New Label Idea: Will It Work?
I know, I know, it's not weekly music news time, but I just came across this article on Paste Magazine's site. Apparently, Radiohead's manager, in conjuction with the MAMA Group and Nettwerk Music, have founded a new label called Polyphonic. The idea is to found a label with a business plan flexible enough to respond to artists' needs, even if the needs of one artist on the label doesn't match the needs of another. They also plan a profit share plan for their deals, giving musicians 50% of their profits. Yes, I know, just like many of you small indies already do it.
The question is - will it work? Now, it doesn't hurt that everyone involved in the project has some cash in their pockets to get things going, but cash or no cash, I like the principle of the idea. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (no pun intended), I don't think the work that record labels DO is outdated, I just think that the way many of them do business is behind the times. Musicians benefit from having capable people working with them to establish their careers. Most record labels don't want to punch musicians in the face and steal their lunch money. Sure, there are some bad apples out there, but when musicians and labels find a way to not be at cross purposes, well, sometimes good things can happen. Not everyone needs a label, but not everyone is cut out for label free life, either.
What do you think of their idea? Share your thoughts!
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Okay so since the advent of digital distribution and content has been fully accepted by both music business insiders and musicians alike the inevitable question is how do we create a sustainable platform of which both parties i.e, the musicians (and the industry behind them) and the public both receive what they view as their far share of the luxury item known as music. In this new age old school record labels and the media conglomerates were to slow and/or so big that they were cumbersome and couldn’t properly adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of the recording industry.
That being said I must agree with you Heather, there is always a need for labels in all shapes and forms to continue to help their artists achieve their musical goals and continue to add to their own catalog as a record label. A 50% share of profit between label and artist is unheard of but I can assure you that this will not be the last time we hear of it. I find it intresting that as musicans and other techies cry that this is the ‘end of the record label era’ that a manager of group that is so forward like Radiohead would rush to create a record label. I think that this stand teastement to the functions that both established major and smaller indie labels provide that musicians on their own cannot; connections into the industry, knowledge of the various laws which help provide the bottom line with a boost in revenue and experience in marketing and promoting various musical products to a mass audience. The way labels run now may be dated but I trust that soon in the future we will see more labels that are like Polyphonic and/or spin off that template.