The Raconteurs Vs Record Labels

The Raconteurs have attacked record labels – accusing them of giving up on their artists if albums fail to achieve quick success.

“They stop. They consider it a failure. They are completely losing the plot,” explained the band’s guitarist Brendon Benson.

Benson said that record companies needed to “gamble” and “put more money into artist development.”

Earlier this year, The Raconteurs surprised the music industry when they released their second album ‘Consolers of the Lonely’ without any press lead time.

In an announcement on their website, the band said that they wanted to get the record the fans as quickly as possible.

Speaking in today’s Sun newspaper, the band’s frontman Jack White said he paid a lot of attention to how the record was received when it was released.

“A lot of critics were just pissed at the idea and were like, ‘I’m trashing it whatever’ but if you go down to a different level — the blogs and college stations and papers — they were all raving,” White said.

“They had less to lose on the ego front.”

Thanks for the info to GIGWise.

Comments

[601210]

More power to the 'teurs, I say.

[slann101]

i find it a little odd that jack choose to speak to the sun. i mean, come on, its the sun. hardly reliable and high brow.

[sowhat360]

The album is damn good.....great songwriting

[ValoRhoads]

Sock it to 'em Jack!

[HoDG3]

Record companies really don't have to 'gamble' if they think they are going to lose money on a project.

[HoDG3]

But the Critics are major Douches for doing that.

[HexaDakota]

HoDG3 wrote:

Record companies really don't have to 'gamble' if they think they are going to lose money on a project.

I agree. It's a business after all. A lot of musicians forget that and they think that gigs and opportunities just fall into their laps.

[jcarrig]

you call brendan benson the 'guitarist', but he lead sings on half the songs. i mean, it's like a mccartney/lennon partnership in the raconteurs, it's split like that.

[jrob816]

It was a good album. Record labels really are too worried about taking the safe route and not letting artists do things their own ways.

[ze monsta]

I agree with BB, it's a shame there is much less talent in the industry IMO.

ze monsta wrote:

I agree with BB, it's a shame there is much less talent in the industry IMO.

look harder

[Lotz222]

It is a business and they do strive to make profit in any but it does seem they spend less time developing artists. If they treated it more like Major League Baseball, you know getting young players and developing them into stars in triple A (minor league), i think we would have better more talented artists out there.

[Lotz222]

^^ i don't like it to be like that. BUT THATS JUST ME :p

[Grimme]

Oh dear a band criticising record labels while still being signed to one. When Radiohead or NIN come out and say "Yeh record labels suck!" at least they've got some credibility in that they've quit theirs and are selling independently (although they have made their millions by being on a major label for the last 10 years or so).

[Stiney]

Grimme wrote:

Oh dear a band criticising record labels while still being signed to one. When Radiohead or NIN come out and say "Yeh record labels suck!" at least they've got some credibility in that they've quit theirs and are selling independently (although they have made their millions by being on a major label for the last 10 years or so).

I don't know about that.....I think it takes way more balls to critisize your bosses treatment of your colleagues while you still work there than to quit, start your own company and then ring up your old boss weeks later and tell him he sucks.

[rhoads4ever]

Grimme wrote:

Oh dear a band criticising record labels while still being signed to one. When Radiohead or NIN come out and say "Yeh record labels suck!" at least they've got some credibility in that they've quit theirs and are selling independently (although they have made their millions by being on a major label for the last 10 years or so).

I agree with you here, but tons and tons of people bitche about their "boss" you know, they just don't have a reporter writing it down.

[AnimatedHand]

they are good. but only 2 UK dates? cmon

[ShaDoW0lf]

HexaDakota wrote:

I agree. It's a business after all. A lot of musicians forget that and they think that gigs and opportunities just fall into their laps.

Its not the artists who are under a misconception about the business of music. The artists understand that through investing in the development of bands, they create these new subcultures/fads/"new sounds," which are extremely lucrative for the industry. What is happening is that, by stifling artistic creativity, they are milking the "old sounds" and not allowing the "new sounds" to develop. Creativity is the most important characteristic of music as an art and as a business, whereas our current business model is based on the here and now, the ideas of yesterday.. I make exceptions for some indie labels, however. They have the right model, and will be rewarded when the current industry leaders are faced with their failures..

checked.

[ze monsta]

FrenchyFungus wrote:

look harder

Wow that was patronising. lol
Frenchy, I know there are loadsa great bands, and I'm into a lot of modern music, but bands like The Hoosiers and Operator Please out there signed to RCA and EMI respectively whilst I can think of several bands, which, in my opinion, deserve such attention far more.

I reckon Brendan Benson, deserves far more attention for his own musical efforts, after all it is basically pop music.

[Anavrin224]

“They stop. They consider it a failure. They are completely losing the plot,” explained the band’s guitarist Brendon Benson

The whole idea of a record company is an agreement, they market and produce your record and if the record is bad and bombs then they kind of have a right to say "Look we lived up to our part of the deal" I know music is objective but if a band put out an album that sounded similar to Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" then they have every right to drop them.

[MegaRon]

Dear God, I love the Raconteurs. I don't think they could do any wrong in my book.

[tona_107]

jack white ****in ROCKS.....and i agree.

[C1osur3]

Jack White = Jesus Christ

[keithmoon15]

i have so much respect for these guys they are all heros because they are all about music, not money or big labels

plus there a kick ass band too!

[Black Revolver]

ive gotta check this album out =o i enjoyed their 1st album.

[AvengedThrice]

I'm very excited with the way the music business is going now, and if music carries on being distributed this way I doubt record companies will be needed at all soon.

Also, Consolers Of The Lonely is a brilliant album.

[Froddy]

I'm getting more and more into Jack White's music by the day - just recently started to explore both The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, and they're both awesome. As is Jack White.

Checked.

[garage_kid]

yeh, the indie rockers are right, once again!.

[WhereArtEsteban]

Jack white is really cool...

[urdad]

they've got balls. totally agree with everything they say

[Harry Krishner]

‘Consolers of the Lonely’ is a damn good piece of work.

[str84ever]

I disagee with what the Raconteurs are saying.
Why would a record company back up a band, give it loads of promotion etc. if they don't make good music that sells well? A record company is a business which needs to make money. It won't just do all that stuff for nothing and if a band is not going to make money for them what is the point?

[Pumpkins4Life]

^^ right on brother

the record industry as we know it is a dying business. they don't have time for artist development and they obviously don't have any artistic merit to own up to. so they make a quick buck off some shiny "artist" they know will sell well then as soon as they made all the money they can off them they move on to the next one.

[Kingsway96]

Record labels are dying anyways, at least the majors, record sales are dropping rapidly due to new technology over the internet, and all they want is a quick success for a quick buck, they are no longer a music business, but have turned into a pop culture business, idk what label the racontuers are on but they should try to move to an independent label that cares more about music and development than stay on a major thats not going to work at all in helping them develop a lasting career, as a opposed to a quick, but fleeting success

[Scorge]

Anavrin224 wrote:

“They stop. They consider it a failure. They are completely losing the plot,” explained the band’s guitarist Brendon Benson

The whole idea of a record company is an agreement, they market and produce your record and if the record is bad and bombs then they kind of have a right to say "Look we lived up to our part of the deal" I know music is objective but if a band put out an album that sounded similar to Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" then they have every right to drop them.

if you are directing your comment towards Benson, then don't you think he would know more about this shit than you?? you just came off as an arrogant prick trying to think you know more about the industry than a professional musician whose been doing this stuff for years. and most of the learned people in this forum have a basic grasp on how the industry works anyway.

[Kegan]

Scorge wrote:

Anavrin224 wrote:

“They stop. They consider it a failure. They are completely losing the plot,” explained the band’s guitarist Brendon Benson

The whole idea of a record company is an agreement, they market and produce your record and if the record is bad and bombs then they kind of have a right to say "Look we lived up to our part of the deal" I know music is objective but if a band put out an album that sounded similar to Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" then they have every right to drop them.

if you are directing your comment towards Benson, then don't you think he would know more about this shit than you?? you just came off as an arrogant prick trying to think you know more about the industry than a professional musician whose been doing this stuff for years. and most of the learned people in this forum have a basic grasp on how the industry works anyway.

Just because he isn't a member of the Raconteurs doesn't mean he isn't allowed his own opinion. You'd have to be quite arrogant to say he's wrong, as his statement made complete sense. The record industry, as fifteen or so people have said before me, is on the verge of dying out. The last thing they want to do is take a chance - They have families to feed and jobs to keep going, they can't always hire every decent band. And besides, the bands have got no right to complain. Unless they belong to the Record Label (their own decision) under contract, they can release their music through other media and realize just how tough it can be to get a successful act going.

[yourillusion]

DOWN WITH THE RECORD INDUSTRY!!!
Radiohead, NIN. Free music revolution.
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon

[Black Star]

Alright, I'm sick of people acknowledging Radiohead for their role in the "DOWN WITH THE RECORD INDUSTRY". Radiohead have clearly stated that it was a one time thing, and that they would continue to release through their label. Trent Reznor, on the other hand, is a true revolutionary.

[Black Star]

Correction: Radiohead did leave their label, but they aren't giving away free music any longer. Basically, it was a publicity stunt, and people need to realize that.

[Ikey]

radiohead arent the first to offer free downloads either

[Zebra_Planet]

i dont get it, why did BB even bother to make that statement? is it because their record label is trying to ditch them?
if they are, they're missing out on some good money from all the younger 'college radio blog' fans, and isnt more money what the record labels really going for?

[TeenBite]

What a silly comment from Jack White, saying he wanted to get the record to the fans as quickly as possible. How would letting the industry know a few weeks beforehand in any way affect the album's release?!

*checked*

[BrianApocalypse]

slann101 wrote:

i find it a little odd that jack choose to speak to the sun. i mean, come on, its the sun. hardly reliable and high brow.

The sun can probably pay the highest price, as it's by far the most popular newspaper in Britian.

Also, they might offer even more, in case that Meg White can do a page 3.

[TheZookeeper]

BrianApocalypse :
Also, they might offer even more, in case that Meg White can do a page 3.

...if only...

[tincho729]

Music BUSINESS

..it sucks, but what do you expect? with all the losses record labels have, they are less likely to take a chance.