Fortune Small Business and... The End Records

[Jim LotFP]

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2007/03/01/8402016/index.htm?postversion=2007032109

This had been forwarded to me as a scan from the original magazine article... but apparently it's also been on CNN's page all month.

Interesting, and a bit disturbing.

 

[Jim LotFP]

... and Lordi's on Ozzfest.

*sigh*

 

[Cheiron]

Why disturbing?

What exactly do you take issues with? I have some issues with some things. I think licensing is okay. As long as the artists agree. Nothing wrong with music you've already made for artistic reasons, finding a home on TV (lol?) or video games. So long as you aren't making music with that intent, nor signing bands that are TV/game/etc friendly. But getting some length is okay. However, I think that people should not let it just go anywhere, and should only let it be in places that are consistent with their philosophies. So, for example, don't let it be used in some crappy scene in a TV show where a bunch of low-life kids are hanging out and listening to some 'crazy loud music!' That just lowers the respect for metal.

 

[Jim LotFP]

Why disturbing?

Another lesson from the majors: The End should think about moving into a different sort of partnership with artists, where they can participate in touring income as well as merchandise such as hats, T-shirts and collectibles.

I love this. If traditional sales channels are dying, don't make new ones, just gouge the bands a little more. Labels printing up merchandise is nothing new (and hell, taking chunks out of touring income might not be either) but the suggestion that more would be in order... bastards!

The move from Salt Lake cost $30,000. His $6,000 monthly office rent is twice what he used to pay. Internet access is considerably more expensive in New York, taxes are higher, even trash pickup is an extra $200 per month.

The End is going to have to grow and grow and grow, or it's going to have to disappear after a move like this. I hate such a situation all on its own, no matter the circumstances or who or why those circumstances exist. Their move to Salt Lake City had to do with factors having nothing to do with the label... I wonder what the thought process was in deciding to move to NY.

Whether it's Napalm Records telling some of it's bands to commercialize or go away after they had some real sales successes in the late 90s, Century Media's mystery dropping of almost their entire creative portion of their roster a couple-few years back (and getting The End tangled up in it, by the by), or Spinefarm opening sublabels because it would damage the reputation of the main brand to release albums not likely to sell 50k+, this kind of label reorganization and posturing sucks ass because all it does is contribute to cycles of boom and bust, trends and Next Big Thing, and thus making everything temporary out of the gate.

All three consultants agree that the Lordi signing is a key development, one that could make or break The End.

I haven't been offended by an album like I was by The Arockalypse in quite some time. It's one thing to have a laugh as they win a complete joke event like Eurovision... but holy fuck. I was at least hoping they'd fall flat on their ass in the States but it seems more and more like the quote is correct... sink or swim...

... and I know the struggle Andreas K. went through to build that label... but if it's all built up to banking on Lordi... let it sink.

 

[circus_brimstone]

Really interesting article. As far as the NY move goes, I figured they just wanted to be in a more heavily populated area that has a much larger scene than SLC.

I've always liked The End. Their prices are usually decent - especially for their own records - and bands like Agalloch, 4ge 0f S1l3nce, Estradasphere, Frantic Bleep, Giant Squid, Novembers Doom, Sculptured, Sigh, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Stolen Babies, Ulver, Unexpect, Virgin Black, and Winds are really unique and interesting. I could see the appeal, however, of signing acts such as Dissection, Lordi, Thine Eyes Bleed, and Voivod - bands that have either a strong following (Dissection, Voivod) or are easily marketable (Lordi, Thine Eyes Bleed). With that being said, as long as The End continues to release quality records at reasonable prices, I'll support them.

 

[DBB]

Why disturbing?

"Heavy metal makeover" is a pretty disturbing title for an article.

It is like something from Home and Garden Television.

 

[Cheiron]

"Heavy metal makeover" is a pretty disturbing title for an article.

It is like something from Home and Garden Television.

True.

And I agree with most of what you said Jim.

 

[DBB]

I'll drink to that...

 

[BenMech]

I love this. If traditional sales channels are dying, don't make new ones, just gouge the bands a little more. Labels printing up merchandise is nothing new (and hell, taking chunks out of touring income might not be either) but the suggestion that more would be in order... bastards!



The End is going to have to grow and grow and grow, or it's going to have to disappear after a move like this. I hate such a situation all on its own, no matter the circumstances or who or why those circumstances exist. Their move to Salt Lake City had to do with factors having nothing to do with the label... I wonder what the thought process was in deciding to move to NY.

Whether it's Napalm Records telling some of it's bands to commercialize or go away after they had some real sales successes in the late 90s, Century Media's mystery dropping of almost their entire creative portion of their roster a couple-few years back (and getting The End tangled up in it, by the by), or Spinefarm opening sublabels because it would damage the reputation of the main brand to release albums not likely to sell 50k+, this kind of label reorganization and posturing sucks ass because all it does is contribute to cycles of boom and bust, trends and Next Big Thing, and thus making everything temporary out of the gate.



I haven't been offended by an album like I was by The Arockalypse in quite some time. It's one thing to have a laugh as they win a complete joke event like Eurovision... but holy fuck. I was at least hoping they'd fall flat on their ass in the States but it seems more and more like the quote is correct... sink or swim...

... and I know the struggle Andreas K. went through to build that label... but if it's all built up to banking on Lordi... let it sink.

I'm much the same way. It's a good thing that the article makes Andreas seem perturbed by the outrageously oblivious marketing consultants, and very hesitant about their poorly thought schemes.

 

[Jim LotFP]

Their move to Salt Lake City had to do with factors having nothing to do with the label... I wonder what the thought process was in deciding to move to NY.

This topic, since hitting Blabbermouth, is being discussed all over the place. Which means some people better connected than I are commenting...

It seems The End moved to New York for the same reason they moved to Salt Lake City... Andreas' wife's work. Has to be tough to have your expenses explode because of that, but I like it better than the "wanted to be closer to industry sources" talk that I'd heard last year.

 

[DBB]

After doing some reading this evening, I would not be surprised if the solution to The End's financial situation will be an agreement with a major label at some point on down the road. Maybe even a 50% buyout at some point. Given that the Lordi deal must be resulting in close links between the Sony BMG and The End--it is not hard to imagine where the label will turn if some crisis assistance is needed.

Mark Fry, director of marketing at Sony BMG in Finland, Lordi's record label, says the band has broken conventional marketing paradigms in Finland by showing that eccentricity can be as successful an export as hockey or reindeers.

Since the band won Eurovision, he says, companies ranging from candlestick manufacturers to chocolate makers have been jockeying to cash in on Lordi's success. In Finland the Esso service station chain now advertises its hot dogs with the slogan "Hard Dog Hallelujah," while an outdoor furniture company wants to market garden gnomes modeled after the band members.

"Lordi is a marketer's dream because they have a positive shock effect on consumers and have a fan base that ranges from teenagers to hard-rocking grannies," Fry said. "It may change the way Finnish - and Scandinavian - companies market themselves because Lordi has shown that being different can be a strength"

View from Finland: How Winning Changes Everything: Lordi's Rise

I could see Fry making similar statements about the American label Lordi has landed on.

 

[Zealotry]

I think we've reached a point where we pretty much have to resign ourselves to the fact that any metal label [though I hesitate to call TER that, since they're now signing more non-metal bands than metal ones, it seems] needs at least one 'breadwinner' act if the people running it are serious about turning a profit and maintaining a working operation. We pretty much have to gloss over the presence of Lordi on TER's roster if they can turn around and invest the revenue Lordi generates in promoting something like Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Sigh or Agalloch. We saw the same thing with Relapse [Mastodon, Neurosis, High On Fire], Spinefarm [Children of Bodom], Candlelight [Emperor], and even Osmose [Immortal].
What seperates good labels from bad ones is actually fulfilling the latter part of their duties and giving due promotion to the non-breadwinner acts so they have a chance to become breadwinners. Metal Blade is the perfect example of the antithesis of this. I bet they have employees in their office that don't even realize Primordial and Disillusion signed with them. Meanwhile, they continue to get fat by inundating the market with Cannibal Corpse and Black Dahlia Murder releases.

 

[Jim LotFP]

We saw the same thing with Relapse [Mastodon, Neurosis, High On Fire], Spinefarm [Children of Bodom], Candlelight [Emperor], and even Osmose [Immortal].

There is no way anybody knew any of those bands were going to be "breadwinners" ahead of time. Neurosis had an established fanbase when Relapse signed them, and while it seemed like a weird signing at the time (what? not death metal? ) it really wasn't that big of a departure from a label that tried to push, that same year, that bringing Brutal Truth on board was the biggest signing in the history of music. High on Fire had "cult appeal" I guess with the Sleep thing but certainly there was no reason to think "breadwinner" considering Sleep's last album had been shelved with no intention of being released until it was sold off to a smaller company.

And none of them were such a crass departure from what the label actually was to begin with the way Lordi is.

Besides, the way I've always heard it is that the sales of all the smaller bands generate the revenue to support the signing of the big acts, not the other way around. Sure, smaller boats benefit too when the water rises, but historically success for a label means the acquisition of more high-profile acts (or new acts in the now-successful label's new commercial style), not "promoting from within" to make a current act more popular.

 

[Scourge of God]

The End has always leaned toward the commercial, pseudo-metal end of things. Their roster has long been littered with the Agalloch's and Sculptured's of the world, bands who benefit from the allure of metal, but have never really hidden their overarching contempt for the genre (not uncommon among those who have adopted the conceit of considering themselves an 'avant-garde'). The only difference between Lordi and the existing roster is that Lordi is the low-brow version of the same marketing strategy. The only useful thing The End has ever done as a label is reissue the early Immortal records so that kids who weren't around in the early and mid 1990s can actually acquire them.

 

[Zealotry]

Wait, so... what exactly is it that makes Agalloch and Sculptured 'commercial'?

Or Sigh, or SGM, or Green Carnation, or Estradasphere, for that matter?

I could also point out that they're releasing the new AngelCorpse album, but that's clearly not the type of act you were referring to.

 

[Helm]

Sculptured are an odd one (I like them odd, but I don't like Sculptured) but Agalloch are very easy-listening. You can play most material to people who are not adverse to music with guitars and they'll tolerate, and a large percentage will dig. This doesn't mean Agalloch are artistically bankrupt, it just means they're an easy sell. Same for Green Carnation (when that obnoxious female singer from In The Woods... is not allowed to squeal over 20 minutes worth of material, that is).

Estradasphere, Sleepytime et al. I believe - and what they're signing supports my belief - they're hoping for the genreclash Mr.Bungle thing to gain considerably more fans in the future. Perhaps they're right, perhaps they'll get lucky. It's a business move as well as a 'we like this we sign this' move I think. It doesn't have to do much with Heavy Metal like Scourge of God says, as all these bands are only marginally related with it.

 

[Scourge of God]

Wait, so... what exactly is it that makes Agalloch and Sculptured 'commercial'?

Or Sigh, or SGM, or Green Carnation, or Estradasphere, for that matter?

Uh, the fact that they all sound like 70's commercial rock with thicker distortion? The 'avant-garde' in metal is almost always trendy crap for pseudo-intellectual college dorks, a commercial proposition by its very nature. If you think this stuff is anything other than pop music dressed up with distortion pedals and occasional dissonance, you're a moron.

 

[Helm]

Wouldn't you say becoming Pop is what sometimes happens to music much more than it is what is intended for said music by their creator?

 

[Jim LotFP]

The x in metal is almost always trendy crap for y

There isn't much out there that doesn't have an x and a y to be plugged in.

And considering every single thing that makes heavy metal heavy metal is taken from 70s (and late 60s, yeah) commercial rock, I'm not sure any comparisons can be taken as an insult as much as just stating the obvious.

 

[Scourge of God]

Wouldn't you say becoming Pop is what sometimes happens to music much more than it is what is intended for said music by their creator?

Probably, but then again, results matter, intentions don't.