Good for them: artists should take control of their own destiny in the 21st century: major labels may have distribution power, and vertical integration clout, but so often the corporations don’t have the interest of the band, or its fans, as part of their mission. Can Wilco revise the Lounge Ax too?
Wilco took another step Wednesday toward becoming a self-contained music company when the Chicago band announced it was forming its own label, dBpm Records.1
The label will be based in Easthampton, Mass., and run by the band’s manager, Tony Margherita. Distribution will go through Anti- Records, an offshoot of Los Angeles punk powerhouse label Epitaph. In recent years Anti- has released albums by a wide range of acclaimed artists, including Tom Waits, Neko Case and Mavis Staples.
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The sextet is working on its next studio album in its rehearsal space on Chicago’s North Side. No release date has been set. The band’s 2011 tour dates include an appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and a reprise of its Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, Mass., on June 24-26.
(click to continue reading Turn It Up: Wilco forms own label, severs ties with majors.)
Footnotes:
- no website yet [↩]