| How
did you become involved in the record industry,
and what led up you to working at Cargo/Livewire?
I
started working in HMV Records in Sutton on the
day that the Michael Jackson album "Bad"
was released. The shop was pandemonium all day
and while I was processing stock with the manager,
I stupidly asked him if we were going to have
to listen to the same album all day. He barked
back "This pays our fucking wages".
A good lesson learnt early on! From there I worked
for Greyhound Records - an import/export company
in Clapham Junction. This was at the tail end
of the 80s Hair Metal/Hard Rock glory years with
Diving For Pearls, D'Molls, Stevie Salas releases
and a mass of obscurities and gems being uncovered.
Japanese CD's, U.S. and European CD's (along with
Kelv Hellrazer's cosmetics and hair products)
were the main items we imported. After a short
stint at Pinnacle I joined Cargo Records in 1995.
In
the age of Pro Tools, Cubase, Myspace etc., why
do we need record companies?
Record
companies are still useful for marketing ideas,
physical and digital distribution and co-ordinating
press and promotion. Also a record company can
provide a focus (as the great John Fashanu said)
and make sure that energy and budget is channelled
in the right way. Many things can seem like a
good idea until they're really thought through,
and this is where a record company can provide
guidance and a structured campaign. In the words
of Kory Clarke, "Myspace? That's here at
the bar... "
As
label manager at Livewire, what qualities attract
you to a particular band or artist? When you're
at a gig what is it that entices you out of the
bar to watch an (unsigned) support band, and do
you tend to watch bands in a different way to
how most of us watch them?
Originally
Livewire was going to sign what I thought were
modern glam/rocknroll bands and The Toilet Boys
encapsulated that. I like bands that have a lot
of attitude, and don't stand there looking at
their shoes. As Livewire's catalogue expanded
over the next few releases the spectrum became
quite a lot broader, and we've released quality
Classic Rock acts such as Diamond Head. Ideally
I'd like to sign a band that combine Missing Persons
and Motley Crue. The important factors are attitude...
and perspective.
In what ways has the role of the record company
and distributor had to change, to fall into line
with the the increasing number of online outlets,
iTunes etc, and the decrease in the number of
bricks'n'mortar
shops?
So
many of the indies have now gone - in the early
nineties there were still a healthy number of
really good indie stores who stocked rock music
(Penny Lane, Signals, Sound Barrier, the list
goes on) and the people who worked there really
knew their music and would recommend releases
to customers. S.T. Records in Dudley and J.G.
Windows in Newcastle are two who can still provide
the same service. A lot more sales are now through
Amazon and Play and mail order companies such
as Destiny, Loud 1, Z-Roxx etc. The records are
still being made and sold through additional outlets.
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