If you care about independent music you may have already heard about Touch and Go ending its distribution services for other indie labels such as Drag City, Emperor Jones, Estrus, Jade Tree, Suicide Squeeze, and many others. These are tough times for independent musicians and the labels that put out their music. It's important to support these people, and you can consider your duty to step up and pay for independent music. Buy some records, people!
Glorious Noise talked briefly to Kill Rock Stars' Maggie Vail via email about what's next for KRS.
GLONO: Are there other manufacturers who can give you good rates?
KRS: Yes, before we started working with Touch and Go in 2002 we had previously always manufactured our own stuff and that was fine. That said, we may get another p&d [pressing and distribution] or m&d [manufacturing and distribution] deal. We don't know yet.
GLONO: How important is physical retail sales to the future of your label?
KRS: Hugely important.
GLONO: What percentage of your sales comes from traditional brick-and-mortar retailers vs online, digital, etc.?
KRS: It depends entirely on the band and release. Digital sales are somewhere from as low as 15% up to 60%. Usually around the 30% mark or so.
GLONO: Should fans think of this as a sign of the impending death of independent music as we know it?
KRS: Nope, we view it as a bump in the road. A very sad one but we'll get past it and keep releasing the music we love.
The Chicago Tribune confirms rumors that depsite an upcoming release from Crystal Antlers, Touch and Go "will focus in the near term on catalogue sales."
MP3: The Thermals - "Now We Can See" (via KRS)
MP3: Crystal Antlers - A" Thousand Eyes" (via Spinner)
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