Cafes, Casinos, Hotels, Hard Rocks' next quest is sure to be music to many ears. On June 19th The Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville is hosting the launch party of Hard Rocks' next venture, Hard Rock Records: An independent music label created to find, develop, and promote up-and-coming artists. Every artist on the Hard Rock Records label will receive assistance with recording, production, marketing, promotion, distribution, and touring in exchange for a one-year commitment to the label. At the end of that year, artists will walk away with ownership of any/all recordings along with all the profits from their release.
The awesome James Buell, Hard Rock Records co-Head of A&R, took time out of his crazy-busy schedule to answer my questions about this exciting announcement:
Q: It's almost hard to believe that Hard Rock Records was founded in 1971
with the first Hard Rock Cafe, who's idea was it to start this music
label ideally to give bands a helping hand instead of something like a
Hard Rock Records Reality TV series?
A: The
foundation of Hard Rock is and always has been music, so this label is
the natural progression for our brand. A reality series is short
lived. It’s not tangible. It’s truly our hope that Hard Rock Records
can help enrich the lives of our artists and their fans, and carry on
for a very long time.
Q: What was your #1 album of 2011? #1 album so far this year?
A: 2011 – Portugal. The Man’s In the Mountain in the Cloud.
2012
– This year is a great year for music. I love the Zulu Winter debut
and the new Maps & Atlases and Bad Veins albums, and I’m looking
forward to the upcoming Mumford & Sons, Frightened Rabbit, and Two
Door Cinema Club.
Q: How will Hard Rock Records plug listeners into the music or the experience differently than other labels?
A: Hard
Rock is fortunate to have 175 venues in 53 countries. And we have
video screens in all of those venues. So that’s one avenue of exposure
unique to Rosco Bandana and subsequent artists signed to Hard Rock
Records. We also have a Hard Rock Hotel amenity program – Sound of Your
Stay – which offers guests staying on property free music downloads,
and we plan to include our artists in that program.
Q: Aside from the Hard Rock Rising battle of the bands, how would an unknown band go about signing with Hard Rock Records?
A: The best way for artists to get music into our hands is to submit their demo and contact information to: Hard Rock Records, 6100 Old Park Lane, Orlando, FL 32835.
Q: Will there be any Hard Rock Records Artist memorabilia displayed in Hard Rock Cafes?
A: That’s
a hope of ours. Our memorabilia collection is one of my favorite
things at Hard Rock. We have everything from Michael Jackson’s red
“Beat It” jacket to Jimi Hendrix’ Flying V. It would be great to
someday have something from Rosco Bandana hanging on our walls that
carries that kind of iconic value.
Q: The maximum commitment to Hard Rock Records is one year, not any
longer? Even if the band want to remain on the label after the first
year?
A: Our
goal is to sign three bands a year. And our commitment is to support
them for one year from the release of their album. We’re confident our
bands will go on to do bigger and better things, but obviously our Hard
Rock Records alumni will always remain part of the Hard Rock family.
Hopefully, as they find their footing in the music industry and become
more successful, they’ll continue to stay involved with the Hard Rock
brand and continue to carry the Hard Rock Records’ torch regardless of
where their careers might take them.
Q: I'd be very interested in seeing the Hard Rock Rising battle of the bands, is there a San Francisco stop slated in 2012?
A: This
year’s competition ended in May. Our winners are slated to play in
London this July as part of our Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde
Park. We’re currently evaluating the bands who took part in the
competition to see if someone merits consideration for Hard Rock
Records. But we’ll be back in 2013 and the San Francisco Cafe will be
part of the competition.
Rock on James! I can't wait to hear what sounds we'll hear from Hard Rock Records!
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