Back catalogue has always been the very soul of the record business, great artists make great records and great records sell….. and like any art form, it doesn’t date. Over the years new generations discover them and they continue to sell, it’s a never ending circle…or at least you thought it was. While great artists are timeless record companies are time sensitive, they no longer give their artists the time to produce those great pieces of work. They have created a climate by melting our icebergs and letting our lifeblood float away, the back catalogue is drifting aimlessly. As new acts were being developed by the labels they always had a steady roster of artists with back catalogue that would keep ticking away. At some time somwhere in the world someone would be buying one of these records, and it just kept going.
There is now a real danger of there being no back catalogue in the future, or that the back catalogue we have today will still be the same back catalogue of the future. Can we seriously expect that Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse or Nickelback to sell in thirty years like Led Zeppelin, The Pink Floyd or Dylan?
Back catalogue and a great artist roster is also what helps attract the best of the new artists to a label. Island Records for three decades had a plethora of acts like Free, Traffic, Bob Marley, U2, Steve Winwood etc who would build the foundations to attract these new acts. How many independent acts over the years would have given anything to be on Factory and the same label as Joy Division and New Order, or 4AD and The Pixies? And those labels would only want acts who were worthy to stand alongside those giants. The artists had integrity and hadn’t become some record company’s puppet jumping to their every tune. They were confident in their ability to produce the best they could, the label left them to it and in return those acts left the promoting in the capable hands of their label. The right people doing the right jobs with the least interference, a harmonious relationship and a solid base from which to build.
Filed under: About Tony Michaelides, record companies , 4AD, back catalogue, Factory Records, Island Records
