Saw Passenger at Spitz in London last week - I though they were rather good. Anyone else here seen these guys? I'd really given them a go, especially if you're after a gentle acoustic kind of sound.

 

Obligatary YouTube vid - I think this is their latest single - Wicked Mans Rest:

Saw Passenger at Spitz in London last week - I though they were rather good. Anyone else here seen these guys? I'd really given them a go, especially if you're after a gentle acoustic kind of sound.

 

Obligatary YouTube vid - I think this is their latest single - Wicked Mans Rest:

 

not watched them, but read about them in the guardian:

 

 

Already, many majors rely on management companies to bring new artists to their attention. Now, some are starting to bypass them altogether. Mr Clark, who co-founded ie Music and was responsible for Robbie Williams' multi-faceted £80m contract with EMI, believes that deal could be the last of its kind. He likens the latest period of flux to the anything goes spirit of the 1960s before the major label consolidation of the late 1970s.

 

The company is pioneering a new form of investment in artists backed by Ingenious Media, the media-focused private equity fund launched last year by former Really Useful Group chief executive Patrick McKenna. Passenger, a new band who have been building local support in Brighton and release their first single today, are the guinea pigs for the new approach. Mr Clark is bypassing the big labels by going directly to Ingenious, which is putting up £1.3m to launch the band - investment matched by ie Music and external investors.

 

New model

 

Through the new financial model - dubbed Music Venture Capital Trusts - they claim that artists have more freedom and retain more of their own rights while their management are able to lavish care and attention on all aspects of an artist's career.

 

The artist retains ultimate control, they say, because managers tend to be employed on an annual contract.

 

"We work for our artists and we answer to our artists. At the end of the day, our artists can turn around and sack us," says Mr Clark. He says he "very nearly came to blows" with EMI over ie Music's determination to sign a global marketing deal with Sony Ericsson for Williams - a marriage that he says has been "incredibly successful". By being able to work with each part of an artist's "basket of rights", he claims to stand a better chance of building a long-term brand than a record label more concerned with short-term returns.

 

"That's why management is having more success in doing this because they recognise that basket of rights and they recognise the value of those rights," says Mr Clark.

 

Mr McKenna believes the majors should have cottoned on earlier: "I think it's one of life's great mysteries why record companies haven't embraced this 360 degree business model."

 

Bryan Calhoun, an Atlanta-based music consultant who works with Kanye West and Ludacris, is another who is thriving amid the music industry's shifting sands. He says artists are recognising how far they can leverage their brands and are going beyond what the major labels can offer them. Kanye West is signed to Sony BMG but has been working with Mr Calhoun's StrategusPro company on creating a fan community.

 

full report in culture box

Cool - I didn't know they were involved something new and different like that. Looks interesting - any scheme where artists get more control over their music is a good thing. Thanks for posting that.