Apparently some of the record labels in the music industry may have actually figured it out and are becoming a part of the solution, rather than holding on for dear life. According to this article from Billboard:

Canadian band Metric announced a joint venture partnership between its label, Metric Music International (MMI), and Mom + Pop Records, which is part of QPrime management. The band self-released its latest album, “Fantasies,” which has sold 85,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“To be clear, we are not signing with a label,” says Metric’s manager, Matt Drouin. “This is a joint venture deal between Mom + Pop and MMI. We retain our own masters, our own label, and have the ultimate control over decisions we make as a band.”

I think that the deal is quite a unique one as it actually promotes a band’s success. It doesn’t seek to bleed them dry of every possible penny that could be made – but rather joining forces to work towards mutual success. However, I do come from the school of thought that the major record labels are generally evil and greedy though…

It’s quite priceless that Metric will keep ownership of their masters and control over the decisions made for the group – that alone is huge. It would be interesting to see how their publishing will be broken down between the two… With this partnership, which actually for once seems to be a balanced partnership, they have no rules or unattainable standards to pretend to try to live up to. Essentially they can be themselves, follow through with their dream, and be the rock stars they want to be. Mom + Pop provide the band with the manpower to reach further than they have before, and continuing their development – not capitalizing on a finished product. This type of relationship looks promising – as the band and label can grow together. The band gains manpower and access from Mom + Pop, and the label gets a major artist for their roster and share the benefits of the band’s long-time future success. So far it seems like a win-win. Only time will tell though.

Weigh in – what are your thoughts on this deal setting a precedent throughout the industry?

T. Lynn

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

I came across a lot of new rock / dance / electro funk punk / etc bands last year. Not that they were always new bands, but often new to me. There’s also a couple of more established bands who are threatening to get back together or released their first material for a few years.

With that said, I thought I’d make a shortlist of several artists that I’d love to see perform live in 2010, with a little help from Lala. Having received a lot of coverage with their recent buy out from Apple, I thought I’d compile a streaming playlist from their site, and must say I found the process simpler and more fluent than I remember from last using their system. Here’s to hoping that Apple help make the brand profitable and they continue providing a useful service.

And so, onto my rockin playlist – featuring music from Kings of Leon, Jet, Kasabian, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Silversun Pickups, Muse, The Prodigy, Foo Fighters and Soulwax.

Enjoy!

Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed