January News Update posted [Archive] - Matador Records Bulletin Board

Funk

01-25-2005, 08:14 PM

"Matador Records has the privilege of announcing the signing of New York's Early Man to a worldwide, long-term recording contract."

Do bands actually get signed for X number of years?

earl grey

01-25-2005, 10:34 PM

damn, i was hoping we'd hear more about the upcoming prosaics LP this month.

and i imagine we'll hear more when it's time, but i was also hoping this update would also have info on the double. i read in time out new york the other day that they're also new to the matador roster - but all i know is they're a "radiant art pop quartet" with a pretty google-proof name.

cheesetea

01-25-2005, 10:53 PM

I was wondering about any SM related info? Today he said the album title is " Face The Truth" which is hard to believe because we [sm board posters] thought that one up. If it's true he is using that then I as part of that board am honored. He said the album was completed before the holidays, so do you guys have it yet? Can you tell us what it's like? So eager.

Patrick

01-25-2005, 11:49 PM

Funk, yes. Recording contracts last for X number of years. This should not be confused with the number of years for which the label has rights to the masters recorded during that X number of years.

earl grey, stay tuned. All in good time.

cheesetea, good to see you back and that you're still focused. that is one of the titles that is in the air, but we're not in a position to confirm anything yet. that said, we have heard some rough mixes and they are really, really good. more info soon.

Patrick

tinobeat

01-26-2005, 12:36 AM

Originally posted by Patrick
Funk, yes. Recording contracts last for X number of years. This should not be confused with the number of years for which the label has rights to the masters recorded during that X number of years.

I always assumed it'd be X number of albums instead of years...

but you know what they say happens when you assume.

9000

01-26-2005, 12:54 AM

what's the other local band that matador just signed? it was in last week's time out ny, but me forget.

tinobeat

01-26-2005, 12:57 AM

I'd heard rumors of another signing, but I know there won't be a peep out of matador staff until an official announcement, so there's no sense asking.

Funk

01-26-2005, 12:58 AM

Originally posted by tinobeat
I always assumed it'd be X number of albums instead of years...

That's what I thought too, just because some artists are considerably more prolific than others.

earl grey

01-26-2005, 01:01 AM

Originally posted by tinobeat
I'd heard rumors of another signing, but I know there won't be a peep out of matador staff until an official announcement, so there's no sense asking.

i tried up above. no dice.

Patrick

01-26-2005, 01:02 AM

It's both - depending on the contract, there are a certain number of months between records that may pass before a record label must exercise an option... or a recording artist must record another record. It's a give-and-take between label and artist, and all in all, it translates to a certain number of years. How long this will be depends on how prolific the artist is, within the restrictions of the option periods.

There are many other ways to handle it of course, ranging from much more liberal to much more strict. See Don Passman's book for more details on traditional recording contracts.

Patrick

tinobeat

01-26-2005, 01:19 AM

Interesting stuff.. do Matador contracts vary from artist to artist or is there a generic "matador special" that all signees get? you kind of answered that, but I wonder, is it totally tailored to the band or are there a few different levels, each occupied by a small population of bands? These kinds of things totally fascinate me...

Originally posted by earl grey
i tried up above. no dice.

well, your hint of "but all i know is they're a "radiant art pop quartet" with a pretty google-proof name" suggests we're thinking of the same band, methinks...

earl grey

01-26-2005, 01:33 AM

Originally posted by tinobeat

well, your hint of "but all i know is they're a "radiant art pop quartet" with a pretty google-proof name" suggests we're thinking of the same band, methinks...

shhhh ... we're gonna get in trouble.

tinobeat

01-26-2005, 01:54 AM

trouble, huh? rhymes with...

ah, I'll just wait...

Gerard

01-26-2005, 03:23 AM

re : long-term.

in this instance, I was refering to the fact that Early Man's deal with Matador is for multiple albums. Which isn't necessarily newsworthy as most of the deals we do are for something other than a one-off. I suppose this would be considered a longer term deal by default in that they aren't gonna average more than one album a year.

re: the band Time Out says we signed.

With all due respect to Time Out, there have been no other recent signings to Matador other than the one we reported in today's news update. As we tend not to comment on ongoing negotiations with artists or discuss who we might be considering (or who might be considering us), there's really nothing more to say at the moment.

If there are any aspiring journalist types out there who ever want to know if we've signed a band or not, please, by all means, call us or send us an e-mail. We're pretty good at answering questions like this (assuming we're ever asked).

Gerard

01-26-2005, 03:29 AM

Tinobeat,

our contracts vary wildly depending on our expectations, a band's specific needs, existing sales history, etc. And there's a good deal of give and take in such negotiations. There might for example be a higher royalty rate or a higher advance if the label can secure worldwide rights or a longer term of ownership. Artists with a substantial sales history usually command higher advances, but once again, this varies according to circumstances.

And as we've seen time and time again, a big advance or larger recording budget does not necessarily guarantee that a project will be anticipated by anyone other than the band themselves.

The process of determining fair "market value" for an artistic work is fraught with peril and as such, we do our best to hash as much as possible out with the artists themselves before either parties' lawyers become involved.

hstencil

01-26-2005, 03:42 AM

hey is Dave Pajo not in Early Man anymore?

Gerard

01-26-2005, 04:04 AM

I believe David is pretty busy with Slint stuff at the moment --- which isn't to say he won't be playing bass with Early Man in the future. But we did want to stress that this is Mike and Adam's band. When we have officlal news for you about whoever is playing bass for Early Man, we'll not be shy about sharing it.

Thor

01-26-2005, 04:10 AM

Hey Gerard, may I say that the tower recordings galaxy transmission album is a fine, fine choice on your listening list... the swirling wonder of that album combined with pat's dreamy acoustic guitar is really fucking great... my yearly gubler fix has been satiated.

9000

01-26-2005, 09:14 AM

Originally posted by earl grey
i tried up above. no dice.

my bad.

cheesetea

01-26-2005, 09:25 AM

talking about people leaving. John Moen the Jick's drummer has left to become the drummer of the decemberists. Will SM ever find THE drummer?

tinobeat

01-26-2005, 10:50 AM

SM to decemberists? oh well.

but does it really matter if he ever finds *the* drummer? Its clearly not a "band" thing he's after, and having a solid drummer for 4-5 years and then replacing him with another solid drummer does not a revolving door make...

Patrick

01-26-2005, 01:11 PM

So far as we are aware, John's gig in the Decemberists doesn't mean he's no longer playing in the Jicks. Unless you have info that we don't have (which is always possible).

Patrick

miss understood

01-26-2005, 04:32 PM

Patrick, your listening pile is not very punk rock. Or, I suppose, extremely punk rock. The Clara Haskil especially. Cheers.

cheesetea

01-26-2005, 05:17 PM

SM said that Moen could not join them on SXSW, and the decemberists website makes it look like John is their drummer so I suppose he will be busy with them now. I don't see how John can tour with both groups, it looks to me like he's gone.

TheSadDebaser

01-26-2005, 05:35 PM

I hate myspace, but I signed up to be Matador's friend. Because I like you guys that much.

Patrick

01-26-2005, 09:31 PM

cheesetea, you're jumping to conclusions. SM decided to play SXSW even though John couldn't make it - that doesn't mean that John's out of the band.

TSD, glad to have you as a friend.

Patrick

TheSadDebaser

01-26-2005, 10:08 PM

Oh, I just noticed my first post may have been misleading. I already had an account, but today's the first time I've looked at it since I signed up. It's not as slow as I remember it being.

tinobeat

01-26-2005, 10:09 PM

Matador not only let me be their friend, but they let me dumb little band in too! the quality control is already at an all time low!

;)

TheSadDebaser

01-26-2005, 10:59 PM

I actually tried to start an artist page, but I needed a new e-mail address, so I just added my website under personal interests.

And Tino, those songs on your page are really cool.

Patrick

01-27-2005, 12:00 AM

And btw Clara Haskil rocks.

tinobeat

01-27-2005, 04:01 AM

Originally posted by TheSadDebaser
I actually tried to start an artist page, but I needed a new e-mail address, so I just added my website under personal interests.

And Tino, those songs on your page are really cool.

you wanna gmail address? I have all these invites and everyone I know already has one.

hey, thanks! they're rough sketches at best, but they're comin along...

the Pawnbroker

01-27-2005, 09:17 AM

Tino:

I'm listening to your songs right now at work. Even though its at low volume, I'm digging it.

flo's garage

01-27-2005, 09:49 AM

yeah, I agree tino, its really good - maybe you guys can be next months surprise signing announcement?!

Maximo

01-27-2005, 10:46 AM

Originally posted by tinobeat
you wanna gmail address? I have all these invites and everyone I know already has one.

hey, thanks! they're rough sketches at best, but they're comin along...

Hey tino, if you do have a lot of extra invites would you mind getting one to me? I've heard its great and i'm pretty sick of AOL deleting all my mail.

tinobeat

01-27-2005, 10:49 AM

hey Maximo: check your private messages

Maximo

01-27-2005, 10:56 AM

Sent :)

TheSadDebaser

01-27-2005, 04:47 PM

Originally posted by tinobeat
you wanna gmail address? I have all these invites and everyone I know already has one.

hey, thanks! they're rough sketches at best, but they're comin along...

Oh man, I have ten invites. I've resorted to just soliciting them in my e-mail signature.