Ben,

This article was published in the la times on sunday 5/19....u can check it out at the following address:

http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Search-X!ArticleDetail-59700,00.html

A good topic for discussion.

Sunday, May 19, 2002

POP EYE
Label Has Just One Requirement: Sell 10,000

By STEVE HOCHMAN


With the Island Def Jam Music Group gambling $20 million on Mariah Carey after she was paid more millions to leave Virgin Records, it's clear that the major labels are more ready than ever to risk their resources on acts with potential album sales of millions.
Marc Geiger's new label sets its sights a bit lower.
"If you can sell 10,000 records, you're in if you want to be," says the music business veteran, whose iMusic venture will officially launch this summer.
In fact, {{{the ability to sell a minimum of 10,000 CDs is the only criterion for label candidates. Geiger doesn't care what style of music you make, what age demographic you appeal to, whether you can dance or what language you sing in. }}}
"We're not even saying, 'If your record's good enough, we'll sign you,'" he says.
The way to make this work, Geiger says, is to keep costs low. The label is not offering big advances to artists, nor will it propose expensive promotional campaigns for mainstream radio and TV exposure. What it is offering artists is full ownership of the master tapes, total creative control and a 50-50 split of net revenues.
Contracts will be only for one album, and expenditures will be made only with full agreement between the artist and the company.
Geiger has already had several notable takers. John Doe, the band Berlin, rappers Tre (from the Pharcyde) and Speech (from Arrested Development), and English band Gene have all signed on, with 20 more in negotiations, he says, adding that the approach is particularly suited to artists who have had some level of mainstream success and major-label support in the past and retain a reliable following but who no longer fit in the major-label and mainstream radio world.
Doe is using the label to release his first acoustic-based solo album, "Dim Stars, Bright Lights," with such friends as Aimee Mann and Jane Weidlin in guest roles and plans for an August release. The onetime Geffen and Elektra artist says he has no problems with the smaller scale of the plans.
"I got to a point pretty quickly where I wanted to make records," says Doe, who remains a member of L.A. punk leader X. "I didn't want to wait for someone else to say I could. Maybe there is an ego hurdle, but not for anyone who's a true creator. If I had the opportunity to work with a major label, I would probably do it. On the other hand, I don't think I would get as good a record or be as satisfied."
iMusic is part of a bigger company with major distribution (through BMG), and can operate in effect as a "hybrid" of indie and major services.
Geiger says that iMusic is a fulfillment of ideas at play at ARTISTdirect, a company he co-founded six years ago as an Internet-heavy platform for music acts. It's had ups and downs, but has maintained a leading presence in developing artists' Web sites and fan databases. It presaged iMusic by releasing albums by acts ranging from Mann to Cher.
Last year, ARTISTdirect started a joint venture with Interscope Records founder Ted Field to create ARTISTdirect Records, a label vying to compete on the major scale. Geiger, who is vice chairman of ARTISTdirect, believes the time is better than ever for a label that can target what he sees as an increasingly overlooked but extremely fertile "middle ground" of the music business. Geiger has assembled a small staff for iMusic, but will be able to draw on resources of the bigger label, if appropriate, on a project-by-project basis.
"When Ted came in with the traditional record business, we could also be in the middle ground as part of this company," Geiger says. "So we actually have a choice for artists, depending on who they are, where they are in a career and what kind of deal structure they want."
MOCKERS: Jimi Hendrix, the Who and members of the Beatles are the leading subjects of this year's annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival saluting '60s music figures.
The West Coast premiere of a new Hendrix documentary, "Blue Wild Angel," opens the two-week series June 27 at the American Cinematheque's home, the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, focusing on the late musician's final major concert appearance at 1970's Isle of Wight Festival.
"How I Won the War" (Richard Lester's satire starring John Lennon), "The Magic Christian" (starring Ringo Starr alongside Peter Sellers), and "Wonderwall" and "The Family Way" (featuring musical scores by George Harrison and Paul McCartney, respectively) screen on June 29--the first time the four solo film-work debuts of the Beatles will be shown together, according to Mods & Rockers co-producer Martin Lewis and cinematheque program director Dennis Bartok.
June 30 will be an all-day Who showcase--conveniently timed for the day before the group's Hollywood Bowl concert. Featured will be "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia," plus the documentaries "The Kids Are Alright" and "Listening to You," the latter covering their 1970 Isle of Wight performance.
Among the other films in the event will be Led Zeppelin's "The Song Remains the Same," "A Celebration at Big Sur," "The Mini Mob" (featuring a pre-"Saturday Night Fever" score by the Bee Gees) and the 1970 Polish film "Deep End" (with music by Cat Stevens and German band Can). More information can be found on the Internet site http://www.modsandrockers.com.
SMALL FACES: Timbaland is overseeing the debut of his brother, Sebastian, with Bubba Sparxxx, Ms. Jade and Petey Pablo all making appearances. The album is due in late summer from Timbaland's Interscope-distributed Beat Club label, with a single, "Special," to precede it.... Yolanda Adams has recorded the vocals for "If We Could Remember," which will be the featured song on the soundtrack to the thriller "Sum of All Fears." Paul Williams wrote the song and Trevor Horn produced, with an album (primarily featuring the score by Jerry Goldsmith) due from Elektra Records on June 4, and the film (which stars Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman) premiering May 31.... Old 97's leader Rhett Miller is finishing work on his debut solo album, "The Instigator," in Los Angeles, with Jon Brion producing. The two are handling most of the instrumental duties, with Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy) and Robyn Hitchcock offering guest vocals and Jim Keltner and Josh Freese manning the drums on some tracks. The album is due Aug. 27.

* * *
Steve Hochman is a regular contributor to Calendar.


Daddypop

Firstly, paragraph editing por favor.

Second if NOT firstly, HOW is this PRINCE related news.

Other than independance from big labels, it looks like a general discussion topic, not sure about main page PRINCE news...

I find this extremely prince related. Maybe he'll read it if he comes to this thread.
Reading is fundamental...

FlyingCloudPassenger said:

This is a Prince dream deal. Prince has been saying that the reason why he left Warner was that they didnt let him own his masters. Aslo this deal is meant for artists like prince who once was in the lime light but now they are not, but still have a loyal following.

Daddypop