Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Courtesy of K Records
Courtesy of Sci -Fidelity Records
Courtesy of Maverick Record Company
Courtesy of MCA Records
. ;;C
riiCheese I incident
toPnarcotic
SOUND SYSTEM
alanismorissettc
Courtesy of Rumblefish Records
Kevin McKinely of 16 Second Hum plays bass at a recent Wild Duck Music Hall per
formance. The band is a recent addition to the Rumblefish line-up.
■ Record labels exist in a
musical world that’s more
competitive every day
By Rory Carroll
Oregon Daily Emerald
Stephen Malkmus, lead singer
of Pavement, put it best when he
sang, “Music seems crazy, bands
start up, each and every day.” But
today, it seems like there’s a new
record company tossing their hat
in the ring every day, too.
Corporate record labels, inde
pendent record labels and on-line
record companies are all vying to
make their artist achieve success
or “break big.” Since the dawn of
major and minor, or ‘indie’, labels,
there has been a kind of David
and-Goliath rift between the two.
Although all record companies
are ultimately interested in sales,
it has long been thought that the
philosophies are different.
Major or minor?
Ben Goldberg has been on both
sides of the record label fence. He
worked for a year and a half at
Lava Records, a subsidiary label
under major label Atlantic
Records. He later took a job in pro
motion and general office manage
ment at New York’s reputable
indie label Matador Records.
Although he wasn’t at
Matador when the company
began in 1989, he said that
the intention was to create a
label that was artist-friendly and
had a provocative assortment of
music on it from different bands.
He said Matador is interested in
bands that don’t necessarily have
the potential for immediate com
mercial success, but have an un
compromising musical integrity.
“That's what I feel the label has
become,” Goldberg said.
But there is an array of inde
pendent labels, and their goals are
often very different. Not all indie
labels have adopted Matador's
dedication to diversity. Some la
bels focus on chronicling a specif
ic genre of music. Dischord
Records, for example, has always
had the goal of cataloging the Wash
ington, D.C., punk rock scene.
"Some labels just look to seek an
identity with a certain style of mu
sic and really become known for
being experts and leaders in that
genre,” Goldberg said. “And then
there are other independent labels
that love to become part of the
huge conglomerate, love to join to
major labels.”
Despite their differences, major
and minor labels alike are interest
ed in breaking their bands and
selling records. But some labels
are not so successful, despite start
ing with a large budget. Zero Hour
Records is an example of a label
that began with much capital, but
failed after not being able to break
any of their artists.
"Making a band break big is often
very difficult to do," Goldberg said.
Other labels, like Olympia’s K
Records, started out with very little
money but eventually grew to be
come a prominent Northwest label,
launching now-national acts like
Built to Spill and Modest Mouse.
"They’re built to catalog their
scene really well,” Goldberg said.
“They’ve been able to have suc
cesses with their releases and use
that money to fuel more releases.”
Kill Rock Stars is another inde
pendent Northwest label that has
achieved success. Olympia-based
trio Sleater-Kinney released "All
Hands on the Bad One" on the Kill
Rock Stars label Tuesday. The
band’s records have all been criti
cally acclaimed, including their
latest album.
Sleater-Kinney frontwoman
Corin Tucker said that she is glad
that her band is on an independ
ent label instead of a major one.
"From what I know of most of
the major labels, they’re in really
sad shape,” Tucker said. “It just
seems like a really bad time to be
on a major label. You don’t know
whether or not you’re going to get
dropped or what’s going on, or
whether the label is going to get
bought by someone else. I think
we’re feeling really fortunate that
we’ve made the decisions that we
have and that we’re on Kill Rock
Stars.”
Tucker said that knowing every
one at the label, as well as setting
goals with them, leads to a sense
of comfort they don’t want to part
with.
But Deb Bemadini, a publicist
at Warner Brothers Records for
nearly 11 years, said that if major
labels occasionally swallow up
bands, it’s usually an accident.
“Not every band succeeds,” she
said.
She added that the only differ
ence most bands find when work
ing for a major label is the amount
of money that the label has to sup
port their artist with. Although
Warner Brothers is a giant compa
ny that deals with movies, books
and films, all of the divisions are
kept separate. Bemadini said her
office runs smoothly and not un
like an independent label, and
added that Warner Brothers has a
good relationship with many in
dependent labels.
Musician Elliott Smith, who
moved from Kill Rock Stars to ma
jor label DreamWorks, recently told
The Rocket that he has benefited
from the new direction of his career.
“I’m happy with certain things
about it. Like the fact that I have
access to more sonic possibilities
that I couldn’t have had before. I
could never afford to hire an or
chestra before,” Smith said [The
Rocket, 4/28/00].
But Paul Anthony, the master
mind behind Eugene’s digital in
die label Rumblefish, echoes Tuck
er’s sentiments about major labels.
He said Rumblefish is dedicat
Tum to Labels, page 7B
[008216
lohn Henry’s Dance Nights
no cover for women!!
136 E. 11th,
Wednesdays: io pm justice
League of America presents
Dance Hail House Tunes
342-3358
O °0
O O ° o
21 and over! O
ioi
007931
T.H J.N.K Trivia
o
13
DQ
_C
CO
$
Irish pub
295 Hwy. 99 North
Starts Thursdays 8:00 pm
• Win Prizes
• Win Irish Bucks
$1 off any item
at O’Donnell’s
1 coupon per person
co
zr
TO
C
o
7T
*
JliJ^P686 2458
492 E. 13th Ave
www.Dijou-cinemas.com
"TWOTHUMBS UP7
FOREST WHITAKER
■ „FMm Fast Calendar at the 1
IBiiou and around town now!!j
“★★★★. LAl'GH-OLTLOiD Fl'XXY:
FROM THE 111 RECTOR OF DINER.' TIN MEN' AND AVAION
LIBERTY HFIGHTS
Nightly 6:50pm - Sat Mat 2:10pm (1
BIJOU LateNite S3 TH-SA/S2 SU WE