Based on info posted at New Music Tip Sheet, the news that Vanguard Records was going to be releasing a CD of Taylor Hicks’ early works bounced happily across the internet. This sounded like interesting news, so I spent a pleasant afternoon listening to some of their catalog and downloading. (Some of the fruits of my labor are at the end of this post.)

But a fan posting at the boogie says that an email from Vanguard reveals that the site linked above is in error. Vanguard has a deal to distribute the early works album, not release it. And so the interesting idea that the initial news first evoked, namely, that perhaps Vanguard was producing Hicks’ new CD schedule for this autumn, evaporates.

But I did turn back to the David Byrne article we posted about last winter to refresh my memory on distribution deals. Apparently, Hicks’ is putting it out on his own “Modern Whomp” label, so I’m guessing (because I still don’t get all the terminology) that it’s something like Byrne’s no. 5:

5. In the manufacturing and distribution deal, the artist does everything except, well, manufacture and distribute the product. Often the companies that do these kinds of deals also offer other services, like marketing. But given the numbers, they don’t stand to make as much, so their incentive here is limited. Big record labels traditionally don’t make M&D deals.

In this scenario, the artist gets absolute creative control, but it’s a bigger gamble. Aimee Mann does this, and it works really well for her. “A lot of artists don’t realize how much more money they could make by retaining ownership and licensing directly,” Mann’s manager, Michael Hausman, told me. “If it’s done properly, you get paid quickly, and you get paid again and again. That’s a great source of income.”

For releasing already cut and edited stuff, that makes a lot of sense. For new material, like the fall CD, I can see some real advantages of working with a producer with a really good ear.

Who knows. I’m not going to let some good downloading go to waste, though. Here’s what some of the Vanguard catalog sounds like:

The Alternate Routes, Going Home with You


(note: the Routes opened for Hicks on some of his north eastern tour stops. Check here for some more about them.)

Patty Larkin, Walking in My Sleep

Tab Benoit, Mother Earth


(note: you can read and hear more of Benoit here.)

Indigenous, The Way You Shake

(All of these are on iTunes. I’m hooked on Idigenous now.)

Somebody there has a good ear.

categories: biz, music
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