Comments on: Cover Story: Lost Albums

By: Lynn

Lynn — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 21:43:13 +0000

I run a small indie label specifically for mature artists and my aim is to release everything my artists produce, and keep it on sale for the length of the copyright.

I hate it when record companies delete so much material. These days, they have absolutely no good reason to do so. Pressing and distributing vinyl was an expensive business, but keeping an mp3 on a server costs next to nothing.

Our releases are MP3 or FLAC and have no DRM attached. We allow sharing between close friends & family and personal copying onto PC’s and other devices. All downloads are guaranteed for life. The only things we disallow, are sharing via P2P or a website. (Not that you can stop that kind of thing! .. but we like to trust our customers to do what is best for our artists so that they can afford to continue to produce good music.)

Also, all my artists are independent and can sign with anyone else at any time. They own their own publishing rights. My company just owns the recordings.

…Now I just need to sign a few more artists!

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 06:39:01 +0000

Arg. Post the rest of this article here please. We can’t get the old issues anymore, ya know.

By: Sean Kessler

Sean Kessler — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:59:25 +0000

(RE: Above comment; Tom Fogerty? Didn’t he die about 20 years ago? Whereas John Fogerty is now back on the original CCR label with a new group/solo compilation)
Anyway, back to great lost albums: CHICAGO-STONE OF SISYPHUS. Followed Chicago 21 and was rejected by WB for being “too adventurous.” It’s a great album that’s leaner & meaner than most popular Chicago albums – more AOR instead of AC – but it’s a hard-to-find bootleg.

By: Jim Schiller

Jim Schiller — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 17:48:21 +0000

I wish I had released all the albums that I’m on for the last 30 years. But, when you have a contract with a label, they litterly have you by the -well you know- until the contract runs and you can buy back all your masters (usually means giving them back everything they put out and then some, but what the heck, you now own your own work.) Ask Tom Fogerty about that point, but probably stand back a bit so you don’t get decked, although I hear he is a nice guy.

Anyway, The reasons for being shelved are as many as the business of making records for profit. That’s really the point, profit. For example, if a company has a group that sounds sort of like yours, or even worse, you are the next thing, they may put you on the shelf until they see what their current “Top Dogs” do. Maybe, you end up opening for them. If you go over or heavens forbid, skunk the “Headliner” maybe they start opening for you. It could happen!!