Word: labeling
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Record companies are still conditioned to the late Sixties style of breaking new bands," charges Greg Shaw; "their whole approach to underground music is completely out-dated." Shaw's independent Bomp label and distributorship was formed in 1969. "The most effective marketing strategy today is to go through import channels. Elvis Costello, to name but one, was broken in this country through imports...
Inspired by the do-it-yourself ethic of the British new wave scene, independent labels and imports are exerting an increasingly powerful influence on the American music industry. Devo, Pere Ubu, the Shoes, the Romantics and 20/20 all parlayed self-financed and independently distributed singles or albums into major label deals. Several majors have attempted to keep abreast of the times by striking up distribution deals with leading British independents--Polydor with Radar, CBS with Stiff, Atlantic with Virgin and A&M with the recently formed International Record Syndicate...
...bands 999, Magazine, Gang of Four, Penetration, Ultravox and Sham 69 toured America without the benefit of a Stateside recording contract--acts of unprecedented chutzpah and optimism--and found enthusiastic crowds already familiar with the music packing their club dates. The Gang of Four and 999 subsequently landed domestic label deals...
...Police story is a blueprint for a successful alternative approach to making it in the record industry. Formed in the wake of the British punk uprising, the band released one single on its own Illegal label before signing with A&M. They shattered precedent by undertaking a short East Coast tour in late '77 without any record company support--flying Laker Airways and carrying drums as hand baggage to cut down on costs. When the Police concluded their first proper American tour in Los Angeles in May, 1979, they turned down a $12,000 offer to play a second night...
Currently, Jem operates with a staff of 60 employees and approximately 50,000 feet of warehouse space in the States in addition to a small London office. The company now has two labels of its own (PVC and Visa) and handles those Stiff, Radar and Virgin artists not picked up by a major label...