hypothetically - can an Indy label with a superstar survive? (and other industry stuf

[wes480]

well, I am not really interested in *how* the superstar was created on an indy..but, just roll with me here. the question has a couple of parts.

first, what do you guys define as a Major label? there are what, 6 or 7 majors in the world. and most people say there is no room for another. I read somewhere once that a major label was one that had its own national distrobution system. what do you guys think defines a major? If there was an Indy label that managed to have lots of superstars...and could distribute their own material....say they sold...150 million records a year - would they be a major?

now, the real part of this question - at what point in todays system can an indy label not survive? I have read horror stories of indy labels that had law suits etc. against them by big corporations who wanted their rising acts. is that a fact of life? Say I started a label...and had the next big thing...say we had one great album with good success...and major labels wanted to pick up the act. Or major labels wanted to do a partnership kind of thing (like you see with so many artists these days). Is there any way to stop this from happening? Or will some company like Sony inevitably get what they want in the end.

Thats the way it is seeming to me...esp for "mainstream" music. Now, there is the case of say..Deathrow records...they have stayed independant...and had several superstars. Though, they may have been tied up with some major labels that I don't know about...but, to my knowledge they were 100% indy back in their hay day.

Sum it up like this - "Indy" label doing 150million albums a year in the states. Is it feasible...or, is it even POSSIBLE?

 

[David Hooper]

Creed is/was on an indie. They have some aspects of a major label, like the distribution, but the label itself is still considered independent.

 

[wes480]

ah yes...wind up. i actually thought they had been aquired by someone...props to them then.

 

[Pirateking]

It certainly is possible---> Case in point, Epitaph records, back when the Offspring first got popular, became the first indie label to have a gold record, or something like that. Matador was also doing pretty good back in the mid-90's, though to be fair, they did have distro deals with Atlantic at the time. In addition, A&M was considered an indie label back in the 1950's when it started, and I think most people would consider it a major label now. I think the major/indie distinction is partially based on who owns it; ie, a corporation vs. an individual.
It's also possible for the indie to be screwed. The best example is Touch and Go, who signed the Butthole Surfers back in the '80's with their traditional punk rock handshake agreement (no written contract). Well, the Surfers signed to a major in the alternative boom of the mid-90's, although they didn't sell too well. To make up some of their money, they essentially stole their back catalog from Touch and Go and released it on the major (I think Capitol), even though based on the handshake agreement Touch and Go owned these albums. Essentially, T&G got completely fucked. It's pretty sad that the band betrayed the confidence of someone who helped them when they were starting out, but you should never really trust a band called the Butthole Surfers to start with.
But as long as you go through some basic legal procedures (ie written contract), I think it's possible for an indie to protect itself, especially if they are always very suspicious of major labels, even if the deal sounds sweet.