The Switch Away From Columbia Records
Submitted by kim on August 16, 2007 - 7:14pm.
Modern Rock | News Story | Switchfoot
I found the following post on the Switchfoot Myspace blog quite interesting. I wonder what our readers might speculate. Rather than beating around the bush or trying to summarize the eloquence of the writing of Jon Foreman, lead singer of the San Diego based band, I shall simply quote the blog right here. After reading, please take some time to submit your thoughts on the switch!
And for those who don't already know, Jon Foreman and the Real SeanJon have their own Myspace profiles that you can check out for more detailed information.
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greetings everybody!
I've got some exciting news: after several years of trying to make
things work over at Columbia we have officially severed our ties with
sony to pursue making music independently. We are thankful for the
incredible success that our partnership has produced over the years,
yet within this ever changing business there can arise differences in
vision and goals. These differences have now come to a point where we
feel like parting ways would be best for us, and best for sony.
As a hands-on band, we feel so grateful for our newfound freedom. We
are continually dreaming up ways to bridge the gap between the
audience and the stage; this feels like an incredible step in that
direction. A huge thank you to bob, amy, nicole and tim over at
columbia who were there from the beginning. We would also like to
thank our musical family here in the states and abroad for sticking
with us through these columbia years. We couldn't have done it
without you!
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We'll have more information for you as things shape up. In the
meantime, here are several projects already in the works for the next
year:
-four jon foreman solo ep's
(tentatively titled fall, winter, spring, and summer)
-the real sean jon
(a collaboration between jon foreman and sean watkins of nickel creek fame)
-a new switchfoot record in '08
(the first tracks 13 tracks were cut this week!)
Dunno
Submitted by webmaster on August 17, 2007 - 9:56pm.
I'm kinda expecting them to keep EMI, because EMI will be happy with their sales. Hoestly, I don't think it has anything to do with the DRM on Nothing Is Sound. I think it's all in the fact that the band did not produce any more radio hits for Columbia, and therefore very little sales. (Of course, it doesn't help that some people have been cracking down on paying radio stations to play music a year or two ago, and one of the bands on the list of those that were paid was Switchfoot, from what I remember.) I think this position is pretty well supported by the fact that I saw more promotional muscle behind Oh! Gravity than Nothing Is Sound, but apparently it didn't help much. Besides, I think that although Switchfoot could make it, their last couple albums have been much too artistic to make big numbers. No complaints here, for sure, I still like their stuff, but it's just not enough for the big label.
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hmm... (edited version)
Submitted by ben on August 20, 2007 - 7:39pm.
I know a lot less than either of you about the record industry, but Dan's theory makes sense to me. Oh Gravity! didn't do much on radio, and Jono's comments make it sound like the label wanted them to be more radio-friendly.
It might be back to the CCM circuit for these guys, like POD (my nemesis) before them. Next up: Relient K. (Sorry, guys).
In other news, Amy Grant is now with Sparrow.
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i hope note
Submitted by joshMshep on August 31, 2007 - 7:41pm.
my hope is that some Christian acts--like Switchfoot--can continue to have a wide following. Seems like Mute Math is the next crossover story waiting to happen, with all the stuff they have up on mtv.com
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Yeah, this is pretty
Yeah, this is pretty exciting stuff! I found that I really like EP albums--and those are becoming more common with iTunes taking over for the record labels.
Which, by the way, is obviously how the Columbia issues started: when the label released 'Nothing is Sound' with DRM that prevented iTunes users from uploading the songs. Now the label is losing a high-profile band.
Maybe Switchfoot doesn't need a label anymore... though I assume that Sparrow is still their Christian market distributor?
peace,
-joshMshep
www.myspace.com/joshmshep