Copyright 1999 Southam Inc.
Calgary Herald
December 10, 1999, Friday, FINAL
SECTION: Entertainment; D8
LENGTH: 1107 words
HEADLINE: 'Seagram refugees' still reeling
BYLINE: Geoff Boucher, Los Angeles Times
BODY:
The calendar is packed these days for Aimee Mann,
what with the holidays and a slate of new projects, so perhaps it's no surprise
that the singer-songwriter was oblivious to the looming, grim anniversary.
But that doesn't mean she's forgotten the pain.
''One year, huh? Well, get your party hats out,'' was the singer's wry response
when told that today marks one year since Seagram Co. completed its $10.4-billion
acquisition of PolyGram.
That seismic moment in the music industry created the world's largest record
company, one that has accounted for 27 per cent of the U.S. market this
year. But it also set into motion a corporate bloodletting that would result
in Mann and nearly 200 other acts leaving the labels, many involuntarily.
''A year ago we had no power, and we couldn't make any decisions or know
what was going to happen,'' said Mann, who had been with Seagram's Geffen
Records. ''It was an absolutely horrible and dispiriting time.''
The pain has receded and may now give way to a career resurgence. Mann's
songs are not only the foundation of the soundtrack to Magnolia (released
this week on Reprise Records), but writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson
calls them the ''heart and soul'' of the entire film. Mann says she has
rarely been happier as an artist.
But how many other ''Seagram's refugees'' can say the same? The corporate
shake-up may have begun a full year ago -- and reached its most dramatic
moment in January with the shuttering of the historic A&M Records offices
-- but its repercussions continue, with some artists still awaiting word
of their future with the music giant. Some say it will be years before anyone
can size up the true impact.
Some conclusions, however, can be made at the anniversary of the deal that
brought labels such as A&M, Motown, Mercury, Def Jam and Island under
the banner of Seagram's Universal Music Group:
n The predicted windfall of proven talent for independent labels and Internet
music ventures never materialized. The artists who were cut loose (or bolted)
from the Universal labels have done so in dribs and drabs, so no flood emerged.
''And, frankly,'' notes Cheryl Botchick of CMJ New Music Report, ''some
of these bands probably should never have been on a major label anyway.''
n The emotional pain lingers, but none of the artists, managers or executives
interviewed for this story disagreed with the overall logic of whittling
down the bloated, underachieving rosters.
n Universal Music Group has emerged relatively unscathed and has seen its
market share grow in 1999. The conglomerate weathered criticism from outspoken
artists and flouted tradition by bruising the legacy of the A&M and
Geffen success stories. ''The real corporate crime wasn't cutting these
artists, it was signing them in the first place,'' says one executive still
within the conglomerate.
Pinning down the toll of cutbacks is difficult. Instead of dropping artists
en masse, the labels are often waiting for acts to reach an option threshold
in their contract. And executives within the company, stung by media coverage
of the crisis, declined to disclose their current rosters for this story.
On the other side, managers are often loath to announce their clients are
out on the street.
''A lot of people would rather keep quiet,'' says Michael Hausman, Mann's
manager. ''They see it as a black mark if they get dropped.''
Among the acts who bolted or were cut are 10,000 Maniacs, Cowboy Junkies,
Elastica, Morrissey, Aaron Neville, Paula Abdul, Remy Zero, Barry White,
Tricky, Peter Wolf, Kurupt, Southern Culture on the Skids, Gas Giants and
Nashville Pussy, according to managers and label sources.
Some of them, such as the Maniacs and Kurupt, have landed with other labels,
while Southern Culture and the Gas Giants, which features former members
of the platinum-selling act the Gin Blossoms, are among those who went to
Internet-based music merchants and labels, a realm that offers more in future
potential than certain payoff.
''Now we have more control and more freedom,'' says Robin Wilson of the
Gas Giants. ''My first and biggest fear was that we wouldn't be able to
get the same level of promotion . . . but now I'm very confident that we
can score a Top 40 single. We will just have to work a bit harder for the
opportunities. ''
Elastica, Morrissey, Aaron Neville and Nashville Pussy are among those currently
unsigned, and perhaps dozens more remain under contract to one of the Universal
Music Group labels but know they likely will be jettisoned down the line.
''There are a lot of people with a bitter taste left in their mouth, and
I don't think it's over yet,'' says manager Arnold Pustilnik, who represents
Neville and the Gas Giants.
Pustilnik cited a third client, a young rock band called Black Lab, as a
''real, absolute casualty.'' ''One day the label says they were hearing
hits, the next day they were gone,'' Pustilnik says. ''Now they're trying
to pick up the pieces.''
Perhaps no one has picked up the pieces as well as Mann, who, ironically,
has been the most outspoken victim of the Universal downsizing. Described
in Entertainment Weekly as the ''poster child'' of the crisis, Mann may
be on the verge of a renaissance with the Magnolia soundtrack and other
opportunities percolating.
Mann has a completed album she bought back from Interscope Records (to which
Geffen acts were shuttled after the merger) and hopes to release it early
next year. Her bitterness about the major label system has led to another
venture: United Musicians, which she calls ''a collective where artists
can make the most money possible'' off their music.
Hausman, Mann's manager, is now lining up investors for the company, which
would handle marketing, publicity and radio promotion for acts that want
to retain ownership of their songs and buck the traditional industry routes.
''In this era,'' Hausman says, ''artists are going to have to learn to be
more adventurous.''
Some acts that have experienced platinum sales, though, find it hard to
leave the majors. The Cowboy Junkies, a critically admired veteran band
with a loyal fan following, put out a collection of rarities on their own
label, Latent Recordings, but last month rejoined the major label scene
by signing with Arista Austin.
10,000 Maniacs have signed with Bar/None, a New Jersey indie, where they
have found autonomy -- and anonymity.
''We used to sell 200,000 copies,'' says the Maniacs' manager, Blair Woods.
''Now we have a new album out and nobody even knows it's there. There's
nothing like a major label when it comes to promotion.''
GRAPHIC: P Photo: BMG Music / Singer Aimee Mann,
who was a hit in the '80s with the band Til Tuesday, was one of the artists
caught in the downsizing of Universal Music Group -- but she's emerged from
the situation with an acclaimed soundtrack album and an upcoming new release.