Rise Records

[ahjteam]

I just noticed that Rise Records is slowly in the last five years becoming one of the "new hot shit" metal label. They have signed a load of the currently "trendy" metal acts, like Attack Attack, The Devil Wears Prada and so on. But I think the bad thing about their strategy is that then they sign bands that all make very similiar music and then they are sent to the same producers (but let's not bring Joey, Chango & co into the discussion, okay?), so it makes everything sound like the same generic shit uke:

I mean, if I go to rise records youtube channel and choose videos by random, first listen to Miss May I, then listen to Sleeping With Sirens, check out Of Mice And Men, view the Take The Crown commercial and finish it up with Abandon All Ships; Eventho the songs are all different, the vocal production, the drum production, guitar production; It's exactly the same. And the music is also very similiar.

Roadrunner Records was one of the earliest metal labels that had the "new hot shit" on their roster and it was THE label to follow on the numetal wave, but atleast most of their bands nowadays sound different and are on a very broad scale of the metal genre, if you compare the Roadrunner roster: Porcupine Tree, Slipknot, Opeth, Dream Theater, Korn, Stone Sour, Billy Talent, Devil Driver, DragonForce, Killswitch Engage, KISS, Machine Head, Lynyrd Skynyrd, RATT, Rob Zombie, Soulfly, Within Temptation, Trivium, Nightwish, Meat Loaf... when Rise is mostly focused on the metalcore.

Most of the bands that Roadrunner signed were formed over 15 years ago, when most of the Rise Records bands started in the past 5 years. I know it's good to support and sign new and upcoming bands, but since the label doesn't have like a clear money maker on them since they sold them to Ferret and what not, I think the risk is just too high to see Rise for another 15 years, if they don't evolve their booking strategies. The main difference is that I think Roadrunner will be up and running for another solid 30 years.

 

[JayB]

Roadrunner may still be around in 30 years, but I guarantee they will be completely radio - centric by then.

 

[egan.]

I don't understand the complaint. They are working a niche and no doubt their roster will become more diverse over time but they consistently sign and "break" bands in their genre. Logic and business prowess would suggest that they should continue with what they know. That said, either they'll change as tastes change or they'll go out of business.

I'm mildly suspicious that this thread exists exclusively to spawn a flame war.

 

[ahjteam]

I'm mildly suspicious that this thread exists exclusively to spawn a flame war.

nope. you can have a discussion without flaming, right?

 

[RLab]

Totally agree with ahjteam, nothing more to say.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

They noticed something sells and they repeat it over and over again to make profit as long as they can. In other words, they're working in the music biz.

 

[TheDriller]

I don't understand the complaint. They are working a niche and no doubt their roster will become more diverse over time but they consistently sign and "break" bands in their genre. Logic and business prowess would suggest that they should continue with what they know. That said, either they'll change as tastes change or they'll go out of business.

I'm mildly suspicious that this thread exists exclusively to spawn a flame war.

The trick is that with no variety in sound, they're dead in the water as soon as their fan-base collectively hit puberty and start listening to decent music.

 

[egan.]

They noticed something sells and they repeat it over and over again to make profit as long as they can. In other words, they're working in the music biz.

This exactly. I don't like any of their bands that I can think of but they are cranking out hit records. It's true that this is different from the current RR model of signing bands that are already famous but I don't see that as a "right vs wrong" issue.

 

[SocialNumb]

Business as usual. Jarkko and Egan win.

 

[CatharsisStudios]

i am not seeing the issue here,


don't like bands like that, don't listen to rise bands, plain and simple

 

[JeffTD]

Once again, this is the "music business," not the "music-art-collective."

 

[Leavit]

As egan said, Ride Records are selling a nishe metalcore thats hip* today. It's about profit. I think they will expand when breakdowns is over.

EDIT* And do the next nishe

 

[ahjteam]

Once again, this is the "music business," not the "music-art-collective."

record industry and music industry are two different things in my books.

 

[JeffTD]

record industry and music industry are two different things in my books.

They're both industries:

industry |ˈindəstrē|
noun ( pl. -tries)
1 economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories
• [with adj. ] a particular form or branch of economic or commercial activity

They both are profit-driven.

 

[Melb_shredder]

Like what Jeff said. It IS an industry. And as much as you like to think these labels care about the bands on them, then you're sadly mistaken. They find a product people are liking/clinging on to for the moment *generally called a fad, fucking deal with it* and they exploit it. Rise right now is signing these popcore bands left right and center, because for the next few years, they are going to be running to the bank with wads of cash. Now when this generation of bands finally gets old and stale *slowly getting there IMO* then they will jump on to the next thing. Leaving the current roster to A. forge a new sound the kiddies will love ala In Flames in recent time, or B. Fuck off entirely to another label or go on their own.

That's it, really there's not much else to it

 

[egan.]

The trick is that with no variety in sound, they're dead in the water as soon as their fan-base collectively hit puberty and start listening to decent music.

You are right if they fail to adapt and certainly only time will tell, however one would assume that they won't continue to sign the exact same bands until they go bankrupt. I've expressed that the Rise "sound" is definitely not my taste however, the notion that they're doomed to fail just seems like wishful thinking on the part of their detractors.

Even though I love several bands on the RR roster, lets not forget that they're the label that dropped Death to make room for more rap metal bands. The point being that many people really fail to grasp just how competitive and fleeting success in the "record selling business" is. Expecting a business to not continue to pursue artists that are going to break the top 100 on the billboard charts is just silly. The fact is that Rise is competing with the majors and I'd be willing to bet that they have a staff under 10 people --and they are developing new artists no one has heard of. That's admirable no matter how homogeneous the roster.

 

[Ermz]

I'm with egan on this one. Failing to see the validity of the complaint. Ultimately if you don't like their monotone roster, don't look up bands featured in it. They've cashed onto something that works, riding a wave of popularity that will be (hopefully) short-lived, but for now they are making it, and achieving the form of success that any label exists to achieve.

 

[Jevil]

They have signed a load of the currently "trendy" metal acts, like Attack Attack,