Power of Sony

[Ben]

For those of you wondering how the music industry REALLY works, please enjoy the following exchange. First, I get an email from the actually quite friendly-sounding Lora:

>Hi Ben-
>
>I was hoping you could help me out.
>I work over at Epic Records and my boss was looking to get a hold of the
>latest record by Interpool.
>I would be more than happy to send you anything from here or Columbia.
>Give me a call or just email me back with your wish list and I will do my
>best to fill it. Check out our web site for a look at who we have:
>www.epicrecords.com
>
>Thanks so much!!
>Lora


To which I replied:

>>
Hello Lora,

How's it going? I'm sorry to say we don't make trades over here.
Pretty lame of your boss not to ask himself! In any case, let him
know he'll be able to find the record at pretty much any reputable
music merchant, and I'll bet he can just expense it anyway!

Sorry you have to make requests like this for him.
<<

I have just gotten my reply from the nameless boss himself! His name is Jon Borris, and here's what he has to say:
>>
Thanks Ben, I'll be sure to remember your name.
<<

I guess I'll have to stick to my friendship with Tommy Mottola if I want to make it in this industry! I'd like to open the forum, however. If you got that reply, how would you respond? The person with the best response wins anything from the Epic Records (or Columbia) catalog.

[jef]

Tell him to get the songs off of Kazaa or another file sharing place.

[johansen smith]

tell him he can find Interpool at his favorite Redcord Store, next to the Queen of the Store Age and Food Fighters albums.

[Gerard]

thanks for this one, Ben. I'll be sure to remember Jon Borris' name the next time I have to think of someone who is too important to buy his own records.

"I'll be sure to remember your name." Good thing too, he might be sending you his resume someday.

[Paul]

This definitely deserves a spot in the next newsletter, using as many real names as possible.

So, who's this Interpool the kids are wild about, anyway?

[tinobeat]

maybe I'll call my new band John Borris...

[Paul]

John, Bore Us

[bitterfruit]

Dear Jon,

Thanks for the offer. Can you score me some B2K autograph merch in trade for the new Interpool LP? My grandmother gets jiggy on the dance flo' with her boo and she would love to have one of those oversized jerseys with her street name on the back.


Peace,

Ben

P.S. I might be able to throw in some tickets to Arab Strap and Bright Eyes so you and your girlfriend can sport your ironic t-shirts.

[9000]

jon,

instead of sending a few promos, just send me $2 a disc, because that's what i'll probably get for them before they hit the cutout bin.

not to be forgotten,
ben

[pinkgerl]

ben,

the best response is obviously

"yes, i would like ten copies of everything in the ELO catalog."

and then request that J Lo deliver it to you.

when are you gonna get another chance for that?

[t.d.]

tell that fool to remember the name "interpol" so he won't look like a total arse when he's looking for it at the record store.

[mojo]

I'd send him a load of press clippoings and a pair of glasses, so he knows what he's talking about next time he sends his minions to their email to blag... its a massive bugbear of mine, spelling peoples names correctly...

urgh

I hate it when people do that. I've had old colleagues do that to me and most of the time the items are "out of stock - you might be better looking in your local store for it" when we actually have tons downstairs

I just can't say no...

[Gerard]

...and I wouldn't care if J.B. knew we had a huge stack sitting next to Ben's desk. But the point is, why should someone get an Interpol CD for free because they work for another record company? Gracious, I suppose, that his assistant offered items in trade, but we can't pay our manufacturing bill with Epic promos. And we can't pay Interpol's royalties with Epic promos.

The whole sense of entitlement thing is sickening. Not to mention the notion that this is a standard practice for the rest of the music business. If this guy ever had to make any CD's with his own money, maybe he wouldn't be so cavalier about throwing them around for free. Or maybe he would, who knows?

[onedeadjet]

Now what if some sleazy A&R guy from Sony/Epic (pry the one they baited Modest Mouse with?) starts following Interpol around on tour, dropping hints?

What kinds of things protect you (other than collective good taste) from having big idiot money thrown at your artists?

[Gerard]

if an artist is contractually obliged to record more albums for Matador, all the baiting and sniffing on earth won't break the deal. But the best protection of all isn't something in a written contract --- if we work hard and do a good job representing Interpol or any other Matador band, they're more likely to want to continue working with us.

I've often found that following other labels' artists around on tour is an excellent way for A&R guys to avoid phone calls from bands they're getting ready to drop.

[Ladt]

I would've said

"Dear John,
Have you forgotten that GBV are on Matador? GBV are the hottest new kids on the block, so forget about those has-beens Interpollll and check out GBV instead. And no, I'm not sending you anything you cheap fool."

[onedeadjet]

I always thought that major label imprints (at least the ones that were birthed and not acquired) usually served to provide boundaries between disparate styles or genres- or was that just the mid-90's fake indie imprint movement I'm thinking of?

[jt. r]

judging from the copious examples provided in Our Band Could Be Your Life, as well as Steve Albini's article on the nuts and bolts of big label accounting, you'd think that being treated humanely on a minor/indie label would be insurance against flight to majors.
I wish Our Band would've delved into this more thematically (even though it wasn't the purpose of the book), since it treated each band in such a cursory fashion.
it's funny: when i was in high school, azzerad's writing passed muster and for whatever reason i believed that Our Band...should be at least half as compelling as Come As You Are was at the time of publication. there are a few gems, notably the chapters on the Replacements, the Minutemen and Big Black (Azzerad has a sexual fascination with Albini it seems), and some funny quotes/anecdotes (incl. some by Homestead/Matador's own Gerard Cosloy) but beyond that, it was a silly thesaurus exercise written in the mode/tone of a Behind the Music episode.
on the entitlement issue: these bosses are probably so drunk on their ideology that they feel they can rub elbows, nudge and wink to get whatever they want. i feel that tommy mottola/p. diddy are the scalia/c. thomas of the record industry.

[NewRegulation]

Dear sir,

Please do remember my name as I have already forgotten yours.

Thanks,
Ben

[dola]

i agree with jef. a snarky file sharing remark is in order.

haha, this is retarded, but maybe something like:



John,

How much does WinMX rule? My bad though. The Interpool is en route. Can I see what the new System of a Down album art looks like?

Ben

[bitterfruit]

Originally posted by Gerard


But the best protection of all isn't something in a written contract --- if we work hard and do a good job representing Interpol or any other Matador band, they're more likely to want to continue working with us.




YLT, Malkie, and Pollard alone could probably speak to this. These guys have got to get hassled all the damn time by other labels. Obviously, artist loyalty slash relationships either contribute to or prevent attrition. And I imagine that in the case of Matador, it prevents it from happening as often as others.

[otto midnight]

Originally posted by bitterfruit
YLT, Malkie, and Pollard alone could probably speak to this. These guys have got to get hassled all the damn time by other labels. Obviously, artist loyalty slash relationships either contribute to or prevent attrition. And I imagine that in the case of Matador, it prevents it from happening as often as others.

you sure you want to include pollard in this?

[Gerard]

well, Bob could speak with some authority in that he's left good small labels on 2 occasions (Scat and then Matador) for the lure of a company promising bigger and better things (Matador and then TVT). So he's pretty qualified to say if the grass is or isn't always greener. But I'm sure he'd agree that it is dangerous to generalize.

[bitterfruit]

That's specifically why I include Bob Pollard. I think he would admit that the allure of having a wider audience can be good, but the relationship and freedom is more important. Anyway.

[Squall91]

Ahh...those evil major labels...always so sleazy. Or am I wrong?