London Fields # 44
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 3 October 2007
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
A visit to London’s record stores is often an integral part of a music lover’s trip to the English capitol. Berwick Street, immortalised on the cover of Oasis’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, was once the centre for this. There were indie specialists Selectadisc and Sister Ray, mainstream stockist (but cheaper than the major stores) Mister CD, and pre-loved delights on CD and vinyl at two branches of Reckless Records. But it’s been a tough period for music retailing in the UK, and only Sister Ray continues to trade.
Nationwide chains are experiencing troubles too. Despite the fact that the UK still purchases a large amount of music on physical formats, HMV saw a massive drop in sales. Meanwhile, Richard Branson decided that Virgin will withdraw from retail altogether; he has sold the Virgin stores to Zavvi, and their digital download service will cease later this month. Of the larger operators, the saddest loss was the collapse of Fopp, which had started as a small independent retailer in Scotland, but had grown (perhaps too quickly) into a national chain. Fopp’s flagship store on Tottenham Court Road had a licensed café that doubled as a live venue, which meant you could enjoy an instore with a pint rather than being cramped against CD racks. It was well-stocked, offered near internet prices, music-loving staff, and changed the way that other stores priced and sold their music. The only bright light has been the opening of the Rough Trade superstore on Brick Lane in East London.
So in the age of downloads and online sales, should the loss of so many outlets be a concern? In smaller communities, the local independent record store was where people with similar interests met, ideas and music was exchanged, bands were formed and so new scenes grew. In modern Britain the music press is unchallenged by rivalry, and unchallenging in its narrow field of vision. Sometimes record retailers would be bringing new bands to a scene’s attention, in a way MySpace can never replace.
But there’s another major shift taking place as this column goes to press. Over the past few months there’s been a lot of talk here about issues surrounding giving away music. Mike Oldfield was reportedly pretty miffed when Tubular Bells was offered free an incentive to purchase a particular Sunday newspaper. Then there was a big hoo-hah when Prince offered his new studio album free with The Mail On Sunday. Most recently, Travis effectively gave a greatest hits package away with one of the Sundays. But all these pale into insignificance compared to the plans unveiled by Radiohead and The Charlatans.
Radiohead are currently without a label, and have decided to release their next LP, In Rainbows, via their own website. For £40, you get the deluxe package, with vinyl and CD versions of the album, as well as a bonus CD of other material. With the download, you set your own price, meaning you can grab the album legally for a song. Now this strategy may render the record ineligible for the charts, as it’s not going through a recognised retail outlet. Incidentally, a physical CD via a conventional record company is expected to follow next year. I suppose this isn’t really a first. Newcastle act Greenspace released their debut album on vinyl only, but if you sent the band a photo of yourself holding a copy of the vinyl album, they’d send you a free CD of it.
More radical still is the alliance that Alan McGee has set up between commercial alternative station XFM and The Charlatans. The band next two singles and subsequent album will be offered as a free download via the station’s website. McGee has said that they decided to do this after seeing the deal offered by Sanctuary. I suppose it has nothing to do with the closure last month of the recording arm of Sanctuary Records UK?
So why give away music? A friend who was involved in the early careers of some now famous acts thinks he knows the reason. Gigs are extremely popular now, and getting more expensive all the time. So instead of touring up and down the country, playing small venues, you can build up a following so that you skip that stage and go straight to larger venues. Or ultimately give up touring altogether and play week long residencies in enormodomes where people have to travel to from around the country if they wish to see you. Not forgetting the associated merchandise sales.
It seems my friend was on the ball, because a few days later McGee issued a statement saying the future of music was in gigs, merchandising and advertising. If my friend is right, be a little wary or maybe the days of the intimate gig will soon be gone…
© James McGalliard 2007
Showing posts with label Oasis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oasis. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Sunday, 22 January 2006
Could Give a Monkeys
London Fields # 22
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 22 January 2006
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
"If 2005 was the year of the wolf, what will 2006 be?" asked the Inpress Annual Writers’ Poll last month. From where I sit, it will definitely be the Year of the Monkey! Or, to be more precise, Arctic Monkeys…
When The Sun Goes Down has rocketed straight to the top of the UK singles chart, and their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is on its way to becoming the fastest ever selling indie album in UK recording history (the current holder is Oasis with Definitely Maybe). What makes this so important is that it runs contrary to everything that the music industry has been telling us for years. The repeated mantra of "Home Taping Is Killing Music" may have been rewritten to include downloading, but the basic message remains. Yet Arctic Monkeys took the opposite route. They achieved this fantastic position by making their demo material readily and freely available; it allowed them to build up a worldwide following before they had even been signed. And now they’re going to break sales records when the album itself was leaked weeks ago!
Various A&R people are reported to be frantically searching for the next Arctic Monkeys, and Sheffield in particular is under siege. Good luck to ‘em! But you have to feel a little sorry for bands like Bromhead’s Jacket (described by Sheffield’s Sandman as "a cross between The Jam and the bastard northern brother of Blur") and The Harrisons, both whom are going to overcome the stigma of being described as the next AM.
A recurrent theme of the past 18 months has been record companies continuing to re-release singles that failed to make it huge the first time around. Their persistence has finally paid off big time. After successes with this policy with The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs, this week’s UK album chart is topped by Hard-Fi (on the back of the third release of Cash Machine), and Editors (with the re-release of Munich) - The Back Room has finally made the Top 5 a full six months after was first released. Editors easily outshone Franz Ferdinand on their arena tour at the end of 2005. While Franz were still a good live proposition, they were missing the chemistry, that frission, the spark that made their 2004 shows so memorable.
Remarkable in the last year have been acts who may be great live, but failed to capture this in the studio. This is why I’m really excited about some second albums due to be released in 2006. Both The Duke Spirit with Cuts Across The Land and Archie Bronson Outfit with Fur fell into this hole; although superb live performers, their debut releases were somewhat flat and disappointing. I spent twenty minutes the other night bending the ear of Toby from TDS about how they MUST tour Australia, so that people can see how just how good they are. Time will tell if I made any impression.
Sometimes of course, the opposite is true. Which is why the man of the moment for 2005 was Paul Epworth, who dazzled with a Midas touch, both as producer and remixer (often under the moniker ‘Phones’). His special talent was by taking bands who could be less than impressive live (Bloc Party, Rakes) and producing great recordings and singles from them. If he was attached, you knew that they’d be something of merit about the project. He recently worked with Sheffield’s The Long Blondes. Although they are currently unsigned, but expect big things for them once they’ve recorded their debut. Bethnal Green’s Apartment find themselves in a similar position.
Other acts with second albums to look forward to in 2006 are Hope Of The States and The Veils. HotS have been in the studio for ages – the three songs I’ve heard so far are cause for excitement. With The Veils, singer/songwriter Finn Andrews is the only familiar face from The Runaway Found; expect a slower-paced, more melodic outing from a new five-piece line-up.
I wrote previously that 2005 was the year of The Oldie, with star turns from Gang of Four and The Psychedelic Furs, and a rise in the public fortunes of The Fall. 2006 sees the 20th anniversary of NME’s groundbreaking cassette compilation C86. It featured Age of Chance, The Bodines, Close Lobsters, Half Man Half Biscuit, McCarthy, The Pastels, Primal Scream, The Soup Dragons and Fuzzbox to name a few… This was really the birth of indie, and led to life after The Smiths, twee pop, shambling, and shoegaze. It’s rumoured that a series of concerts along the lines of ATP’s Don’t Look Back season is in the process of being arranged, so watch out for blasts from the past. The Wedding Present and Half Man Half Biscuit both had strong new releases in 2005, so expect them to lead the field. It could even help newer bands like Lions and Tigers get a leg up. Watch this space…
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 22 January 2006
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
"If 2005 was the year of the wolf, what will 2006 be?" asked the Inpress Annual Writers’ Poll last month. From where I sit, it will definitely be the Year of the Monkey! Or, to be more precise, Arctic Monkeys…
When The Sun Goes Down has rocketed straight to the top of the UK singles chart, and their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is on its way to becoming the fastest ever selling indie album in UK recording history (the current holder is Oasis with Definitely Maybe). What makes this so important is that it runs contrary to everything that the music industry has been telling us for years. The repeated mantra of "Home Taping Is Killing Music" may have been rewritten to include downloading, but the basic message remains. Yet Arctic Monkeys took the opposite route. They achieved this fantastic position by making their demo material readily and freely available; it allowed them to build up a worldwide following before they had even been signed. And now they’re going to break sales records when the album itself was leaked weeks ago!
Various A&R people are reported to be frantically searching for the next Arctic Monkeys, and Sheffield in particular is under siege. Good luck to ‘em! But you have to feel a little sorry for bands like Bromhead’s Jacket (described by Sheffield’s Sandman as "a cross between The Jam and the bastard northern brother of Blur") and The Harrisons, both whom are going to overcome the stigma of being described as the next AM.
A recurrent theme of the past 18 months has been record companies continuing to re-release singles that failed to make it huge the first time around. Their persistence has finally paid off big time. After successes with this policy with The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs, this week’s UK album chart is topped by Hard-Fi (on the back of the third release of Cash Machine), and Editors (with the re-release of Munich) - The Back Room has finally made the Top 5 a full six months after was first released. Editors easily outshone Franz Ferdinand on their arena tour at the end of 2005. While Franz were still a good live proposition, they were missing the chemistry, that frission, the spark that made their 2004 shows so memorable.
Remarkable in the last year have been acts who may be great live, but failed to capture this in the studio. This is why I’m really excited about some second albums due to be released in 2006. Both The Duke Spirit with Cuts Across The Land and Archie Bronson Outfit with Fur fell into this hole; although superb live performers, their debut releases were somewhat flat and disappointing. I spent twenty minutes the other night bending the ear of Toby from TDS about how they MUST tour Australia, so that people can see how just how good they are. Time will tell if I made any impression.
Sometimes of course, the opposite is true. Which is why the man of the moment for 2005 was Paul Epworth, who dazzled with a Midas touch, both as producer and remixer (often under the moniker ‘Phones’). His special talent was by taking bands who could be less than impressive live (Bloc Party, Rakes) and producing great recordings and singles from them. If he was attached, you knew that they’d be something of merit about the project. He recently worked with Sheffield’s The Long Blondes. Although they are currently unsigned, but expect big things for them once they’ve recorded their debut. Bethnal Green’s Apartment find themselves in a similar position.
Other acts with second albums to look forward to in 2006 are Hope Of The States and The Veils. HotS have been in the studio for ages – the three songs I’ve heard so far are cause for excitement. With The Veils, singer/songwriter Finn Andrews is the only familiar face from The Runaway Found; expect a slower-paced, more melodic outing from a new five-piece line-up.
I wrote previously that 2005 was the year of The Oldie, with star turns from Gang of Four and The Psychedelic Furs, and a rise in the public fortunes of The Fall. 2006 sees the 20th anniversary of NME’s groundbreaking cassette compilation C86. It featured Age of Chance, The Bodines, Close Lobsters, Half Man Half Biscuit, McCarthy, The Pastels, Primal Scream, The Soup Dragons and Fuzzbox to name a few… This was really the birth of indie, and led to life after The Smiths, twee pop, shambling, and shoegaze. It’s rumoured that a series of concerts along the lines of ATP’s Don’t Look Back season is in the process of being arranged, so watch out for blasts from the past. The Wedding Present and Half Man Half Biscuit both had strong new releases in 2005, so expect them to lead the field. It could even help newer bands like Lions and Tigers get a leg up. Watch this space…
© James McGalliard 2006
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