Vampire Weekend

Everyone in the music industry has a non-music industry friend who they trust implicitly when it comes to their musical taste. They are at once expert and fan, yet grounded in everyday life and not swung by industry hype. I’m lucky enough to have several, since I do my best to spend most of my free time pursuing other endeavors, but today I’m going to concentrate on my good friend Dave.

Through some quirk of fate Dave did not end up in the music industry despite having a better ear than anyone I know, and instead decided to own a factory downtown. It was a wise business decision as factories are doing better than record labels. When Dave tells me he likes something I always give it a listen, as its usually at least an interesting listen, and every once in a while he comes up with a real gem that has larger potential.

Now I realize that I am not the first person to write about this band, nor will I be the last. And honestly I read about them on irockiroll well before my friend even mentioned them to me (it is my job and all), but his enthusiasm makes me think that there is something there that may be bigger then the your average New York buzz band.

First they are good musicians, that should go without saying, but secondly their musicianship goes beyond the standard drums bass guitar keyboard combo and manages to create a sound that is both eclectic yet classic. It is a rare feat to incorporate so many rhythms and not feel experimental. I feel like I am back in the 50’s or 60’s yet their lyrics are distinctly modern. This band is going to have a field day licensing to retro movies and TV shows, and really any kind, as it is just good music.

So what is the Band's name – Vampire Weekend

Check them out on their Myspace page.

Oxford Comma is my favorite, but they are all great.

They currently have only a three song EP and are of course on Itunes. There booking agent is Billions and so they have been touring all over the country, building their fanbase. With the success of more female adult classic acts like Amy Winehouse and Feist, the world may be ready for a throwback male band and in an industry looking to license music to TV and film, Vampire Weekend is a good bet.

How A&R changes with the Music Industry

Not at all

I’ve was reading about the relaunch of Steve Greenberg’s S-Curve Label. The man who brought you Who Let The Dogs Out, which unfortunately was the soundtrack to one of my college summers. This has got me thinking about how the concept of A&R is changing along with the changing Music Industry.

The Hits press release states about the initial signings of We the Kings and crooner Tom Jones.

“S-Curve’s philosophy is that in the present and future music business, recorded music, music publishing and artist management are, in effect, all one business designed to launch and develop artists. Toward that end, S-Curve will not only be releasing We the Kings’ debut album, but have also signed a worldwide music publishing agreement with the band, while S-Curve’s agreement with Jones gives the company the opportunity to become involved in a broad spectrum of licensing and sponsorship deals. Management ventures will include acquiring interest in established management companies, as well as direct artist signings."

This is not exactly a new philosophy. David Geffen perfected, if not pioneered, the practice with Ayslum records in the 1970’s. The reason that it fell by the wayside is that artists realized that it is not always in their best interests to have their manager and their label be the same entity, let alone publishing. Now as record sales decline labels need additional revenue and management is the fastest legal way to get a piece of the pie without the financial risk of revenue sharing. EMI’s revenue sharing deal with Korn was a nice idea in theory, but I bet my student loans get paid off before Korn makes back their 25 million dollar advance.

How does this affect A&R? Will it begin to create a utopian artist development era or will the definition of buzz band change to the first band music supervisors fall all over, as the new management-labels drool in anticipation of publishing revenue. I’ve often said that there needs to be a more collaborative relationship between artist and this is a start. There have been numerous companies that have tried this same approach without the same corporate pedigree. Thus far I have yet to see many break any artists or make any real money. I see no real change in the A&R process as the prestigious management companies get rolled up and start merging with labels. Good music should always rise to the top, and pretty faces are still attractive to advertising companies.

The real change is in marketing that music and those faces. I will be watching We the Kings very closely though as I expect to hear them in some of my favorite shows or hawking my favorite toothpaste very soon.

I will also be seeing them at the knitting factory in NYC at on July 31 with signing power pick Danger Radio.

The Parlor Mob

Ok, I have been absent for about a month, traveling and working... Sleeping. Thus I have neglected the blog. I had a lot of great ideas for interesting posts, but just no energy to write them. I went to the NBA draft (actually I got shut of out of tickets for the first time in five years) and the parallels between drafting and A&R are... well kind of obvious. Even the low level employees are called scouts in both professions. So my promise dear reader(s) is that I will do a comparison of the draft and some up and coming bands by next Friday. I have other ideas as well. Maybe if I make a public pledge then the writing will somehow come.

When I started this blog it was as an outlet for my A&R talents which are currently languishing in storage, but without all of my fancy tricks it is certainly harder. Though not impossible. Its still listening to music. Also I guess I'm not sure if I should be making witty comments about signings, like the recent signing of cast off Capitol bands by Roadrunner. Looks like Roadrunner is the New Capitol is a sample headline. Yeah, that is really funny. Of course that might be my next post because one of those bands is the Parlor Mob, which is a band that I really love and was disappointed that Capitol dropped them. I think that they capture a modern take on a classic rock sound It is the kind of music that makes you think you have heard it before even though it is brand new. I see this band as building on what Wolfmother started and making their own name, much like The Killers walked down the road paved by Kill Hannah.

Listen to the Parlor Mob

Parlor Mobs Myspace.

What is interesting about the deal, is that they recently were signed to In De Goot Management which is the management arm of Mcgathy. In De Goot has an imprint under Roadrunner and that is the label that signed them.

The band definitely showcased for a number of labels at Midland a few months back. I personally tried to drum up interest at several labels and there was definite interest or at least that was the rumor. Ultimately they signed with their own management company though which leads me to believe that there were few places ready to jump on any of the ex Capitol Bands.

The band is playing at Crash Mansion in NYC tomorrow Tuesday July 10th, which is a terrible venue for sound because of its misplaced soundbooth and low ceilings, but The Parlor Mob 's powerful psychedelic rock should be able to push through the venues limitations. I will be in attendance as I want to see how the band has progressed with the stress of losing their Capitol deal.

Teen Vogue

Recently I was interviewed for an article in Teen Vogue on Myspace. Actually I was interviewed last August for an article that hit newstands in March for their April Issue. Its a little confusing how old media works. Even more confusing in February I was asked to write a sidebar for the article on the best unsigned MySpace bands that are not in the top artist list.

This was actually the impetus for starting Signing Power. I mean if Conde Nast wanted my opinion then clearly it might make for compelling reading to the literally hundreds of people who are trolling the internet for A&R gossip. A&R is currently sandwiched between alternative uses for hockey pucks and pictures of Amanda Peterson (of Can't Buy me Love fame - Oh how the mighty have fallen) on the google search terms rank.

To that end I have decided to post my article since it was cut from Teen Vogue and I hate to see anything I wrote end up on in word document purgatory. You'll notice some rehash of bands I've already wrote about and some are now signed since this was originally penned in February. Jaymay getting signed to EMI was the easiest call since Against Me to Warner Brothers.

Beyond the MySpace Top Artists List.

Jaymay
http://www.myspace.com/jaymay
Best Song: Grey or Blue
Jaymay originally wrote her signature song "Grey or Blue" on a children's xylophone while babysitting, because she did not have her guitar on her. Since then she has toured the world showcasing with her honest voice and insightful lyrics leading to a stint as the number one folk artist on iTunes.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
http://www.myspace.com/boris
Best Song: Oregon Girl
SSLYBY are indie-pop darlings from Missouri who wrote the lyrics to their first full length album as a love letter to a girl. It must have worked as Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie put their song Oregon Girl on a mixtape to his girlfriend.

My Favorite Highway
- http://www.myspace.com/myfavoritehighway
Best Song: How to Call a Bluff
Take the piano driven hooks of the Fray place and mix it with the punky flavor of the All American Rejects and you have My Favorite Highway. Listening to the sincere powerful songs on their MySpace page will convert your bedroom into a stadium show.

Danger Radio
http://www.myspace.com/dangerradio
Best song: Party Foul
Currently being courted by a number of labels, Danger Radio is the other band of Scene Aesthetic (11 on unsigned artists list) vocalist Andrew De Torres. They may not have as many MySpace views as Scene Aesthetic but they have a more complete sound. The band combines rock and dance in way that bridges the gap between New Rave and the Emo Scene.

The Envy Corps -
http://www.myspace.com/theenvycorps
Best Song: Story Problem
The Envy Corps is the latest offering from Robert Reynolds, The Killers Lawyer/Manager, who holds the same title with The Envy Corps. This bands harmonious choruses and rhythmic riffs lend themselves to audience sing-a-longs and are sure to brighten up a miserable day.

Label Departures

While catching up at Hypebot the other day I noticed a short update of A&R movement from the A&R registry. So I went there and in the past 8 weeks there have been a lot of people losing their jobs, and I don’t see many additions in that same place. Is A&R going the way of the dinosaur and the dodo and the 7 minute single?

A&R Registry letter.

Two of the most interesting departures (which is a nice way of saying firing) to me are Ben Goldman at Columbia and John Rubelli at Atlantic.

Ben had just crossed over to Columbia after 15 or so years at Epic Records when Steve Barnett and Charlie walk switched companies. You figure that would make him safe, as Barnett would want to surround himself with trusted allies, but with the Rick Rubin hiring and basic restructuring of Columbia that he is instituting, Ben might have been better off staying at Epic.

John Rubelli however is another story. One of my personal most anticipated albums of last year was Kill Hannah’s sophomore effort. This is what artist development was supposed to be about. The first Atlantic Kill Hannah album, Fornever and Ever, was great, but commercially did not do that well. Its biggest impact was making the synth sound viable again and opening up a door for The Killers, and Franz Ferdinand. I was surprised when Atlantic was giving them another shot, and I feel that mainly had to do with the passion that John Rubelli had for the band. The new album, Until There's Nothing Left of Us, was also a dud though. I feel that had to do with the music then the marketing. I can’t recall being more disappointed in an album. I played it several times to make sure I wasn’t just missing something, but the public spoke and Kill Hannah did not sell records. This wasn’t so much a sophomore slump, as the first album did not do well either, but after that the writing was on the wall for Mr. Rubelli.

A departure that has not even made the A&R registry yet is Michael Kaplan of Columbia. Kaplan of Or Music, Los Lonely Boys and Matisyahu Fame, often gets credit for popularizing the concept of upstreaming. He has some of the best ears and business instincts in the business. I can only imagine that he is a casualty of the Rubin hiring as well.

With so many exits in recent weeks the A&R registry must not be bigger than my pamphlet on Jewish sports legends.

Perez Hilton reads Newsweek instead of nothing

Newsweek stole my concept. I spend a good part of my day looking for indicators, things that can catapult a good band from obscurity to the public’s consciousness. When discussing Sportswriter, Bill Simmons (who was just name dropped in Hits), I called him a poor mans Oprah in that his fan base was rabid and would buy what he suggested. The emphasis is on Poor.

Now Newsweek, has given that title to Perez Hilton, the smarmy blogger who gets his kicks off ripping on celebrities. It appears that Perez is a music fan and that one mention on his site can generate a giant increase in site hits for an unknown band like Mother Mother or sales for a Major Label act like Mika. Newsweek says that his recommendations are like Oprah’s Book club. (Actually Jennifer Hirst formerly of Last Gang Records makes the claim)

Read here:
Gossip Maven Perez Hilton Tries Music Biz

Now this is quite a jump. The majority of Oprah’s book club members are legitimate best sellers, some in the millions, and this has occurred over a sustained period of many years. The Newsweek reporter is claiming that the slight bump that several artists experienced after mentions on Perez Hilton’s site as evidence of his star making abilities.

This is strange logic on 2 levels. One, For Mika, the Universal Republic artist who had the number one single in the UK. His 50,000 sales can hardly be attributed to just Perez Hilton. Granted he did not have traditional radio airplay, but he was all over MTV and VH1. Mika’s song Love Today was the theme to the Ten Spot commercials and I heard that song no less than 5 million times over the course of the past three months thanks to an unhealthy real world road rules challenge obsession.

Second, for Mother Mother, Newsweek claims that a mention on Perez Hilton spiked their hits by 5,000 in one hour. What do site hits translate into though? Does all that traffic (is 5,000 even a lot) mean that Mother Mother will really break though?

For the record I like Mother Mother and Mika, but there is a lot more going on with both of those records than just Perez Hilton.

Listen here:

Mother Mother MySpace

Mika MySpace

The most interesting thing in the article for me is this quote

“So what's in it for Hilton? He insists he gets paid nothing for an endorsement—unless hanging out with celebrities counts as some kind of currency. "I get free clothes," he admits, "but no one's ever offered me money." "I wish," says Jennifer Hirst of the post-for-pay idea, "because if that were the case he would just take any music we send."

Several years ago I wrote a treatise on payola for blogs. It looked like the natural progression as radio’s influence waned. Whichever company could control the flow of music to Blogs would be as valuable as the old independent radio promotion companies. The main reason it did not occur was that few blogs had any real affect on sales. With this Newsweek article maybe the tide is turning. It is even more amazing that Ms. Hirst comes right out and says that she would prefer a payola system. I don’t think this is a good thing. Somewhere the next Elliot Spitzer is licking his chops at taking down Brooklyn Vegan.

Danger Radio vs. Scene Aesthetic

vs.

Coolfer recently linked to an in depth article in the New York Times about indie musicians who makes a decent living by communing with their fans online. Its focus is primarily about a man named Jonathan Coulton and the community that has developed around his “create a song a week” experiment. It’s an interesting article which gives insight on how to grow and monetize an artist’s fan base. Mr. Coulton will not be taking limos anywhere, but he certainly makes more than the average A&R scout.

You can read all about it here.

Sex Drugs and Updating your Blog

What I found interesting about the article though is a side note at the end of the article about one of the top rated unsigned band on MySpace; Scene Aesthetic.

Scene Aesthetic is an Everett Washington band that writes decent songs which connect with angst filled teenagers. For a long time Scene Aesthetic and Second Hand Serenade sat together atop the MySpace unsigned charts. They were the same band to me, much like the Cider House Rules and Snow Falling on Cedars is the same movie to me even though they have nothing to do with each other, because they both came out around the same time and have similar sounding names. Now Second Hand Serenade is on MTV, after becoming the pet project of Daniel Glass, and Scene Aesthetic is in the New York Times. What a difference a year makes.

I’m not going to rip on Scenes Aesthetic just because I personally don’t connect with their music. People out there obviously do. The article talks about how they receive messages telling them how the bands music got someone through tough times. Who knows, maybe if my best friend in high school had Scene Aesthetic to listen to instead of Stabbing Westward then he wouldn’t have tried to drive his car off a cliff (with me in it) after a particularly bad breakup. I do however connect with Scene Aesthetic vocalist Andrew de Torres’s other band Danger Radio.

Danger Radio is a throwback band, they are clearly 80’s influenced but not any particular part of the 80’s. Sometimes I want to compare them to New Wave, sometimes to Bon Jovi (Hair Hard Rock), and sometimes to Fall Out Boy (which isn’t from the 80’s but if your lead singer’s other project is also one of the biggest Emo Artists on Myspace it is an inevitable comparison) I don’t think you can pin down their sound. Their latest track, has a kind of boy band feel to it, in the sense that it is well written and has a pleasant melody, but they add a shouting chorus to make it their own. Danger Radio manages to be an experimental band, without featuring an experimental sound.

It is interesting to see two essentially baby bands driven by the same artist.

First compare sounds:

Scene Aesthetic Myspace

Danger Radio Myspace

Now look at their stats.

Scene Aesthetic
Plays 15,675,896
Profile views 5,139,426
Friends 187,465

Danger Radio
Plays 707,517
Profile views 285,586
Friends 16,176

One band clearly stands out numbers wise and in my own opinion the other stands out musically. I belive that Danger Radio’s song Party Foul is a hit. I don’t hear that in Scene Aesthetics’ music. Scene Aesthetic is more of a career band; they have developed a nice following of 180,000 friends. Thsi is nothing to sneeze at, but nothing spectacular as it is roughly what Cartel was recently complaining about as the membership of their core fan base.

Which band will end up being more successful? Only time will tell, but these are two bands and one artist that I’m going to keep my eye on. Whether or not anyone jumps at Scene Aesthetic, (or if they even want to be signed) may depend heavily on the ability of Second Hand Serenade to prove MySpace bands can cross over and sell records at traditional retail. Danger Radio was already rumored to be pursued by several major and indie labels. I hear that their SXSW showcase was not well received though. From the sound of their demos they may need more work playing together, which is understandable if the lead singer is splitting his time between bands.

The wise thing may be for a label or management company to just sign Andre De Torres to a deal which encompasses all his projects. Why make a kid this talented choose.