Q&A: Sleepwalking with Brian Fallon

With both his second solo album and the tenth anniversary of The ’59 Sound, Brian Fallon has a busy 2018 ahead of him. But as always, he can’t wait to get to work.

Cathy Pellow of Sargent House

Q&A: Sargent House’s Cathy Pellow on redefining the management-label relationship

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Named after the historic home where its offices reside, Sargent House isn’t your ordinary music company. It’s a management company but also a record label — and houses a PR company (US/Them Group), a video-production site (Terroreyes TV), and, now, a licensing and music-supervision division (1656 Music).

Situated between Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, Sargent House is all of these things, and its owner and founder, Cathy Pellow, isn’t your ordinary businessperson either. From her beginnings as a 20-year-old representing fashion photographers in New York, to her role as a film producer and talent-boutique owner, to creating a music-television show and commissioning videos for Island and Atlantic Records, Pellow holds an unusual pedigree for an indie-label head.

Moses Supposes

Moses Supposes: Major labels brace themselves for loss of their most popular catalog in 2013

Moses Avalon is one of the nation’s leading music-business consultants and artists’-rights advocates and is the author of a top-selling music business reference, Confessions of a Record Producer. More of his articles can be found at www.mosesavalon.com.

The Mayan calendar claims that the world will come to an abrupt end in 2012. We have all heard the hype and suffered through the movies. But even if that prediction falls flat, the pop-music business may still experience its own armageddon shortly thereafter. Are these just the ravings of another music-industry expert flying off the rails? Let’s see.

In 2013, many classic recordings are scheduled to slip out of the control of their major labels. No, I’m not referring to odd recordings that no one actually collects. This list of records includes some of the top-selling albums of all time (abbreviated list below)!

Even though music-business insiders have been dreading this for years, the New York Times finally decided that it was a newsworthy enough subject and published a piece a few weeks ago about this issue (called “termination of masters”). Unfortunately, the reporter they assigned seemed to a have limited understanding of how the music business really works, as well as of copyright in general. In his article, he kept interchanging the word “songs” with “master recordings,” which littered his post with inaccurate statements like, “artists can claim their songs in 2013.”

Though this New York Times piece may be new info to outsiders, it is a subject that has long been on the minds of those concerned with the recording industry and artist rights. I reported about the subject in a 2008 Moses Supposes article. Here’s the reprint for your perusal:

Mayan meltdown at majors

The hot topic for the American Bar Association conference in 2008 was “termination of masters,” a little raison d’etre in the copyright act that supposedly levels the playing field for authors who are often at a disadvantage to the big, bad publisher (or record company, in this case). The copyright act states that after 35 years, the license or transfer of a work must “terminate” and revert back to the original author.

Social Distortion

Social Distortion: Another State of Mind

Social Distortion‘s upcoming album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, finds Mike Ness and company reinventing themselves once again, trading in their signature hard-edged punk for a more lighthearted rock-‘n’-roll sound.

Behind the Counter: The Corner Record Shop (Grandville, MI)

Each week, Behind the Counter speaks to an independent record store to ask about its recent favorites, best sellers, and noteworthy trends.

The Corner Record Shop in Grandville, Michigan started out in a tiny corner room behind an old Dutch bakery.  Eleven years later, owner Steve Williamson and his “no judgment” staff cater to young and old alike, offering their talents in the two-room spot with an audio-repair shop, stereo showroom, and venue (still in the works). Employee Brian Beckwith shares some thoughts with us.

The Corner Record Shop

Marnie Stern’s five favorite guitarists

Marnie Stern knows a thing or two about shredding. With two critically acclaimed albums under her belt and a new album, entitled Marnie Stern, out October 5 via Kill Rock Stars, Stern is easily one of the most technical and skilled female guitarists playing today.  Here are her five favorite axe-masters.

Also, take a listen to a cut of the forthcoming album, which features contributions from Zach Hill (Hella) and Matthew Flegel (Women), by listening to the song “For Ash” below.

Marnie Stern: “For Ash”
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1. Mick Barr

“I always say Mick, and he will always be my favorite. The only way I can describe his playing is to say that your jaw will drop for the entire time you witness his terrific playing style. He has influenced me tremendously.”