Patrick
05-06-2003, 09:13 PM
Funk,
I think it does make us an independent label in the usual industry sense - not affiliated with the 5 media conglomerates known as the majors, or the Big Five. It also means we don't use branch distribution in the US - another (perhaps outdated) criterion for being considered a major label.
However, in a deeper sense, I think we're still independent in the most important area... which is of course Chris and Gerard's A&R. They continue to do all of it and have final say over it. Matador still reflects Chris and Gerard's taste in what it releases, and nobody else's, for better or worse.
Of course, that was true when Capitol owned half of us too.
I think the Beggars concept really departs from the indie/major dichotomy to build a new paradigm - that of small labels pooling their resources and cooperating together in order to compete more effectively.
Patrick
I think it does make us an independent label in the usual industry sense - not affiliated with the 5 media conglomerates known as the majors, or the Big Five. It also means we don't use branch distribution in the US - another (perhaps outdated) criterion for being considered a major label.
However, in a deeper sense, I think we're still independent in the most important area... which is of course Chris and Gerard's A&R. They continue to do all of it and have final say over it. Matador still reflects Chris and Gerard's taste in what it releases, and nobody else's, for better or worse.
Of course, that was true when Capitol owned half of us too.
I think the Beggars concept really departs from the indie/major dichotomy to build a new paradigm - that of small labels pooling their resources and cooperating together in order to compete more effectively.
Patrick