Why Independence Matters

[DBB]

So that Merciless Death press release got me to looking around and thinking about some things.

The flashy and professional electronic press kit and the Ed Repka art is pretty top of the line for a young band that was being kicked around on numerous message boards as “fashion thrash” a few months ago and almost too sharp to be true for a first release on a fledgling label specializing in thrash.

Then I noticed the Fontana Distribution logo at the bottom of the press kit page and decided to have a look around.

About Us
Fontana’s mission is to be the premier independent music distribution company. A company where the artist comes first and the labels and their music get an unmatched level of passion and professionalism. We will strive to provide a quality of sales, marketing and backroom services that will exceed the expectations of both our label and retail partners.

About Fontana

Fontana Distribution, the independent arm of Universal Music Group Distribution, provides unparalleled sales and marketing support, as well as back office services, for a diverse roster of labels and their artists. Fontana distributes more than 60 labels including Vagrant Records, VP Records, American Gramophone, Quango, Global Underground, Mad Science Recordings, Angeles Records, Nitro, SMC, Upstairs Records, Warcon and many others. In addition, Fontana distributes select projects from UMG labels worldwide.

Interesting how the Fontana website has no scruples about using the word “backroom,” despite all its shady, corrupt connotations and its recent appearance as an epithet in some recent articles on the payola scandal (more on this in a bit), and the description which appears on in the Universal Music press release exchanges it for the more prim and proper “back office.”

The Universal Music press release from which it came from is worth a quick glance if just to see the background of Ken Gullic, the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing over at Fontana.

Fontana distributes numerous “independent” labels, Roadrunner Records among them (at least before the WB deal), and all this didn’t make me wonder about Merciless Death so much but Heavy Artillery.

Heavy Artillery is a spin-off of Punk Core Records which is also distributed by Fontana.

So what this means is that Heavy Artillery will benefit from national distribution right off the bat (a bonus other bands being distributed by the company have touted) due to connection to a major media conglomerate.

This made me think about what constitutes a small independent label and I started looking around at some things…ended up stumbling across some interesting things that are relevant to subjects that have been brought up around these parts before.

Here is some recent developments on the payola front:

FCC Proposal Could End Payola Probe

Probe Might Result in Payola Penalties

A call for action by some groups:

Slap on the Wrist Won't Stop Payola

And a couple of related articles (watch for the punchline at the end in the first one):

FCC deal may open doors for independent music in radio - but how much will really change?

Ain't that a kick? The Shins’ Indie Credibility is Being Tested by Big Mainstream Sales.




Roadrunner is an independent, are they not? Reminds me of the glorious days when ketchup was counted as a vegetable.

It could be much more important to be "independent" than it was before soon...

For who controls the present
Will manipulate the past
War is peace
Your freedom is slavery

Ritual Carnage "Room 101"

 

[Farseer of the Benighted Land]

I would have Fontana distribute my album if I could. Just having a distro deal does not indicate that they will do any more or less for a 'true' indie band over some of the 'dotted line' so-called indie bands on so-called indie labels like Roadrunner. The bands on Roadrunner will always get the bigger promotional push.

It does mean that more people around the globe, especially those very-hard-to-reach places (I'm thinking Japan specifically) will at least have the increased opportunity to hear my music.

That being said, I would rather cut off my right testicle than have my CD in Virgin Megastores et al.

 

[Jim LotFP]

It does mean that more people around the globe, especially those very-hard-to-reach places (I'm thinking Japan specifically) will at least have the increased opportunity to hear my music.

eh.

I find it sad that a CD has to be IN THE STORE and STARING SOMEONE IN THE FACE to get them to buy it.

Out of touch with reality, yes, but how many casual fans are just going to happen to pick the album up that way? Not many judging by those Soundscan numbers Blabbermouth runs every so often. I suspect that you need a massive mainstream marketing campaign for an in-store presence to really work for you.

Anybody in anyplace in the civilized world can log on to any one of a hundred websites and buy CDs from there. Including a band's site. Homeless people log on for crying out loud.

 

[Farseer of the Benighted Land]

Out of touch with reality, yes, but how many casual fans are just going to happen to pick the album up that way?

You will never know if it's not there in the first place.

 

[Cheiron]

People who don't like purchasing online, or can't?

While the indie record store is dying, stores like FYE still carry a decent amount of metal, and they will carry independent labels (I believe).

 

[Jim LotFP]

Good point perhaps about the independent record stores, although they can go direct as well if they liked... but they become slaves of their distributors at times as well, something I see in both the RPG and music industries. Being unable to get product because of a bottleneck in the distribution process and being unwilling to go direct to the original source for fear of pissing off the distributor.

It never ends.

As far as people that can't order online... there's not a person in the western world that can't put cash in an envelope and send it. I still get orders that way about once every six weeks or so.

 

[DBB]

I was just kind of throwing this out here to see what people had to say and don't have a hard and fast opinion.

More of a jumbled mess of things I came across yesterday.

What I found most intriguing was that the federal governement is going to step in to regulate and define what independent music is if the FCC deal goes down.

Should have a profound effect on many aspects of the music industry and the overall terrain--even beyond the dial and bands that will be on it.

Something to keep an eye on, I guess.

 

[Jim LotFP]

What I found most intriguing was that the federal governement is going to step in to regulate and define what independent music is if the FCC deal goes down.

Oh dear... anyone want to take bets that a band on a label owned by a publicly traded corporation and distributed by a major label as well is still going to be able to be called "independent" by federal guidelines?

 

[wildfyr]

This site has a wealth of information on the FCC and other relevant subject matter, although it may not be underground enough for some.

http://www.futureofmusic.org/

my2c

 

[DBB]

Oh dear... anyone want to take bets that a band on a label owned by a publicly traded corporation and distributed by a major label as well is still going to be able to be called "independent" by federal guidelines?

It will be interesting to see what happens--if anything at all. Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold is involved in the process and the state has been a hotbed of media reform in past years, so there is an awareness of the issues that real independent artistis, labels and advocates would raise within the halls of Congress. But whether or not those concerns will emerge in any shape or from the intense wheeling and dealing, lobbying and jockeying that is going on around the legislation is another matter entirely.