US Warners to thin artist roster; is NO among them in the future?

Got this from a music biz board, I don't normally read Rolling Stone, but apparently plans are afoot for the release from service of about half of Warner's 170 artists, including Stereolab and The Breeders.

Not sure if NO figure big in upcoming plans for them, but on the plus side, they did manage to get both 5 11 and 3 16 released on DVD over here, a bit surprising really since they're not as big as they once were.

I can see both the Lab and The Breeders going to smaller label, much like Tom Waits and Nick Cave did by going to Anti, and maybe that's also in the cards for the Order.

Warners To Downsize Roster

does that include Rhino?

i guess that frees up New Order to go somewhere else and maybe get some nice re-issues of the classic records just like every other post-punk band from the period with any sort of fanbase has done.... nah, New Order is above that except for Revenge re-issues

Maybe since there is some hype about who's producing the album, the Order will stay on the label for a while and then maybe get cut after the album if it doesn't do suprisingly well.

I hope not...the local radio over here mentioned that their "content partner" AOL for broadband had noted that New Order were to release a new album towards the end of the year...they are at least gearing up the promotion machine...

Stereolab would be better off on a small label so they can do whatever they want, when they want. R.I.P. Mary Hanson

From what iv'e read of the story it doesnt look like good news, as even the bands that dont get a pink slip are going to have to get by on reduced marketing budgets.

It says that stereolab sold 40,000 copies of their last album.That sounds like quite a lot to me considering the difficulties that stereolab have had.But I suppose in Global terms it doesnt pay for a lot of publicity, although I dont recall seeing a whole lot of marketing for stereolab anyway.

Does anyone know what sort of deal New Order have got? or what their record sales are like?

This links to the story in Rollingstone http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story?id=6085957&pageid=rs.NewsArchive&pageregion=mainRegion

If the back catalogue is the goldmine, I sure hope they reissue the Subculture 12" mix! :barf:

i would think New Order rather is low cost/ low maintenance for the US label. but are they all that profitable, prolly not. but if handled properly, New Order's back catalogue has potential to be somewhat timeless with constant interest, but still not mainstream in a normal sense.

the music industry is so different now, compared to 20 years ago... so many different styles, and you can buy just about anything easily on the internet. i remember how hard it used to be to find some stuff, but now you could buy 10 Throbbing Gristle CDs and get them in a week without a hassle. you can buy stuff from Obscure labels that only manufacture 1 or 2 thousand copies, and often just as easily. the major concert circuit is dominated by acts who have not make a decent record in 20 to 30 years, and most newer rock groups that can draw will have little staying power it seems. and of course trying to sell music as downloads, they will basically try to make it like cable TV, or try to make you pay for each listen somehow sort of like renting a video, no longer actually selling something substantial (but then that is way people spend money on music, to make a collection!)... how will they make this work???

the music industry is very slow to change, but they have to be kinda scared right now... how will they continue to rip people off and still make massive profits, and protect their executive privledges, when things are changing so much,

New Order, if they get cut from Warner, shouldn't have too much trouble getting somebody to sign them. Even "Get Ready" which didn't do as well as antisipated, did show up in the top 20 in the USA and Canada I believe.

Any label dropping a back catalogue including Unknown Pleasures and Technique would be totally fool. From my small point of view, here in Parma, a town of 150,000 people, they still sell a lot. They don't get much coverage in the media, but there's a huge alternative cult which built in these 27 years simply spreading the word, lending and recording albums and converting people, especially to Joy Division. Any Radiohead fan has at least one album by Joy Division, you know what I mean... As soon as some classic Joy Divsion or New Order CD arrives in the shops, it's not long before someone buys them, I often check this. Like, Closer arrives, and how long before someone buys it? Two weeks at most... with the most of the bands, you see their CDs taking dust for years and years...

Originally posted by Mick Aneworderfan Any label dropping a back catalogue including Unknown Pleasures and Technique would be totally fool. From my small point of view, here in Parma, a town of 150,000 people, they still sell a lot. They don't get much coverage in the media, but there's a huge alternative cult which built in these 27 years simply spreading the word, lending and recording albums and converting people, especially to Joy Division. Any Radiohead fan has at least one album by Joy Division, you know what I mean...As soon as some classic Joy Divsion or New Order CD arrives in the shops, it's not long before someone buys them, I often check this. Like, Closer arrives, and how long before someone buys it? Two weeks at most... with the most of the bands, you see their CDs taking dust for years and years...

Saying there are a lot of people "lending and recording albums" of a band is not the way to convince a record company of a band's profitability. Do you think Warners cares about much else?

New Order has nothing to do with Warner Bros. Records in terms of music production etc. Warner releases only what London Records has released. It doesn't matter if Warner would drop New Order - it won't have any impact on the band itself so far.

In my opinion Warner only distorts New Order original releases, not to mention the covers (511, PC&L CD, Low-Life CD, Brotherhood CD)... - everything Warner touches goes anti-neworder-ish.

Originally posted by Fertile Dr. Abilene New Order has nothing to do with Warner Bros. Records in terms of music production etc. Warner releases only what London Records has released. It doesn't matter if Warner would drop New Order - it won't have any impact on the band itself so far.In my opinion Warner only distorts New Order original releases, not to mention the covers (511, PC&L CD, Low-Life CD, Brotherhood CD)... - everything Warner touches goes anti-neworder-ish.

See thread topic.

Yes, Warner Bros. only licenses New Order's music for release. But they were involved long before London.

And I think London Records is now owned by Warner, so it's actually a subsidiary and if Warner drops a band, London does it too.

Originally posted by Andy Saying there are a lot of people "lending and recording albums" of a band is not the way to convince a record company of a band's profitability.

*Of course I meant that people usually don't know Joy Division and New Order from the media, what usually happens is that someone lends or records a CD to a friend and then this person likes it and after a while goes to the shop and buys a CD. That's spreading the word, I've known a lot of bands because mates have been recording some of their stuff for me, and then I bought other CDs of those bands. Thanks to this spreading Joy Division still sell, they don't sell high quantities at once, but they do sell constantly (as I wrote it's not long before a CD is bought since it's on the shelf), and very few bands can do that, and I didn't expect that, but even the most expensive items like Heart And Soul, Retro and the DVDs sold some copies.

just a thought....

If the Cure's resurgence is lasting here in the states (yeah I know its a crime to mention them here ) then Warner may reconsider dropping them...I mean if the 80's are coming back (corporate thinking here...not my opinion) then why drop a back catalog that could prove to be valuable especially since a new album is well into the works. In a strange way...the Cure actually could help us...god forbid!

Originally posted by Hydrapelican just a thought....If the Cure's resurgence is lasting here in the states (yeah I know its a crime to mention them here ) then Warner may reconsider dropping them...I mean if the 80's are coming back (corporate thinking here...not my opinion) then why drop a back catalog that could prove to be valuable especially since a new album is well into the works. In a strange way...the Cure actually could help us...god forbid!

What you say makes sense, but

yeah...I hate it too...

What made The Cure big in the States was the release of Standing By the Sea or whatever that greatest hits lp was called. Full page ads in Spin ect. Promotion. Brotherhood seemed to disappoint a lot of new fans but Technique had alot of POP at the music stores.

Probably their lack of self promotion and attitude that prevented them from being bigger across the pond. So now when they really need it, it aint there. Like they care. It's all about the music, right?

Originally posted by Andy > Originally posted by Fertile Dr. Abilene> New Order has nothing to do with Warner Bros. Records in terms of music production etc. Warner releases only what London Records has released. It doesn't matter if Warner would drop New Order - it won't have any impact on the band itself so far.> > In my opinion Warner only distorts New Order original releases, not to mention the covers (511, PC&L CD, Low-Life CD, Brotherhood CD)... - everything Warner touches goes anti-neworder-ish.

See thread topic.

Yes, Warner Bros. only licenses New Order's music for release. But they were involved long before London.

Well looking through my import cds,Warner DID only come in along London. The original Factory releases are on Qwest Records. Warner are just a US distrubution for New Order,they probably dont have New Order to "drop".

The Warner Bros website lists new order as one of their artists. Theyre nestling in between "My Chemical Romance" and Stevie Nicks. Although I have to confess im a bit flumoxed about how things like recording deals and distribution deals work.

http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com/find.php

Originally posted by Shades The Warner Bros website lists new order as one of their artists.Theyre nestling in between "My Chemical Romance" and Stevie Nicks.Although I have to confess im a bit flumoxed about how things like recording deals and distribution deals work.http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com/find.php

Maybe Stevie can replace Gillian.

There's no doubt New Order are signed to Warners: London is a Warners subsidiary, the mid price reissues circulating at the moment in Italy are on Warners only, and the New Order German site was on the Warners German site. Until London was owned by Polygram, New Order were signed to London/Polygram for Europe and Warners in America. When London was bought by Warners everything became more simple as they're actually on the same label all over the world, and that label is Warner Bros.

I suppose the crux is that if New Order have an album in the pipeline, Warners will probably decide to drop them once the sales figures for it come out if it hasnt sold too well. I mean they would be mad to sack them before its released surely? Unless they dont think its worth spending money promoting and selling it.

If NO got dropped from Warner, they'd be offered a deal by Sanctuary so fast it'd make your head spin.

Hope so. At any rate, here's one reporter's opinion on who may be dropped; it's from Pitchfork, whose news department doesn't have the greatest credibility, though scroll down to the last paragraph of that story for the acts that may get the axe. With some of those acts, it definitely seems like a case of "how much money have you made for me today?"

Interesting quote from the man in charge as well...

"The tipping point of whether an artist remains is the company's passion to market and promote them. Everyone that remains we're going to be insanely passionate about."

Hopefully the movies and back catalog are enough.

M-O-N-E-Y

Originally posted by Spotnick New Order are with Warner.. as I deal directly with Warner when I have to get information.. London Records is well, nothing else than a name it seems.

When was London bought by Warner?

Somewhere at the turn of the millennium, when Polygram faced a huge crisis from which I don't even know if it has recovered (does it still exist?). What I didn't know is WARNER Records now belongs to UNIVERSAL who bought it from AOL / Time / WARNER... now this is weird, a bit like seeing Sony Walkman bought by Grundig...

Isn't Universal records now a subsidiary of NBC and GE?

This thread seems to of taken a rather spooky turn now they HAVE been dropped.

it is all speculation at this point, including the Pitchfork.com article which is just pondering the same questions as this site has been doing.

what about Joy Division then...? are they are seperate entity, or connected?

Originally posted by Tristan Isn't Universal records now a subsidiary of NBC and GE?

Nevermind, Universal and Interscope were not included in the NBC Universal merger.

Originally posted by I don't want to be just a number in Society Should I buy shares ?

NBC Universal involves vivendi, and I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole