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

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ArtistData is an innovative tool for the independent musician and can certainly help music job members seeking to make the most of their time and efforts. They build solutions to help an artist save time with the “monotonous updating” of their online music profiles, Myspace calendars, Facebook and Twitter updates, and the endless stream of concert calendars and gig websites. Being able to enter the data once, to the ArtistData website, then allows more time for being creative – something that is at the core of every musician.

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Founder Brenden Mulligan was interviewed by Tim Jahn for part iof his Beyond the Pedway creative businesses series. Here he speaks about the about starting of the company, and also how artists and startups are alike.

Having only recently discovered ArtistData, I am still learning how to best use it for my music career, but can already see the possibilities of being far more efficient, and also being able to reach new markets and create new opportunities with the tools offered. It is always exciting to see new companies emerge in this ever-changing new music industry, and I feel that ArtistData is sure to be a part of that.

If anyone has any use of the website, please contribute! Post your comments here in the music jobs blog.

Lee Jarvis.

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