Kings of A&R

16 Comments »

1. KOAR, what’s with the last new music post and this one? No major will or SHOULD sign this.

   FIND US SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP KEEP THE MAJORS OUT OF THE TOILET!! SOMEONE WHO WILL AT LEAST GO GOLD WITH HIS/HER RECORD.

   Comment by Jason — December 12, 2007 @ 11:50 am

2. Jason, where did you get you’re assumption that KOAR posts bands for majors? that is a bit backwards..

   Comment by liz — December 12, 2007 @ 11:55 am

3. nothing can keep big music companies out the toilet. CD sales are dwindling.

   Maybe 10 Nickelbacks could help save they day, but that requires songwriting and new artists are a bit illiterate these days.

   Comment by lilly — December 12, 2007 @ 11:56 am

4. KOAR just always striked me as a site who’s interested in finding MAJOR talent, not artists who will go on to make coffee table records. That’s why…

   Comment by Jason — December 12, 2007 @ 2:12 pm

5. How did The Agency Group get involved with her? That’s the question on my mind right now.

   Comment by Scott — December 12, 2007 @ 3:12 pm

6. If the majors want to survive the change to “music 2.0,” they SHOULD sign this girl. Because “music 2.0″ revolves around the niche. The mainstream is dying a slow & torturous death & niches are rising to the top. Postal Service is the new Mariah Carey.

   There is sooo much shit electronic pop out there. (*caugh*PlayRadioPlay*caugh*) This is actually good. The vocals sound a little processed, but it works in a sweeter Imogen Heap kind of way. The songs are great. You can tell that her influences have a lot of substance (Bjork, Annie Lennox). And the tones are fantastic. If she’s doing these tracks in her bedroom, that’s the sexiest thing I’ve heard of all day. I would marry this girl in a second. (Can you get me some digits, Dean?) It’s GREAT to hear a young electronic artist who writes great pop songs & isn’t afraid to explore… who’s songs aren’t entirely derivative of contemporary bands.

   What the labels need to be looking for is artists who will last, artists who will release a third album that might go gold or platinum. Not just artists with really bland songs & a “now” sound & a “marketable” look who are really into “making it.” I think there’s a lot of potential here for her to be a big player in her niche.

   Comment by Jon Cole — December 12, 2007 @ 8:48 pm

7. why did the agency group get involved?

   Because of what John said. Because of the Niche. Activity. could show promise. - Dean

   Comment by koar — December 12, 2007 @ 10:16 pm

8. Jon, but the labels will never be about niche. That’s what the indie are about. The majors need to sign acts that can go gold, platinum or better double platinum. They chase the hit and sell hundred thousands of records. That’s their thing. They arent good at anything else. And I dont think they even WANT to do anything else.

   I was laughing my butt off when I saw that Black Kids were THE buzz act at CMJ. Major Label A&Rs dont need to sign some hipster band, they need to find a new Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne or Nickelback.

   Maybe niche is the future, but definitely not for the majors. If the paradigm of the superstar act dies, the majors will also go down. This goes hand in hand with the decline of album sales. P2P is only one of the problems. There’s too much clutter, no gatekeeper, and the majors somehow cant turn their acts into superstars anymore. Nobody’s paying attention. That’s the real problem.

   I’m not saying that the death of the majors would be a bad thing, but if they want to survive they have to find and develop new superstars. Make a lot of people pay attention to one single act. That’s the major label game, it’s what they’re best at. If they cant play it anymore, or figure out how to play, they will go doooowwwwn. They wont be needed anymore. If you cant make me somebody a superstar, why should they sign with you? They may as well go with an indie label, that will allow them to build from the ground up, and have some longevity.

   Comment by Jason — December 13, 2007 @ 3:33 am

9. Lights is great. She sings in key, has catchy stuff, and looks great, that’s really all you can ask for. I listened to all 3 cuts, she’s got what it takes.

   Comment by Tim — December 13, 2007 @ 7:39 am

10. If the majors aren’t down with the niche, you’re absolutely right… they’re on their way out. No two ways about it. Though I would question whether it’s really something they’re “good at.” Maybe it’s something they were good at once, but that was a long time ago.

    Maybe the Black Kids hype means that they’re moving towards survival. Maybe eventually they will build careers again & artists will have longevity.

    Either way, that’s the future.

    Comment by Jon Cole — December 13, 2007 @ 8:18 am

11. I hope to god that Jason is not an A&R at a label cause if he is then this one man is the perfect example of why the major labels are going to the shits!! Man, do you need the artist to sell 1 million records before you guys get the hint?? Every band that Dean posts you have nothing positive to say about them. why is that?? Is it because the High School syndrome know as the Major Record labels hasn’t kicked in with these bands..because every other label doesn’t want it yet? so then it is not satisfactory for you?

    If major labels are filled with people who think like this then yes I cant wait for the day that they are done with. Things have changed, changed in a big way….you need to figure it out. Obviously Crystal Castles are doing well, they are touring the world playing large venues on there own and are impressing almost every critic out there and most importantly the kids. Check out Lights myspace numbers and comments, it’s pretty obvious the kids are responding. It’s sad that no A&R has any balls anymore to put themselves out there and take a risk. Man if you want it to be cookie cutter go get a job making cookies.

    We need to fill the industry with people who want to sign innovative bands, great bands that kids want to listen to not the crap you labels have been putting out these days. Let the kids respond with what they want….stop forcing stuff on us all.

    I’m so happy that the internet has changed things, at least now everyone is on the same playing field….the great bands will survive

    thats my 2 cents about this

    Comment by Phill — December 13, 2007 @ 10:16 am

12. Light’s music is cute and dandy and speaking of music from bedrooms this kid does the same thing. Got something going on thats for sure. Welcome to the New Music Internet World!!!

    Comment by Esmeralda — December 13, 2007 @ 11:59 am

13. Phill, you clearly have no clue what you’re talking. When were record sales at its height? When we had “innovative” music? NO. It was about 10 years ago, when Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys ruled the charts.

    Not saying this is the type of music I like, but the average American person likes a nice person to look at, who’s singing a catchy melody.

    It’s the music BUSINESS. Nobody cares about art. Not even the successful indies. You sign something if you think it can resonate with a lot of people. That’s the bottom line, and most people want what I described above. If you cant deal with that, start a local indie label, and release coffee table records. Do I wish it would be different? Yes. But it’s not! I live in the real world, and unfortunately there is no room for wishful thinking here.

    Comment by Jason — December 13, 2007 @ 1:19 pm

14. Jason I do agree that in the late 90’s and even early on in this Decade that worked. But look at bands like The Killers, nothing was like them when they came out. They came into a place where there was no market for them and dominated it. I do think that the second album suffered because the songs just weren’t as good.

    If the formula of the britneys and boy bands work, then shouldn’t the new Spice Girls album be selling millions of copies? It comes down to songs this is why Nickleback can still sell 6 million albums. It is not just about the sound or a pretty face, Chad isn’t a super model we all know that. There are thousands of bands that sound like them but don’t have nearly as much success.

    I’m not saying that Majors need to sign all these artsy bands, what I’m trying to say is that the labels need to have some courage they need to have no fear…take risks..sign bands that push it and aren’t afraid to be different. If we played it safe would we have Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, U2…some of the best artists of all time in my opinion.

    I’m happy that over the last few days Dean posted some new artists a little left of center. Crystal Castles is not meant for the mainstream but there is a huge market for what they do. Electronic music does alright i don’t think Daft Punk or the Chemical Brothers complain. The band Hello Operator has some great songs can you imagine hooking them up with some veteran writers, someone who can guide and develop them into something super special. Even this girl lights..good looking girl, great tone to her voice…doing all this on her own in her bedroom. These artists need to be developed..Majors need to operate the way they did in the 70’s when they actually developed bands.

    Comment by Phill — December 13, 2007 @ 2:37 pm

15. If you can’t see all of the problems that type of model has caused for the industry, Jason, you’re completely blind.

    I couldn’t have said it better… Pink Floyd, NIN, Nirvana, David Bowie, U2… all above the lowest common denominator, all wrote great songs, all sold tonnage. AND THE PEOPLE WHO SIGNED THEM CARED ABOUT ART.

    Comment by Jon Cole — December 13, 2007 @ 3:01 pm

16. [...] Signings: Solo female artist Lights has signed to Warner Brothers. She dwells in Toronto and made some demos in her bedroom building a following on myspace and other social networking sites. Check her out in our December  New Music Column. [...]

    Pingback by Kings of A&R » Producer Jerry Finn, Signings, New Music, and Facebook #1 Globally… — August 13, 2008 @ 9:53 am

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