May 07, 2007
Warner Brothers To Lay Off 400 People
It is sad to report that according to Billboard Magazine that 400+ people are being layed off as a result of a company restructure. We wish those at WB who have lost their position the best of luck and for those of you who don't know the Warner Brothers Story, here it is:
Warner Brothers, as a company, goes back to 1918, when four brothers (Jack, Albert, Harry, and Samuel Warner) opened their first Warner Brothers studio. They incorporated as a production and distribution entity five years later under the name Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. In 1944, they purchased Leon Schlesinger's cartoon studio, Looney Tunes, and became the owners of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and the rest. The Warner Brothers animation division then churned out high quality cartoons, comic books, and shorts for decades, until it was closed in 1963. Meanwhile, Warner Brothers continued to be one of the big Hollywood players in the movie industry.
Following the lead of MGM, who started a record label in the late 1940s, and Paramount, who established ABC-Paramount in 1957, Warner Brothers formed its own Warner Brothers Records as a division of Warner Brothers Studios on March 19, 1958. The office was located above the film studio's machine shop at 3701 Warner Blvd. in Burbank, California. The President of the label was James B. Conklin. Directors of A&R were Harris Ashburn, George Avakian and Bob Prince. The Warner Brothers label initially recorded pop, jazz, classical, spoken word, folk and gospel.
Over the years, it had not bothered Warner Brothers too much that they didn't have a record company, but it was in early 1957, when Randy Wood's Dot Records signed Warners' movie star Tab Hunter to a recording contract, that the Warner Brothers brass started seeing red. Wood could sign Hunter because although his Warner Brothers contract was exclusive, Warners had no record label. In fact, the timing of when Warner Brothers started their record label was very much linked to their getting their star's recording contract away from Dot. Hunter, who by his own admission could barely sing at all, was coached by Wood to make a few passable records which were major hits in 1957, while Warners steamed. When Warner Brothers finally got their record label off the ground in 1958, they reclaimed Tab Hunter, who made several albums for the label and had a few singles in the mid-ranges of the charts, although nothing like the success he had had with Dot. In fact, Tab Hunter's "Jealous Heart" [WB 5008], which only made #62 on the charts, was the only chart record Warner Brothers had during its first year, 1958.
On the album side in 1960, comedian Bob Newhart scored a #1 album with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, the success of which started Warner Brothers to look around for other comedians to sign to record contracts. Eventually, Warner Brothers would become one of the most successful in the comedy album genre, with stars like Allan Sherman and Bill Cosby also becoming household names by 1965.
The early 1970s saw the Warner Brothers label grow to the major label it had always aspired to become. New artists included rockers Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Grateful Dead, Ides of March, Alice Cooper, and the Faces. On the more acoustic side, there was James Taylor, Seals and Crofts, Dion, and America. Also added were soul bands Tower of Power and Malo as well as pop/soul singer Dionne Warwick. By 1973, Warner Brothers was firmly ensconced in a leadership position in the music industry, and that is where they remain today.
As we continue to educate you all on some of the history behind the music biz, we want to thank Mike Callahan who wrote the original WB Records Story. Of course at What's Out Next we say it may all be going to Mexico!
Produced by Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronkder and released on WB Records in 1975 from the album "Gorilla!"
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Posted by mitchsantell at 12:47 PM
May 03, 2007
Broadjam Is Getting It Right!
Written by Mitch Santell
At What's Out Next we always say, "does your net work?" With all the changes in the music business right now one of the companies that is building a solid platform is Broadjam! Recently at the ASCAP, I CREATE MUSIC CONFERENCE (which by the way had over 2,300 people attend), I had the good fortune to play with a variety of Broadjam solutions off their.
There are a lot of artists in the music business who have a My Space Page but simply can't stand it. Want a real solution to pitch your tunes? Want a way to sell your tunes and keep the majority of the income? Broadjam is the key to getting out there. It's a solid service and I had the good fortune to hear Roy Elkins, the Founder and CEO speak about why he created the company and where the music business is going.
Erin Graham is a Director at Broadjam and she is a spectacular presenter. She was able to explain in under 60 seconds how the whole service works. What this tells me as a music producer is that they are very clear on their business model. Thanks for the presentation Erin!
Of course at What's Out Next we say it may all be a Spinning Wheel but at Broadjam this spinning works!
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Posted by mitchsantell at 10:12 AM
May 02, 2007
Did Ritalin Kill Off The Record Industry?
Ritalin, ITunes best friend!
Written by Mitch Santell
For many years if you recall how the music business used to be, we had something called an album. From the early 1960's until the mid 1980's most kids, teenagers and adults would put on a long playing record and listen from start to finish. Most LP's (Long Playing Records) lasted about 20+ minutes.
Then the CD came along and it enabled us to carry over 70 minutes per music on one disk. After that? We entered the age of the iTunes music store. Did you know that the majority of sales at this online store is for one or two specific tracks. Most teenagers and young adults simply choose to not buy an entire album.
If you'll notice, it seems that most young people seem to have shorter and shorter attention span. Why? For me, I blame it on Ritalin. They tried to get oldest son Michael (now 19) on it. The school tried for almost five years. Then one day a teacher gave my son a stress ball and said "Michael, if you feel stressed, squeeze the ball. If not, stand up at the back of the room."
Well, when I was a kid, most of us boys (and girls too) took out our energy by forming garage bands. Now? They just drug our kids.
Want further proof of no attention span? The worst idea to come along in a long time is (drum roll).... a new web site called lonely girl 15.
Click on the graphic and it will take you there!
If you would like to know what it is like to take the drug Ritalin, simply watch these short 90 second irritating shows. (I can't even call them a show...forget it).
So not only are CD sales down by over 20%, now we have young people who can barely listen to one song or can only stand 90 seconds of video. I guess Gone With The Wind Is Out of the Picture?
At What's Out Next, we would prefer to simply drink a Tequila Sunrise!
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Posted by mitchsantell at 11:02 PM