From: imt@crosfield.co.uk (ian taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.music.industrial
Subject: Re: Publishing Music
Date: 30 Sep 92 11:44:06 GMT
Organization: Crosfield Electronics, Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom.

In article <lombardo.717535547@cwis> lombardo@cwis.unomaha.edu (Marc Lombardo) writes:
[lots of optimistic stuff about getting a record contract]
>Please give me any info that you may have.  Thanks ...

Well Marc, you asked, but I don't think you'll thank me.

Two years ago, we (ELECTRO ASSASSIN) were in your position. We had a demo of
fifteen songs, and we were taken on by a small London based label, Concrete
Productions Ltd. 
We signed the recording and publishing contracts, and felt like we were about
to embark on a career in the music biz. Two years on, this still hasn't 
happened, and the whole thing has soured.

In September 1991 we went into the studio to record our debut album, and two
weeks later, after some long nights and big arguments, it was done, and the
man from Concrete went away happy with the DAT.

Because a small company like Concrete doesn't have the financial clout to
properly promote a new album, they decided the best bet would be to license
the album to a larger company (this means that the licensee has the right to
manufacture and promote the album in any way they see fit, providing they
pay a royalty to Concrete, plus a fairly large fee for taking on the license
in the first place). Looking for a licensee to months and months, in which time
we could do nothing but wait and work on new material.

Finally the license was sold to Hyperium (Hypnobeat) in Germany, and Silent
in the USA. We were told that this would result in our album being distributed
in Germany, Sweden, Benelux, Italy, America, Canada and the UK.

All this time, people were telling us how good our album was, and how different
it was from the Industrial mainstream. Rhys Fulber from Frontline Assembly saw
us play in London and asked us to join them on their US tour (but we couldn't
afford the time or the plane fare), and the FLA European tour is still a 
possibility. So, the album seems to be good enough.

However, Concrete has no money so no promotion was done in the UK, hence, no
copies were sold here. 
Hyperium too have little money so not much promo was done elsewhere either. 
Hence, to date, our album has done 1000 copies world wide, since it was 
released in June.

We have a single ready to go, but Concrete can't afford to release it, we had a
chance to play a festival in Berlin this month, but concrete fucked that up 
too. We have the second album ready, and we want to get into the studio to
record it, but concrete won't do it until next year, so on and so on and so
on. I think you get the picture.

All in all, it's been no fun, it's cost me money and stressed me out, and all
for (practically) nothing.

PS I wouldn't go to third mind - they are having financial problems at the 
moment, due to the huge cost of the Frontline tour, and are unlikely to sign
anyone at present. Try KK records, Capitol, Nettwerk, Silent or Waxtrax, and
the very best of luck to you. Let me know what happens.

PPS Our album is called "Jamming the Voice of the Universe". Check it out - it
    should have been huge...

Yours with dampened spirits...

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Newsgroups: rec.music.industrial