, The Used, etc..”
—————————————————-
The reason why Hinder sold alot is because they had a #1 song in the country, thats why they sold alot of records. AfI is not a radio band and still sells a million records. At the end of the Day, AFI grosses alot more than HINDER. Still, its not fair to compare 5 kids from OKLAHOMA (HINDER) who accidentely wrote a #1 song with BRIAN HOWES, to AFI. Its like comparing Metallica to Warrant.
My Chemical, FOB, The USED just made MEDIOCRE Records.
Comment by koar — May 26, 2007 @ 10:40 am
I’m talking mainstream .. and around here .. AFI, My Chemical Romance, The Used DO get airplay constantly on the FCC stations around here .. hence mainstream .. in terms of television .. Fuse is a freaking mouth piece for Victory Records .. MTV puts on these ridiculous/freaky artistic bands .. etc.. Also AI is looking for any types .. with the indication of Daughtry taking off .. they’re going to follow that formula .. hence why this whole band idea came in the first place .. DAUGHTRY SELLS ALBUMS .. CLIVE DAVIS IS HAPPY .. AMERICAN IDOL IS HAPPY .. THE WORLD WANTS MILLIONS OF DAUGHTRY BANDS .. A TREND! OMG here we go again.
Comment by realmad — May 26, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
KOAR…forgive the dumb question..but the girl that won A.I. had a total of 74 million votes for all of the time on A.I.on the surface you would think she would sell like crazy but what real percent of real record buyers will buy her cd ?Realmad..that was a question that was on KOAR awhile back. it seem that at the end of a decade we would see a “style” or a “look” or a “sound “of some kind of music “trend”.are we seeing and hearing way to much music and no one can put a finger on the “next big thing ” ?
Comment by larry anderson — May 27, 2007 @ 5:55 am
Question:
it seem that at the end of a decade we would see a “style” or a “look” or a “sound “of some kind of music “trend”.are we seeing and hearing way to much music and no one can put a finger on the “next big thing ” ?
KOAR ANSWER: There is a good chance ‘Trends’ wont come back, at least they we knew them. It was the lack of trends that caused radio and records to go belly up! First of all, the american culture has completely changed. We have more races in America now than we have ever had before.
America is more or less becoming the TOWER of BABEL. Very hard to connect to the TOWER of BABEL, hence, less trends. For instance, a Palestinian Rapper was on the news recently. Rockstars/Stars dont come out of Iraq, China, Russia, etc. America is suffering from the same problem.
And yes, we are seeing and hearing way to much music. KOAR will be coming out with a new article called “DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION”.
Comment by koar — May 27, 2007 @ 8:19 am
Comment:
MTV puts on these ridiculous/freaky artistic bands .. etc.. Also AI is looking for any types .. with the indication of Daughtry taking off .. they’re going to follow that formula .. hence why this whole band idea came in the first place .. DAUGHTRY SELLS ALBUMS .. CLIVE DAVIS IS HAPPY .. AMERICAN IDOL IS HAPPY .. THE WORLD WANTS MILLIONS OF DAUGHTRY BANDS .. A TREND! OMG here we go again.
KOAR ANSWER:
The world is NOT looking for anything, specifically the next Daughtry. This is all in your head. Daughtry just simply connected with the American Public because he wrote flawless uptempo rock songs with strong lyrics. Consumers always loved this. Plus, Chris Daughtry has a KILLER VOICE. His range and chest voice is unbelievable. Of course the world would love great singers and songs like Daughtry. Wouldn’t You? ….Of course Clive is happy he sold records, I would be happy too if I discovered Daughtry. Again, Daughtry isnt a trend. He was a diamond in the ruff.
Comment by koar — May 27, 2007 @ 8:23 am
If your theory is correct .. there should be a large explosion of rock bands like Daughtry/Hinder/Three Days Grace and more rock in the space of 1995-2003 instead of all these forced emo trends.
Comment by realmad — May 27, 2007 @ 9:01 am
Again, i have no theory. Just stating an observation.
Again, This boiles down to artist creativity.
Artists like Daughtry, Three Days Grace are exceptional, not common. I dont see an explosion. Its much easier for kids to copy Thursday than it is Three Days Grace. I havent met to many kids that have the pipes, the range and the chest voice of Daughtry and Three Days Grace!
Comment by koar — May 27, 2007 @ 9:25 am
Well I understand .. but also my point is the following:
The industry has given into weak talent lately. Its obvious if more bands like Daughtry, Hinder, Linkin Park, etc. were signed .. then there would be more revenue for the labels and industry .. that really wouldn’t be a trend .. it would be good rock music selling which no one can deny.. I would agree .. I was stating the Daughtry = AI bands = trend setter.
Comment by realmad — May 27, 2007 @ 9:51 am
In a time of digital downloading and living at home on the Internet .. the record industry is making poor choices .. its simple .. sign and develop smart & talented artists that can platinum .. It is a load of crap when I hear “We can’t find the artists or have the development money”..
Comment by realmad — May 27, 2007 @ 9:54 am
comment: In a time of digital downloading and living at home on the Internet .. the record industry is making poor choices .. its simple .. sign and develop smart & talented artists that can platinum .. It is a load of crap when I hear “We can’t find the artists or have the development money”..
KOAR answer:
This is called DEFLECTION. DEFLECTING THE BLAME. No one will deny that record industry made poor choices, but many business make poor choices, including Microsoft.
Artist Development rarely worked. Artist Development resulted in signing a bunch of Lazy Riff Raffs mediocre wannabe’s that just resulted in wasting corporate dollars. Of course you may say, “Why not sign The right artists?”..well not that easy. Most artists are not willing to develop themselves and challeng themselves..
Finding GREAT artists is really hard. Finding the next Daughtry is hard. Finding the Next Nirvana is close to impossible. Its all about the artists, not about the A&R’s. Go ahead a send me a demo of someone who has the voice of Daughtry and can write a song like him and i will send you a 1,000 bucks.
Happy Hunting…
Comment by koar — May 27, 2007 @ 11:37 am
Really? should I use the KOAR address?
Comment by realmad — May 27, 2007 @ 11:59 am
email me the myspace link….
Comment by koar — May 27, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
just picked up PAPA ROACH Paramour sessions. WOW! strong CD. I cant believe they released ‘To Be Loved’ as the first single (Bad choice, Bad first impression). I see they released “Forever” as the second single.
I would think the new single will react alot better than the first.
Last Week Scans - 6,302
This Week Scans - 6,860
*9% increase
Lets see if they move 10,000k units within the next coming weeks….if they don’t, this goes to show you that record industry is 2 seconds away from officially collapsing…
Dean
Comment by koar — May 27, 2007 @ 3:47 pm
in the 80’s it was the bands from sunset strip, in the 90’s it was seatle. like ar guys were really working hard to find groups. people like familiar sounds. if band B sounds like band A which did well it has a reasonable shot at doing well. if song B sounds like song A which did well song B will probably do well. thats why bands like nickelback write songs acording to formulas. people like familiar sounds and songs.
aparrently the message we should be getting is marketing plays a bigger role than talent?!
if thats not the case would someone explain why -when the talent was there -it took a contest to sell daughtry. and what the chances are that a bunch of really sucessful bands would come from the same small area? please tell me its something more than the water thats making them so…..talented.
Comment by nathan — May 27, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
Comment:
in the 80’s it was the bands from sunset strip, in the 90’s it was seatle. like ar guys were really working hard to find groups. people like familiar sounds. if band B sounds like band A which did well it has a reasonable shot at doing well. if song B sounds like song A which did well song B will probably do well. thats why bands like nickelback write songs acording to formulas. people like familiar sounds and songs.
KOAR Comment:
Yes, the 80’s had a scene and the 90’s had a scene. Thats true. Scenes and communities are Healthy especially for aspiring rock bands. As far as Nickelback, they are not in a scene. Chad Kroeger writes songs that he feels, just like Bono from U2 and Mike Stipe from REM. People like catchy well written songs. That comes down to the “origin” of Man.
Comment:
aparrently the message we should be getting is marketing plays a bigger role than talent?!
KOAR Comment: Talent plays a more important role. You cant pay something to resonate with the public. Thats a myth.
Comment:
if thats not the case would someone explain why -when the talent was there -it took a contest to sell daughtry. and what the chances are that a bunch of really sucessful bands would come from the same small area? please tell me its something more than the water thats making them so…..talented.
Its called a phenemona. What are the chances of someone getting struck by lightning 7 times and still living? it happened.
What are the chances of a life permitting universe? about 1 in 50 billion. It happened.
What are the chances of Fallout boy (or any band) becoming successful? 1 and million. What are the chances of Pete Wentz finding another successful band (panic at the disco)? 1 in a million.
The point is Daughtry has a great voice, and found his way to the top. It took American Idol to sell Daughtry and Daughtry sold American Idol. American Idol sold Taylor Hicks and Taylor Hicks didnt sell Amerian Idol.
Life is about Timing, (some) luck and 100% FATE.
If you dont have the goods or creativity..then the above statement does not apply..
Dean
Comment by koar — May 27, 2007 @ 4:46 pm
dean,
100% accurate
Comment by DB — May 27, 2007 @ 8:47 pm
Its called a phenemona… fantastic answer! people win the lotery but i wouldnt want to depend on that to make a living. good luck to anyone who is rooting for those odds. i dont have a problem with any of the bands i was talking about but im just tired of the complaints that the talent is the major fault for the music indistry problems. Im not saying that this site says that– but i read these posts everyday and there seems to be quite a few commenters with that attitude. obviously this is not a one cause problem.
as far as when i said— aparrently the message we should be getting is marketing plays a bigger role than talent?!
i dont actually believe that marketing is more important than talent but i was pointing out the fact that the bands that are selling the most records recently seem to be the ones that are the most calculated, formula following, familiar sounding groups around…. i suppose thats the only talent some people are interested in.
Comment by nathan — May 27, 2007 @ 9:47 pm
That’s why we say ‘for the right band, the major label system still works.’ Bands aren’t untalented because they’re on majors, and they aren’t untalented if they’re not. It just needs to be the right combination at the right time with the right focus.
Chris Daughtry is a talented singer and he writes in the Nickelback realm. It suits him. After the exposure garnered through American Idol, he was given a record deal and seems to be making the most of it. The same cannot be said of every Idol loser.
Marketing isn’t more important than talent, but in the mainstream, marketing does have a lot to do with it. ‘Marketing’ isn’t a bad word. It’s playing up the best of the artist so people will want to invest in them. Where so many people believe things to be unfair is when it comes down to exposure through ADVERTISING. That’s where majors dominate because they have the money and the access to shove their acts in the greatest number of faces.
Sure, there can be marketing issues, like positioning a band as a Christian band when they aren’t (like Mutemath), or the label posing as the band to encourage their fans to be shady (like Hawthorne Heights/Victory), but that seems to lead to bad press more than a decline in sales. Where the money is invested is where the sales are won or lost and for major labels, they invest in ad buys, placements and sponsorships, which will either sell their records or tank them. Indies generally invest more in marketing and design, which is why you’ll see so much hype in the press, but no videos or cell phone commercials on TV. They’re selling a story above a product. For majors, the product IS the story.
It’s the difference between selling a song and selling a band. What will be effective depends on the band, resources and goals…but no matter what is determined to be the best decision, the music has to be great.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — May 27, 2007 @ 10:42 pm
You know what…. who cares?? This industry is run by people that wouldn’t know a good band if it took a shit on thier face. I will make 6 figures this year and next year playing music and i will sit back and just watch them cave in on themselves and make more room for real bands to make more money. People still buy and love music…. just not music that the record labels put out for the most part.
The truth is, bands like U2 and pink floyd would never get a deal these days because they actually have talent and star quality… and thus we will not have another music revolution with these people running the labels.
Comment by Cris — May 27, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
The Writer for the NY Times is right. We are facing a “CREATIVE DROUGHT” and KOAR knows why.
You cant sell records if consumers aren’t interested.
NEW KOAR article coming..DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION and Why we are facing the Creative Drought.
Comment by koar — May 28, 2007 @ 7:31 am
I could provide you with at least 4-6 bands from each state .. that could sell Nickelback figures and the public wouldn’t get bored.
Comment by realmad — May 28, 2007 @ 8:19 am
I would love to see that list.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — May 28, 2007 @ 9:56 am
ATTN: Labels,i’m broke and need a job and can distinguish the difference between a good songwriter and a keroake star!!!! lol The symptons of insanity are repeating actions over and over with the same failing result!!!
Comment by Full Devil Jacket — May 28, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
“The symptons of insanity are repeating actions over and over with the same failing result!!!”
No doubt FDJ!!! You would think that the consumers were asking the labels to split atoms!!LOL Crazy is the way the labels think ” hey man this artsy crap doesnt sell so we need to do something else….. hey lets sign the Arctic Monkeys!!” Now there is a band that everyone wants to hear. I really think that these people at the labels would be better off if they just picked the top 20 artist on myspace, put thier picture on a dart board… blindfolded the president of the label and let him throw a dart to make thier decisions. It would be better than what they are doing now. But then again he would probably miss and end up pricking a poor intern in the ass. This is what happens when a buddy system runs a company. You have Bloated salaries and nothing but incompetance in return. Farewell labels.
Comment by Cris — May 28, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
amen cris from one less reason
Comment by realmad — May 29, 2007 @ 8:13 am
Comment:
This is just a wild theory, but could all of this be caused by over-exposure to music? You know as well as I that a song, especially a hit, can lose its resonating value after you listen to it 100x a day. Songs and music have been filtered into our minds through commercials and other forms of blatent marketing that take the real value of music away. I’ll call it the elevator music syndrome. You hear it so much that you hate it and it starts to become pretty bland after a while.
KOAR Comment:
I will buy that to an extent. Way to much noise out there. But that is the result of an INFORMATION SEEKING SOCIETY. Thinkers and Philosophers predicted this for a long time…Music will have less impact in an information seeking society, which means true GREATNESS must prevail to get through the NOIZZZE. The Record labels never told you that..did they?
Dean
Comment by koar — May 29, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
Deans Comment: Finding GREAT artists is really hard. Finding the next Daughtry is hard. Finding the Next Nirvana is close to impossible. Its all about the artists, not about the A&R’s. Go ahead a send me a demo of someone who has the voice of Daughtry and can write a song like him and i will send you a 1,000 bucks.
I already sent it to you Dean. Tell me the first track on the CD I sent you from the Seattle band Mossback, “Cold Wind” isn’t as good as anything Daughtry’s ever done. They also have another 10 songs on the cd that are well written. Here’s what a magazine that does reviews full time said about the cd.
Reviewer Magazine 1-18-2007
Mossback: “Mishmash” (self-released)
Mossback is a new, fresh face in town. Their debut “Mishmash”, gives one pause and then moves along at a steady pace. The music is melancholy, guitar-laden, gritty rock and roll. It is not unlike “Jar of Flies”-era Alice In Chains, that same kind of mellow, acoustic rock with an undercurrent of nihhilism, just waiting to bust through the surface. “Mishmash” starts out with a 30 second beautiful acoustic intro and then starts off with a slow, but hypnotizing tune, “Cold Wind”. The music gets a little harder and a little edgier as the songs wear on, “Junkie Town” is a lament about the past and things one regrets. “Uninvited” speeds things up a little, but still with that same plaintiveness that pervades the rest of this very good CD. Each song averages at about five minutes each. No zip-through quickie pop-songs here.
Mossback have this really cool vibe, which somehow really had a fluid continuity within the songs and between them. I don’t know how exactly to describe it, but they have this “feel” that sounded so right, that just played like something aurally sweet to my senses. They put out “Mishmash” by themselves, with no label support, something I find myself saying more and more lately. So if you’d like to earn more you have to go to http://www.mossback.us. -KM.
Comment by Brett — May 30, 2007 @ 10:46 am
“Tell me the first track on the CD I sent you from the Seattle band Mossback, “Cold Wind” isn’t as good as anything Daughtry’s ever done.”
I’ll tell you. This song isn’t as good as anything Daughtry’s ever done.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — May 30, 2007 @ 11:25 am
I knew that was coming. That’s why I posted a review from people who do reviews for a living. Maybe it’s not your cup of tea but I can tell you that song has RESONATED with alot of people. 2 of the biggest radio promotion companies in the world have told me that it’s a hit. Half the people that hear it love it. I guess you’re in the other half.
Comment by Brett — May 30, 2007 @ 11:42 am
hahaha… guess so.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — May 30, 2007 @ 11:44 am
If hard rocks more your style check out their song “Uninvited”. If that doesn’t get your blood going nothing will.
Comment by Brett — May 30, 2007 @ 12:00 pm
* already had that thousand dollars spent and is now forced to look for a REAL job *
Comment by Brett — May 30, 2007 @ 12:16 pm