KOAR News
Posted November 29, 2007 — in Music News
EMI’s blame deflection: Chairman Guy Hands has told potential investors that the company’s former management, led by Eric Nicoli, wasted millions of dollars on corporate excesses that included use of a Mayfair property worth £5.6 million, the retention of highly paid consultants and extravagant spending on candles and flowers. Leadership should avoid the blame game. Critics also say that Hands is eager to blame previous management for the problems in the company because he overpaid for a business fighting against a market in freefall.
Dooms Day for American Idol? It seems many critics want to see the American Idol franchise fail. Headlines include ‘American Idol’ Champ Jordin Sparks Fails To Ignite The Charts and ‘FRANCHISE FADE: ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ FIGHTS TO MAKE TOP 10; WEAKEST WINNER DEBUT’. Jordin Sparks entered the charts with 119k sold.
Warner stock hits all time low of $6.82: Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman wants record companies to become ‘music based content companies’. He also talks about the recent cliches of wanting to participate in revenue streams beyond music business and ‘windowing music releases - a series of products sold digitally rather than selling one album per artist every couple years.
Its a HIT ladies and gentlemen: One Republic enters at #17 on the top 200 charts with 75,000 scans. KOAR posted the track ‘Apologize’ three years ago and was one of the most downloaded tracks in the history of KOAR. We knew that song had teeth and we are glad to see One Republic rise to the top.
Where are they now? Some previous artists that KOAR has featured have up and coming TV performances. Val Emmich will be appearing on the hit NBC tv show, 30 ROCK tommorrow night at 8:30 pm. Val will be playing a love interest of Tina Fey. He also recently filmed two episodes of the upcoming Lucy Lui show.
Singer Songwriter Kate Voegele will play Mia on CW Network’s hit TV series One Tree Hill. Her album will be released on January 22nd through Myspace Records.
Candles & flowers. How rock & roll.
Comment by Jon Cole — November 29, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Guy Hands is a riff raff. This guy has no clue about the music biz. I fee sorry for him. He is make himself out to be a moron when he speaks to the press.
Comment by tina — November 29, 2007 @ 1:15 pm
The OneRepublic numbers are disappointing. They had a huge MySpace buzz, their single is #2, but they sell less than 100k?
Kate’s album has been out since May 22, 2007. Very low sale numbers! Not sure which upcoming release you’re talking about.
Val blew his chance. He had a hit song with “Absolutely Still”, didnt properly handle the situation with his former label, or maybe he wasnt even sure what a major label deal meant in the first place, and eventually went indie (again). Now he’s releasing obscure indie records, and is financing them with his acting jobs. Doesnt really scream success in my book.
Comment by Jason — November 29, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
Jason - you are a tad bit insane, but you are forgiven.
If you think 77k (physical sales) for a new band (one republic) is disappointing then you are living in the 1980’s watching Cindy Lauper ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’. You combine 77k cd sales with digital sales and you have a BREAKING artist, not a disappointing artist.
I don’t believe Val Emmich blew his chance. Unless you’re clairvoyant, you can’t say Absolutely Still was a hit song because it never went through a national radio campaign. As far as his former label, i believe his A&R guy was fired and a number of acts were dropped, he was also mismanaged by a former company but since then has picked up new management. He will do fine.
Lilly
Comment by lilly — November 29, 2007 @ 2:39 pm
When I look at Jordin, I see…a singer, not an artist. Go play Karaoke Revolution
Comment by A2daC — November 29, 2007 @ 2:46 pm
I agree, Jordin Sparks is not a star. Simon knew it too. She was all they had though. American Idol needs another Clarkson or Underwood to keep the franchise going. They are only as good as the talent. Last year was a rough year…
Comment by jim — November 29, 2007 @ 2:48 pm
Lilly…
Re OneRepublic:
Yes, it’s a debut, but since when does that mean that it cant have a huge first week? If your single is #2 on the Billboard Charts, your album should do a little bit better than 75k. This may be the height of their career for all I know. But lets wait and see how this record does during the next couple of weeks and months.
Re Val Emmich:
He has been managed by the same guy for years. No new mgt. His manager just left the company he used to work for and started his own. Yes, Val’s A&R left, but the real problem was that he couldnt handle all of the pressure that came from being on a major. He got got wasted before he had to play for entire Epic staff, after he was signed, which didnt help his “reputation” at the label, and he was just in general very difficult to work with. I can still remember his blog rant, where he badmouthed his own label… (the post was shortly afterwards removed). Sure, we dont know whether or not “Absolutely Still” would’ve become a hit, but next to Daughtry’s “It’s not over” or any of the Nickelback singles, it looked pretty damn good. I’m positive that it would’ve done very well. And I dont think Val will be fine. He’s barely selling records, is very rarely playing live, if he does it’s just on the East Coast, and is going into a very obscure direction. Just the thought of how he butchered “Absolutely Still” on his indie release, freaks me out. I hate it when people waste their talent, and that’s clearly the case here. Even though I’m sure that Val is telling himself something completely different.
Comment by Jason — November 29, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
Have to agree with Jason on “Absolutely Still”, great track before he put out a newer, and as Jason said “butchered” version.
Been following OneRepublic for years now. “Stop & Stare” should be a good follow-up, and people still don’t seem to know who they are even though “Apologize” has become such a big hit. I’ve heard it many times announced as “Apologize” by Timbaland, without the mention of OneRepublic, which is just damn annoying.
I think they’ll have that album gold in a few months.
Comment by Dallas — November 29, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
It’s too late… “tapologize?” Does that bother anyone else?
Comment by Keith Freund — November 29, 2007 @ 6:57 pm
YES KEITH! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES! That song is just annoying on the whole. The little finger clap things… wtf is up with that? That guy must feel completely emasculated performing this song. Total cheese.
How far do the record labels have to fall before they realize that this faceless disposable made-for-teenage-tv-drama bullshit music isn’t going keep them afloat?
When are record labels going to start making music for music fans again?
Comment by Jon Cole — November 30, 2007 @ 9:39 am
Eh, I think “Apologize” is a damn fine track Jon.
Comment by Dallas — November 30, 2007 @ 1:37 pm
Come on guys, cut the OneRepublic guys some slack. They’re hard working and good guys. And the song is better than most of the garbage that’s on radio these days. I’d pick “Apologize” over any Fergie or Hannah Banana track.
Comment by Jason — November 30, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
lol I love it when people say that. “They’re hard working.” “They’re good guys.”
If you make good songs you can trash hotel rooms & ditch interviews & press bullshit & people will STILL love you. That’s the power of great music, if anyone still remembers what that is.
You can take your hard working good guys & I’ll take all the assholes who rock.
I mean, you don’t HAVE to be an asshole to make great music. But the moment someone makes an excuse like “oh c’mon, they’re great guys, they work hard,” you know you don’t have it.
Admit this to yourself… this is not music for fans of music.
Comment by Jon Cole — December 1, 2007 @ 11:33 am
I have to agree with jon on this one. Although ‘apologize’ is a bonafide hit, I can’t judge a band based on work ethic. Creativity and imaginative, yes.
I do like the apologize song, people dig it, and the success relects that.
Comment by rachel — December 1, 2007 @ 11:59 am
It’s a bona fide flavor of the week is what it is.
A bona fide hit lasts. I Want To Hold Your Hand is a bona fide hit. Jumpin’ Jack Flash is a bona fide hit. Walkin’ On the Moon is a bona fide hit. Shook Me All Night Long is a bona fide hit. Rocket Man is a bona fide hit. Movin’ Out is a bona fide hit.
Who’s going to want to listen to Apologize ten years from now? Maybe someone will download it on the decade-from-now equivalent of LimeWire for a quick, nostalgic play, but that’s it.
We have lost our standards.
Comment by Jon Cole — December 1, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
Jon, cut it. “Apologize” has been a hit among the MySpace crowd for nearly 1 1/2 years now. Are people gonna listen to it decades from now? I dont know. Only time can tell. But you making assumptions about its “future success”, doesnt really speak for you. You compare “Apologize” to “I want to hold your hand”. Apples and Oranges. Lets talk again in 2050.
Comment by Jason — December 2, 2007 @ 1:12 am
Jon’s all over it. “Apologize” will be forgotten a year from now. Its a temporary hit not a timeless classic. Its as much as a hit as that Arrival crap that was posted earlier. There are coldplay songs that are much stronger than this and they might not even achieve “timeless classic” status like “Rocket Man”, “Hey Jude”, “Highway to Hell” all good examples.
I am a sucker for strings though.
Comment by D — December 2, 2007 @ 8:22 am
I hear good songs all the time. How often do I hear a great song? A song that is not forgettable and that will stick with me? Not very often. Most of it is fast food ear candy shit with good production.
Where’s the music with heart, soul and substance?
Comment by D — December 2, 2007 @ 8:28 am
“I hear good songs all the time. How often do I hear a great song? A song that is not forgettable and that will stick with me? Not very often. Most of it is fast food ear candy shit with good production. Where’s the music with heart, soul and substance?”
Says the woman who names Kid Rock and one hit wonder Axl Rose her influences.
Comment by Jason — December 2, 2007 @ 9:28 am
Don’t assume I am the singer of the band jr. You are going to tell me that OR’s “Apologize” is going to have as much staying power as GnR’s “Sweet Child of Mine” or “Welcome to the jungle”, “Paradise City”
Guns n Roses have been a MAJOR influence in rock music.
Kid Rock like him or not has evolved and managed to stay relevant. OR will disappear.
Comment by D — December 2, 2007 @ 9:48 am
…somewhat relevant.
Comment by D — December 2, 2007 @ 9:49 am
Jason, calling Guns N Roses a one hit wonder knocks your credibility down to zero.
I’m pretty sure that November Rain was the lengthiest top 40 hit of the 1990s… that’s a feat achieved by writing a damn good song. If you want to tell me that this “Apologize” song will have a FRACTION of the impact of Sweet Child ‘O Mine, Welcome To the Jungle, November Rain, Patience, Civil War, or their cover of Live & Let Die, you’re off your rocker (pun intended). Axl is fucking up left & right with Chinese Democracy & they’ve still got more interest than this band will EVER have. Ever.
Give me a call when this record catches sales of the GNR Greatest Hits that was released back in ‘04, 17 years after “that one hit.”
Let’s DO talk again in 2050. I’ll still be listening to Nighttrain (the fourth single off of Appetite For Destruction) AND I Want To Hold Your Hand. Millions of others will, too. And everyone will have completely forgotten about this band & this annoying song.
Comment by Jon Cole — December 2, 2007 @ 10:52 am
I agree. Jason fails to understand the definition of a one hit wonder.A one hit wonder is the girl group ‘Dream’, a flock of seagulls, etc. One hit wonders never cross over to the live show business. If guns n roses united it would be one of the biggest reunion tours ever next to the rolling stones and led zeppelin. Appetite for destruction is one of the best rock records made in human existence. If you write a record like that, you never need to write another one again. As axle says ‘ you’re fukin crazy’!!!!!!!
Comment by koar — December 2, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
Comparing apples to oranges gets nowhere.
So maybe this ‘Pologize song isn’t I Wanna Hold Your Hand. But come on. It is definately a hit. It is catchy, it has a beat. I mean, hell, I still listen to Tha Crossroads by Bone Thugs. Not exactly the worlds best song, but it had staying power. People will still like this song in 10 years.
Maybe not on the level of great records and proven artists, but it doesn’t make the song crap.
Comment by Scott Sweeney — December 3, 2007 @ 5:56 am