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Amanda Palmer wants to be independentAmanda Palmer is not shy about her feelings. The Dresden Dolls frontwoman who put out her debut solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer? last year, is not a big fan of big labels.
In a recent concert in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Palmer broke into song about wanting to be dropped by her label, Roadrunner Records (a subsidiary of Warner Bros.) To the tune of "Moon River," she sang what she calls "Please Drop Me":
While her gutsy approach to dealing with corporate music execs is certainly getting her a lot of attention, so far Roadrunner has not obliged. In fact, in a recent statement to Pitchfork, they're claiming to still have her back: Roadrunner Records continues to support the career and artistry of Amanda Palmer [and] we are enthusiastically promoting Amanda's debut solo effort.
Have they not heard the saying, "If you love someone, let them go?" Apparently not. Or, perhaps they think all this attention will, in fact, make them more money. One thing is for sure, though — Palmer is pretty good at getting attention on her own and doesn't seem to need any help from a label anymore. And definitely not one that edited out shots of her bare stomach in her video for "Leeds United." Palmer looks pretty angry in her new video for "Astronaut," so her label should already know she's not one to mess with. Palmer fans, what do you think of her wanting to get off Roadrunner? Submitted by on April 3, 2009 - 3:00pm. |
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Roadrunner have never
Roadrunner have never promoted her properly and they are completely unsupportive of her art! They are completely wrong for her - especially concerning the Leeds United belly controversy! What a load of utter crap to suggest she looked fat - she looked incredible!
Long live Amanda Palmer and her unapologetic gorgeousness!
agreed!
The belly thing was insulting, and she should leave and never look back.
www.smittener.com - in love with the Dresden Dolls
I've been following Amanda
I've been following Amanda Palmer for some time, and I see her having a very close, very respectful and very loyal niche following. Her music is complex, the lyrics often taking numerous hearings for even slight comprehension, and the musical elements themselves being very layered and full of technique that one rarely hears in modern performers. Her amazing qualities as a musician push her away from the mainstream. Because she is a musician and not a prop, it will be very hard for her to succeed with such a large label. Honestly, many of the fans of the mainstream bands will not want to hear her or find merit in her performance, as we saw when the Dresden Dolls originally toured with NIN. There was a huge uproar because honestly her music is far ahead of its time. Also the pairing of mainstream with hardcore indie is a tough one, and unless the quality is pulled back, hooks are inserted into the songs themselves, and the lyrics dumbed down for the general populace, she will not work in the same way groups such as Panic at the Disco and Modest Mouse have insofar as transferring to leading acts (their waning popularity also speaks to the length of this success).
Big labels need simplistic, ear-catching tunes, the kind of candy that people want, the stuff that can be re-hashed on American Idol. Easy listening, in a way. In the same manner that the brilliance of James Joyce cannot be as easily pushed as Rowling's entertaining Potter or PT Anderson's Magnolia cannot beat out a new Jackie Chan movie, Amanda Palmer is fighting in the wrong weight class, and no one will appreciate her in this arena.
I say Roadrunner gives her the freedom to walk, and both sides end up winning. I see her being able to build a following similar to Tori Amos or Nick Cave, and being remembered by the true music fans, without having to perform with her stomach masked and her wild tendencies leashed.
Sorry.
Behaving like a child isn't going to get you the respect you want/need/desire/crave.
If she really wants a legitmate severance of major label representation she should instead of singing songs about how shitty her label is, take up the proper channels to move out of RR and onto a label in the Warner Brothers' family that best suits her needs. I work at an indie label and The Sounds just signed with us to distribute their new album, Crossing The Rubicon here in the States. They had issues with their original US label and instead of putting up with the bull, they opted to move to a label with their interests at heart. If an artist feels they aren't being represented/cared for/ listened to, they are within their rights to request a termination of contract or a trade of contract with another label.
Maybe she tried that and nobody wanted her?
There are loads of equally talented artists who can't tour the way she can, don't have decently funded videos (controversy and all) or even have the fanbase she has (Neil Gaimen is a BFF) and she complains about the deal she has with Roadrunner. They'd LOVE to be on a label that forgets who the hell they are because they're ON A LABEL. It's almost like biting the hand that feeds.
just an opinion, not the WORD.
__________________________________________________
We've gone and made such fools of ourselves.
I respectfully disagree...
Mainly because the type of musician she is. Amanda Palmer has always put herself out there as an unbridled soul, and that is part of her charm and allure. What would the Sex Pistols have been if Johnny Rotten had decided to be less rotten and more mature? Would Joplin and Hendrix have been as good if they cleaned up and found a little God and started respecting themselves and others? We all saw what happened to Alice Cooper when he started to behave...
I think modern audiences expect their musicians to be heroes and role models. It's an unfair need for a group of people generally plagued with addiction and mental disease (not to say Palmer has either, but studies show that the creativity and the tendencies are linked).
Granted, musicians have cleaned up, they're no longer biting the heads off bats or trashing hotel rooms on a regular basis, but this era of restraint has also heralded in an era of mediocre popular music. Since the 90's, when labels started to determine popularity and success, when Clearwire overran the radio waves and indie DJs became a thing of the past, and later when American Idol sunk its fangs into the music business, we have been steadily losing quality in our musicians. Those who are high quality remain in the shadows, happy to have a moderate yet appreciative audience. We no longer have legendary musicians, and I do blame it some on our expectations of our music makers not doing much more bad than DUIs.
Palmer is a loud, outspoken unpredictable performer. Her song, while foul-mouthed and rude, was a protest song, and I like the fact that they still exist. I think by flipping the bird to Roadrunner rather than quietly slinking off to contract negotiations, she is staying true to herself, and taking a brave step few musicians do these days: pissing off the proverbial man.
Honestly, I like my music a little dirty, a little mean, and very smart and witty. I think Palmer has all those qualities and we should laud her for her efforts.
PS-One of the reasons Neil Gaiman probably is her is friend is she likely doesn't use his fame every chance she gets as a crutch for her own career advancement.
I agree.
I guess they signed her for
I guess they signed her for a few releases...
Invisible Circus, thanks for not making this a black/white story. I love Amanda Palmer, but come on...
+ I am sure their disagreement is a bit more complicated than "it is commercial I want to leave". She signed this label knowing very well which label it was... I mean, Slipknot was there before she joined... (And RR does have good artists, although they lost plenty.) Anyway, when you sign something, you're comitted... I wonder why artists always wake up one day saying "Oh I don't agree with the contract!"... Don't they read it before signing? But then again, she joined RR with the Dresden Dolls before Warner bought RR...
Anyway all this story is kind of ironic because with this kind of songs, she's doing good viral marketing... (I don't say she does it on purpose at ALL).
Amanda, make this album they're waiting for and join Trent Reznor's label. :D
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Ian McKellen: "I said, Hands up who thinks they are part of a minority group, and all the hands went up."
I disrespectfully disagree.
Amanda Palmer is in no way, shape or form childlike. She is more evolved than 99% of the musicians today, and the only ones she doesn't excel are those rare musicians who are her intellectual/creative equals. I personally think that it's amazing of her to have the courage to bear her teeth at her label, as they do pay the bills... however in the long run being signed is completely meaningless. If I'm not wrong, she doesn't care about the money, she cares about creation, and so should we, the "consumers." I refuse to support a label that inhibits her ingenius creative potential, and as her fan I take it personally. If they aren't treating her the way she deserves to be treated then I believe they deserve to be completely boycotted.
Anybody ignorant and superficial enough to conclude that being signed is more important than the content you're signed for has far greater problems than I have the time or patience to address right now. Especially anyone who dares to call themselves a fan. How in the hell can you turn around and speak with criticism about something completely over your heads in the first place?
JMO.
All hail AFP. She is Beautiful.
"For, Heaven knows why, just as we have lost faith in human intercourse some random collection of barns and trees or a haystack and a wagon presents us with so perfect a symbol of what is unattainable that we begin the search again."
So I'll respectfully answer...
I do think they should part ways because they're not meant to work together.
But whether we want it or not, this is how it happens: the label gives her money to produce a certain amount of records, in exchange, they ask her to collaborate to help promoting the records. When things are well done, they don't need to negociate anything about the content simply because the label knows the artist and the artist knows the label... They work together and understand each other.
Well, here in this case, there is an artistic disagreement (I'm not totally sure though, I think it's more the way she's marketed that's argued...) and I do think it's important for an artist to stand up for their art. Thing is, I hope what she did is more a threat than a real thought. What I mean is that I don't like it when people break their commitment. When you tell someone you're going to do something, you just do it. If they don't how you do it, well, you can choose to annoy them until they leave you alone, you give them what they want to get rid of them... Or finally find an agreement.
And of course no she doesn't care about money, but a label does. It's not just an association meant to give away money to people who want to be creative. Of course labels want to earn money from the artists creation. Enough to earn back their investment at least...
I don't know... To me you don't deal with a big label (a commercial and mainstream label in the US from what I read here) and say "the hell with it I'm just gonna let you spend money, have fun and play music". If you want to do this, again, you go under Creative Commons licenses, real indie labels, or just perform in simple restaurants. And I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all, but again, that doesn't equals RR's investment.
You cannot not to care about money when it's others' money you're dealing with. Don't misunderstand me, I don't think she should change anything in her music to make more money. But as I said before, I don't think that her music is the issue either...
Yes I'm making it more simple than it is (because I think I've wrote enough), I know she's not irresponsible and she totally understands the label's perspective.
We'll see... It would be cool if RR just let her go. Sadly I don't know if you can ask an executive that, even more after Warner's takeover. + I guess it's pretty frustrating to put so much effort/money in something you believe in and realize it doesn't match your expectations. What do you do then? Try to change a few things (well, for that you need to know what went wrong, I think that's what RR could have forgotten to do)? Leave it as it is and go on?
If I worked for my own label I'd be happy to have those big bands to pay for artists like Amanda. But I doubt RR is still like this...
Wait and see, there's a new challenge that will probably end all this soon...
Nice to read this debate. -sorry for having written so much.
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Ian McKellen: "I said, Hands up who thinks they are part of a minority group, and all the hands went up."
Counterpoint
First off, I must say you provide a fantastic debate on this subject.
The flaw I find in your argument, however, is the need to defend capitalism on the part of the record labels. Yes, it is generally understood that the record labels are there to make profit, and will guide artists accordingly in order to do so. This is a case where the artists feels their guidance is restricting her talent.
The underlying problem with this situation is art should not be about money. AFP is making it clear that her music has no connection to expected profits or ROI. Her music revolves around her choices, her concepts, and forget all others who care to intervene. Yes, she is a selfish musician, but she is extraordinarily talented at it.
For over a decade, record labels have been the Gods of the music industry. They choose which bands become famous, choose which ones fail. While some indie groups are allowed to straggle along making their way in the outskirts, the takeover of the music industry has become so extreme that if the labels don't sanction it, we don't hear it.
When is the last time most anyone moved outside of their radio service to find the local broadcasting station? These tiny broadcasts, usually bolstered by NPR, are the last bastions of indie music, and who knows when the bigwigs will choose to squash them. AFP, like many others, knew this is as far as she could go without a label. And she did a Join 'em spy attack on the system, played her music on the big tours, got her name out, and gave a big middle finger to 'the man'.
Yes, it cost the label money, money that is could've been using to 'build' another band to promote (yes, now the labels even create music by combining pieces of other bands they liked and using designers to create image, etc...) But when dealing with the volatile and creative, there should be a column for acceptable losses.
AFP doesn't care about money, hers or others. She is an artist, and unbending, unapologetic force that is awesome on-stage and provides no room for manipulation. To try and back her into a corner using a contract was a mistake, and she made it known.
Focusing on money in art is like focusing on who cleans the dishes in cooking a gourmet meal. Yes, the dishes have to get done, at some point Capitalism comes into play, but if you forget the chef, the ingredients, the vital elements of the meal, you're going to have an empty table (aka Slipknot).
I just wonder what The Clash would say looking at this conversation and the music industry as a whole. I think their outlook would be rather grim.
All I can say is..
Indeed, anyone who makes
Indeed, anyone who makes visual PJ Harvey references gets extra brownie points in my book (not that Amanda Palmer needs any extra points, though).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2080/2172181528_1593ce5f1b.jpg
Amanda Palmer
I saw the video of her performing the song several days ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMi7wRfmoMs
Maybe it is time for them to part ways. *shrugs*
I <3 Amanda
According to her blog, she has taken the proper channels, but she's been blocked. Amanda has requested that Roadrunner drop her, but they've refused so far and because of her contract, they can do that. Her option is coming up, and she's hoping that they'll drop her then. I think this is her attempt to make it as miserable as she can for RR so they will FINALLY drop her, as she's been requesting.
http://slayresays.blogspot.com/
Just another reason why I love Amanda Palmer...
Watch the girl call out Katy Perry, say F*** Prop 8 and get Margaret Cho to join her onstage with a blue phallus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOVcgOwquDA&feature=related
The woman is truly inspired. Protest performance art.
lmao
that was great!!! xD thats not KP though hahaha.
Thats some great protestive art!.
----------------
Let it Rock,Let it roll
It may not have been Katy Perry....
But that was one helluva kiss.
I have no doubts that AFP is the furthest thing from a 'fesbian'.
Thanks for the link :)
Roadrunner...
Are redundant in the case of Amanda Palmer. She has all the talent, showmanship and the fans as a result, to pull whatever sort of career it is she wants off by herself, and I'm sure her fans will support her all the way. Roadrunner ought to let go, AFP is clearly never going to be some average act that will jump through their hoops.
Record company or no, she'll still f*cking rock.
Kudos to AFP
It isn't about respect. Amanda Palmer has said, over and over again, she doesn't want to be a rock star. Frankly, I agree; if everyone understood Amanda Palmer or thought she was "mature", she wouldn't be the same person. If you don't understand the spirit of singing a song like that, you don't understand what AFP is trying to do. That is what Amanda Palmer is trying to do: rock out.
I would also, as one who regularly reads her blog (amandapalmer.net,) like to point out that she seems immensely grateful for the opportunity to tour and to the Danger Ensemble, that she seems to have legitimate artistic concerns with Roadrunner, and that she hasn't complained about not having a record label once Roadrunner dumps her. What AFP fans want is her energy and her amazing, incredible, over-the-top originality--and that's what she consistently delivers. More than that, it's what she seems to want to deliver. If Roadrunner keeps her from doing that, it's probably going to be important that they're not involved anymore.
...
Beautifully worded...
The woman is amazing! Why would anyone try to cage her? All the greed-driven investments in the world can't compare to her incredible talent. If just anybody could create the things she does then Roadrunner would never have offered her a shot at all so what makes them think that their say is the most important? If she wanted to she could stop performing for them anyway or intentionally create shitty songs that display no emotion or beauty so that maybe they WOULD put her on MTV. I mean, if she did ultimately clam up, she'd probably get sued, but it's just money they'd get, not her voice or amazing imagination. They'd lose in the end anyway.
"For, Heaven knows why, just as we have lost faith in human intercourse some random collection of barns and trees or a haystack and a wagon presents us with so perfect a symbol of what is unattainable that we begin the search again."
Amanda Palmer is a smart,
Amanda Palmer is a smart, witty musician with a great sense of irony. 10 minutes reading her blog should tell anyone that. She has posted several blogs about her issues with her music label. Being called "too fat" by her A&R rep was only one issue. Mostly, she complains that once she created her last album, the label decided it wasn't "commercial" enough and dropped their support of the album. Oddly, the album (produced by Ben Folds) is very critically acclaimed.
She has also said that she is grateful for the support she received from the label when she initially signed with them in 2003. But the record business has changed a lot since 2003. Youtube wasn't even around till 2005. Unless you're a Beyonce type, you don't need a major label to be successful today.
When she signed with Roadrunner, they were an independent label. They are now owned by Warner. Roadrunner also was trying to branch out in 2003, but is now content to be a heavy metal label. So Amanda finds herself stuck as a "punk cabaret" performer (and not coincidentally, the only female lead) on a label that caters to heavy metal bands and their fans. It's a bad, bad fit.
The label has the option to fund her next album or drop her by June 16. I hope she gets her wish.
Quote:"Roadrunner also was
That made me laugh because about 3 to 5 years ago I used to be a heavy metal fan that listened to mostly male bands (My theory was the louder and heavier; the better. I still consider myself a bit of a metalhead) and I presently adore Amanda Palmer.
And to the commenter above
And to the commenter above who wondered if she didn't read the contract:
She definitely read the contract, and was savvy enough to negotiate a contract that excludes touring and merchandise sales. So she lives off her touring & merch income, while giving away free digital downloads of her album off her website. Hahaha.
Amen. :o) +++libraries gave
Amen. :o)
+++libraries gave us power+++
wow
wow
I hate to bring it to this level, but Amanda is a beautiful GODDESS...I would gladly lick her legs and anything else she needed licked!
But yeah, I hope she works it out with Roadrunner. She has enough of a fan base I don't think she needs a major label, especially one that doesn't do much to promote her.