Kings of A&R

Wired Mag David Byrne Interviews Thom Yorke.

Yorke claims Radiohead benefits little from the traditional album set up.

That’s what major labels do, yeah. But it does us no good, because we don’t cross over [to other fan bases]. The main thing was, there’s all this bollocks [with the media].

Press people cut and paste from the first review….

We were trying to avoid that whole game of who gets in first with the reviews. These days there’s so much paper to fill, or digital paper to fill, that whoever writes the first few things gets cut and pasted.

Whoever gets their opinion in first has all that power. Especially for a band like ours, it’s totally the luck of the draw whether that person is into us or not. It just seems wildly unfair, I think.

Yorke discusses the ‘pay what you want’ experiment..

That was [manager Chris Hufford's] idea. We all thought he was barmy. As we were putting up the site, we were still saying, “Are you sure about this?” But it was really good. It released us from something. It wasn’t nihilistic, implying that the music’s not worth anything at all. It was the total opposite. And people took it as it was meant. Maybe that’s just people having a little faith in what we’re doing.

The ‘pay what you want’ experiment only works for Radiohead..

The only reason we could even get away with this, the only reason anyone even gives a shit, is the fact that we’ve gone through the whole mill of the business in the first place. It’s not supposed to be a model for anything else. It was simply a response to a situation. We’re out of contract. We have our own studio. We have this new server. What the hell else would we do? This was the obvious thing. But it only works for us because of where we are.

Yorke gives his insight for bands that are getting started..

Well, first and foremost, you don’t sign a huge record contract that strips you of all your digital rights, so that when you do sell something on iTunes you get absolutely zero. That would be the first priority. If you’re an emerging artist, it must be frightening at the moment. Then again, I don’t see a downside at all to big record companies not having access to new artists, because they have no idea what to do with them now anyway.

On touring….

We always go into a tour saying, “This time, we’re not going to spend the money. This time we’re going to do it stripped down.” And then it’s, “Oh, but we do need this keyboard. And these lights.” But at the moment we make money principally from touring. Which is hard for me to reconcile because I don’t like all the energy consumption, the travel. It’s an ecological disaster, traveling, touring.

The Bottom Line: This is was a nice discussion about business, but what about the music? Radiohead and their camp did an excellent job shaking the cage with the ‘pay what you want’ experiment which became the biggest story and headline in 2007. I just hope that the music and art will be the headline in 2008.

The King Of Christmas: Josh Groban 2007’s album ‘Noel’ could be this year’s best Christmas seller. USA Today wrote: ‘Noel, released Oct. 9, is No. 1 for the third week straight, tying a record for holiday albums set by Elvis Presley’s Elvis’ Christmas Album in 1957. Last week, he sold 581,000 copies, a gain of 8% over the previous week’s haul of 539,000. Noel could reach 3 million.

Major Music Companies Pass On Extra Costs To Artists: Touring and merchandise sales are the main sources of income for an artist to get from one city to the next. Gas prices are soaring close to $4 a gallon making it extremely difficult for touring artists. As if it weren’t hard enough, it just got a little harder.

Once again, major music companies are finding new ways to find money, in this case labels have increased the prices for venue CD’s (CD’s that artists buy back from their label to sell at their live performances). Sources have told KOAR that the major labels are now treating their own acts as a ‘retailer’ and selling CD’s at whole sale prices to their OWN artists.

For instance, some labels have increased the CD price from $6.00 to $6.50 and Roadrunner charges artists $12.00. If an artist buys back their CD for $12.00 that means they need to sell the CD for $15.00 to make a profit. What kid who attends a live show is going to buy a CD for $15.00? Isn’t it true that CD’s are becoming an artifact? Products like the CD with a shelf life about to end don’t go up in prices.  Lets get real, artists need a break.

Passings: Dan Fogelberg Died at age 56 from a battle with prostate cancer. Fox Column, Roger Friedman said it nicely: ‘No one, I mean no one, in pop today is capable of these kinds of sublime recordings. They’re too interested in fashion. Dan Fogelberg, with many hits and no place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will be sorely missed’.

18 Million Pumped Into Stiffs: About 60 people lost their jobs at Interscope and Geffen Records on Thursday when both labels merged into one. According to sources, a budget of $18 million was spent in making and promoting the Will.I.Am, Nicole Scherzinger(Pussycat Doll) and Eve albums - all were bombs and two aren’t even out yet.

Is Snocap Melting Away? P2Pnet discusses the possiblity of the mp3 digital retailer Snocap dissolving and offers the gloomier view in monotizing music. The business of selling recorded music is unprofitable for everyone and filling the void are a host of online new companies with enthusiasm but no better economics. Apple can’t even make money selling music, its the ipod that generate revenue. If Apple can’t make money selling music from the major labels, it is suicidal to think that Snocap could make money selling music only from indies. Selling music is like selling gravel. It’s a commodity says p2pnet.

Tickets go on sale at 10:0o a.m., sold out by 10:05 a.m.: Brokers use specialized software to make multiple online purchases of tickets, avoiding the four-ticket-per-customer limit. Kevin McLain, Ticketmaster’s senior director of applications support, estimates that on some days, 80 percent of all ticket requests that arrive at its Web site are generated by bots. For example, Hannah Montana tickets, whose face value is $21 to $66, have been resold on StubHub, on average, for $258, and that is without taking into account StubHub’s 25 percent commission (10 percent paid by the buyer, 15 percent by the seller). Speak about inflation! Do you feel like a sucker? You should. The solution is stop buying tickets for over priced concerts until a settlement is reached between Ticketmaster and RMG Technologies (A company that uses bots). The case is scheduled to go to trial in October 2008.

Layoffs Today at Geffen and Interscope Records: Both labels axed 15 staffers today, spanning all departments.

The Days In Vegas End for Celine: Her last show is Saturday and her “A New Day” show will have grossed $400 million in ticket sales over the four-year, eight-month run at Caesars Palace. According to Variety, Celine racked up 717 performances has played to better than 95% capacity throughout the run. Add sponsorships and merchandise sales, and Dion show’s tally hits a half-billion dollars, according to the show’s promoter, AEG. In each of its first two years, “New Day” took in $80.5 million. The point is, when people come to Vegas - they spend money and Celine was the beneficiary.

Is Amy Winehouse A Tabloid Victim Or Carefully-Curated “Trainwreck”? In today’s Salon, Winehouse is accused of blatant fakery by novelist James Hannaham. “She may be a tragic talent,” writes Hannaham, “but she’s also playing the part of the tragic talent.” Hannaham reasons that Amy is attempting to become a legend by not only singing the blues, but living them — and that her entire persona has been self-constructed with “legend” status in mind. I think the story is a bit far fetched. Hannaham wants us to believe in a self fulfilled prophecy. The truth is Winehouse is a drug addict that stumbled across a HIT song and it will probably never happen again. This is a case where lightning won’t strike twice!

The King Of The Album Charts: Chris Daughtry sold 3.2 million copies of his self-titled debut, making it the most popular album of the year followed by Akon, whose “Konvicted” sold 2.7 million; the “Hannah Montana” soundtrack with 2.5 million copies sold; Fergie’s “The Dutchess,” which sold 2.4 million; and 2005’s “American Idol” champ Carrie Underwood, whose “Some Hearts” sold 2.3 million copies.

Former American Idol contestants Carrie Underwood and Daughtry were two of the biggest sellers, but 2008 is looking a bit gloomier for the American Idol Franchise. Music sales from the latest contestants including Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks are spiraling down. Of course being a crowned a winner doesn’t mean you will selling anything, but it remains to be seen if American Idol can find the talent to keep Americans interested.

Selling 6 Million Records in the 21st Century is rare. The music business is a business of ‘exceptions’ and some artists defied the odds including Nickelback. USA Today pointed out an interesting statistic that only just 15 new albums released since 2000 have sold more than Nickelback.

Nickelback enjoyed 100+ consecutive weeks in the top 30 of Billboard’s album chart and sold over 6 Million Records WITHOUT dominating the sex-celeb driven tabloids, gracing the cover of magazines, and giving away free music. Rather than digging up a phony story and kissing up to wannabe celeb Perez Hilton, Nickelback did it the right way.

So what is the right way?

Chad can write a song and the band has radio appeal. Nickelback can be heard on adult contemporary and rock stations. Five songs from the album have appeared on Nielsen BDS’ multi-format national radio airplay chart, all reaching No. 25 or higher. Also, the band never stopped touring. The band toured in 2005 all they way through 2006 - 2007 rarely taking time off.

Nickelback’s catchy rock n roll songs is the main ingredient for success. They write classic formulated rock songs that don’t stray from the big rock sounds of the 70’s and 80’s - big guitars, gritty vocals, well defined choruses, climatic bridges, and soundtrack lyrics. Of course Chris Daughtry delivered the same rock and got the same results with his mega platinum record.

Nickelback’s success fuels the anger of hungry artists and half assed critics who want to re-define rock n roll to their personal taste. As USA Today depicted,’Nickelback’s traditional path to long-term prosperity contrasts with the way other mega-sellers did it’.

Other artists that will eventually top 6 million include Carrie Underwoods ‘Some Hearts’, Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway’, and The Dixie Chicks ‘Home’.

Holiday Layoffs at Columbia: A round of layoffs has hit Columbia. Staffers in publicity, promotion and marketing departments were axed just in time for Christmas.

New Signings: The two-time Dancing with the Stars champion Julianne Hough has inked a deal with Universal Music Group’s Mercury Nashville label. Hough and producer David Malloy will be recording her debut album next month in Nashville.

Pop Country Shannon Nicole who KOAR talked about negotiated a deal with Universal Republic.

Iron Maiden signed a 360 Deal with EMI: Iron Maiden has struck a comprehensive deal with EMI, which involves the band’s touring, merchandise and sponsorship. Iron Maiden has upcoming ’sold out’ stadium dates in Scandinavia, South America and Australia.

LimeWire: More than one-third of all PCs worldwide now have LimeWire installed, according to Digital Music News and media tracking specialist BigChampagne. “LimeWire continues to be the iTunes of P2P by a wide margin … but growth has remained flat over the last several months,” said Richard Menta, research analyst at Digital Music News.

New Music: Check out Lights a girl who dwells in Toronto and makes music in her bedroom. The music is atmospheric and a bit goofy. Thats ok, there is always room to grow but she is off to a good start.

First Led Zeppelin Review: KOAR loves this title for Led Zeppelins first ‘live’ review ‘Most modern number one hits could fit into one of their guitar solos’. Support act Paolo Nutini, 20, told The Sun: “I wasn’t alive the first time around but I’ve seen the footage on DVD.“Now watching them live, I’ve been taught a true musical lesson. Check out the set list here..

Spicy or Mild? Capitol Music partnered with lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret for the exclusive release of the Spice Girls greatest hits album. According to HITS, ‘Victoria’s Secret ordered 600k CD’s one-way from the Capitol Music Group, meaning no returns’ while the chain refused to offer a count of how many albums they sold. Obviously, it can’t be compelling. Even with prime-time appearances on TV and a music video that doubles as a commercial spot there is still a small demand for the former teen queens. Almost half of the seats in the Mandalay Arena auditorium were empty as the Spice Girls took to the stage for their second show in Las Vegas.

Pete Wentz blogs on the Grammys: Trent ranted about the Grammys - now Fallout Boy’s Pete Wentz gives his take on the grammy’s and it’s slightly less angry.
Wentz writes on his blog:

we wont lie to you, accolades from our peers feel great. however, a fifty year old white man shouldnt decide whether we are relevant or not- and he doesn’t. we wanted to thank you for making us feel relevant- for sitting up all night to get into our shows and for buying our music.

The Future of Geffen Records Is In Question: Sources are speculating about the future of Geffen Records who has housed artists including Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Counting Crows. Although layoffs are imminent, one source within the organization pointed to a shutdown. Another source claims the Geffen imprint would continue to be associated with certain artists and releases, but the real action would be happening elsewhere.

New Music: Check out this Toronto based band Crystal Castles that is described by Loud & Quiet as “the most exciting and original band in the world right now”. They will be releasing their first full-length album, on Last Gang Records in February 2008. No doubt this sounds like NOISE, but sometimes NOISE is good. Listen to the track Alice Practice.

All Eyes On imeem: imeem is a social media service where users interact with each other by watching, posting, and sharing content including blogs, photos, audio, and video. Although KOAR can’t verify these figures, according to analysts more than 19 million people now share their music on imeem. According to Business Week the imeem experiment is being closely watched as a potential new ad-supported model. Caldwell notes that music companies have never made money from advertising. Instead music companies make their songs available free on radio stations, MTV, and MySpace as a way to promote vinyl and CD sales. The thought here is that by making music available in compelling new ways, imeem could potentially intrigue members of the Napster generation away from unsanctioned piracy sites. “We think the opportunity for real revenue growth is for ad-supported music,” Caldwell says. “It can be as big as the download business, and Apple doesn’t have a stranglehold.” Imeem has cut licensing deals with three of the four major labels. The labels don’t make their money off the music, but by getting a cut of the advertising that imeem drums up for the site. Imeem CEO Dalton Caldwell says that roughly half of its revenue goes back to the content owners, on a pro rata basis. The more times a label’s songs are played, the more they get paid.

The Trent Rant: Josh Homme gave a piece of his mind last week, now its Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor who bashes the Grammys.

Trent wrote this on his blog:

While the music industry is doing everything they possibly can to go out of business, can we all make sure to rid ourselves of the Grammys, too? Out of touch old men jacking each other off.
ENOUGH!
Have a nice day

We get it Trent. People back in the day watched the Grammys to get an idea of what other people thought was popular. We hope Trent harnesses his anger and gives us another song like “Head Like A Hole” or “Piggy”.

Pot Dreams: Mr. Hufford said that he and Bryce Edge, Radiohead’s other manager, had come up with the pay-what-you-want plan during a stoned philosophical conversation about the value of music. They had initially proposed releasing only the download and the deluxe box, but the band overruled them, noting that many of its fans are neither downloaders nor elite collectors. Hufford also says regarding the ‘pay what you want plan’, “This was a solution to a series of issues,” Mr. Hufford added. “I doubt it would work the same way ever again.”

Mover Over iTunes: Amazon has long dominated online CD sales and analysts believe that Amazon MP3 is off to a fast start. “I won’t be surprised at all if Amazon has 20% market share (of the download business) by the end of 2008,” says Paul Verna, a music analyst with eMarketer. Some believe the advantages of Amazon including selling popular tracks for 89¢, rather than 99¢ in the basic MP3 format will cut into iTunes market share.

Pete Wentz of Fallout Boy is Seeking Talent: Wentz writes on his blog that he is looking to sign a new band:

hey you… yeah you. i realize that you know about great bands that i have never heard of waaaay before i hear them. we want to sign a new band and we need your help. if you know of someone great post about em (save the posts about oasis and motion city soundtrack- theyre great but already signed. know what i mean?).

Yeah, Pete, we know what you mean. NIN is out of a deal, go call Trent.

Blog Nominations: Nominees have been listed for Hypebot’s First Annual Music Blog Awards. Go support you’re favorite Blog.

Lasly, Fueled By Ramen has signed Los Angeles indie act Phantom Planet. Check out the track California - it has a Counting Crows vibe.