Sonny Kay
Gold Standard Laboratories
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 Gold Standard Laboratories is a 14 year old, LA-based label founded by musician Sonny Kay and co-owned with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta. The GSL name was originally inspired by Sonny's start-up funding source; government student loans known as Guaranteed Stafford Loans. The label initially documented the Boulder/Denver underground scene where Sonny was attending college at the time, but has since included bands from all over the US and many other countries as well. The GSL catalog now spans 130 titles including releases by The Locust, !!!, I Am Spoonbender, The Mars Volta and some of Sonny's own bands The VSS and Year Future. When I see the GSL logo on a record, I can safely expect something original, dark, loud and fresh. I mixed the Anavan S/T record that was released on GSL in 2006, and it is one of my proudest achievements to date. I recently had the chance to ask Sonny a few questions about why GSL works, how he chooses the music he releases and where it's all going (intro & interview by Justin Bates). Read the interview here.
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Recent Playlist
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1. UNKLE "War Stories"
2. Earl Greyhound "Soft Targets"
3. Solomon Burke "Make Do With What You Got"
4. Les Savy Fav "The Cat And The Cobra"
5. Mississippi John Hurt "The Complete Studio Recordings"
6. The Black Neon "Arts And Crafts"
7. Bjork "Volta"
8. The Big Boys "Fat Elvis"
9. Sinead O'Connor "Throw Down Your Arms"
10. Year Future "First World Fever"
11. The Move "The Early Years"
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 This is our 12th issue... hard to believe. Time flies, fun and otherwise. It has been nothing but fun and certainly a labor of love. I started doing fanzines back in
high school (manual type-writers, photocopies, horse and buggies, morse
code) and interviewed bands like Dag Nasty, Meat Puppets, Ignition,
etc. Interesting how things have come full circle. Needless to say, even though I'm an engineer by trade, I'm a
music fan first and foremost. Here's to many more issues.
I wanted to share a client's good news: Sara Melson just signed with Nettwerk Records (home of Sarah McLachlan, BT, Ron Sexsmith, etc). Sara's first full length album is expected to be released in the first quarter of '08. She's really talented and I'm psyched for her.
In a shameless effort to attract even more readers and subsequently quadruple our hate mail, we just added a dedicated Myspace page for the E-Zine. Check it out (yeah, I know I'm a geek and have no life). On to the facts...
Music News: The end of DRM is near. This month the world's largest recording company, Universal Music Group announced the limited release of DRM-free digital music downloads. They will be available through a few of UMG artist's websites and other online music distributors but iTunes has been temporarily left out of the loop until UMG determines the program's success. Walmart, the leading "brick and mortar" music retailer has also announced the availability of DRM-free MP3 downloads from it's site for 94 cents a song, undercutting iTune's customary 99 cents. Both moves are considered to be challenges to iTunes' position at the top of online music sales. Game on.
R.I.P. Lee Hazlewood (songwriter and producer best known for his work with Duane Eddy and Nancy Sinatra) and jazz drummer and legend Max Roach (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, etc. as if that's not enough).
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Selling Your Soul in the 21st Century... how would Robert Johnson do it?
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 I've offered suggestions in the past regarding "guerilla marketing" but I recently came across a few interesting stories that I'd like to share.
I'll start with the most ridiculous one first. Some of you may already be familiar with the YouTube phenom Tay Zonday and his "hit" "Chocolate Rain." A friend of mine turned me on to this cat and after viewing him on both YouTube and catching his performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! I was shocked to discover that he is in the hallowed top 100 most-watched YouTube videos of all time and has already sold the rights for "Chocolate Rain" to a Verizon Wireless commercial. How is this possible given the fact that he has no record deal, no album, no marketing machine, no publicist, no manager, no booker, not to mention he's not good looking, can't sing, can't write, isn't really a player and certainly has no charisma? Sound familiar? No, I'm not talking about Biz Markie. People love the underdog and in this guy's particular case, he's interesting and funny enough in a non-celebrity sort of way to garner droves of attention the old fashioned way: sheer spectacle. Once you get over the circus-freak quality (particularly curious is the subtitle "I move away from the mic to breathe in") the song's lyrics are serious and meaningful. Probably one of the more significant popular songs written about race in recent memory and yet it's deceptively stupid. Pop culture at it's finest.
Another excellent example of using YouTube to attract listeners... Ok Go's "Here It Goes Again." Yeah, I know it's old news and definitely part of a label's marketing scheme but in case you've just recently discovered the internet and are at all curious... It's a refreshingly great video executed in a cheap, entertaining way that doesn't look like it's trying to be a big budget, MTV-style, cock rock video from the mid-90's (a la guys trying to look cool with chicks, cars, skateboards, bmxs, guitars while they lip sync and take a tenuous stab at acting). Bleh!
Last but not least and one you most likely haven't heard about: Israel recently experienced what I think will be the future of "hit singles" in the digital era... A Palestinian protest song unofficially entitled "The Civil War Song" became an overnight success with no air play, marketing, or sales (I'd post a link but I can't find it due to the fact that I don't speak arabic). It was produced anonymously (because the creators didn't want to get killed) and distributed via cell phone, YouTube, and other internet resources. The song blasts Fatah and Hamas for their recent power struggle and seems to tap into a widely felt sentiment in Palestine that their leaders have failed them. A marketers dream but you can't fake heart.
Alright, these are just the ones that I've noticed... the rest is up to you. Surprise me.
Cheers!
-Hans DeKline
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How does SoundScan work and does it apply to indie artists?
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 SoundScan is a system used by Billboard (as well as other music industry companies) to track weekly sales of music and video products throughout the US and Canada. Billboard's charts are based
specifically on these sales results. You have to sell around 140,000
singles to reach Billboard's number one spot on the Hot 100. This data is collected from 14,000 retailers and is generated every time an album or single's barcode is scanned during a sale. The data does not reflect 100% of all sales since it excludes music clubs and a few indie retailers but it is possible to track sales out of the back of your tour van given you or your label meet the proper guidelines.
Is SoundScan good for you? Tracking your sales through SoundScan requires registering your album's info at least 3 weeks before it's release date (which is free) and then subscribing to their service (which is not free). They have varying price structures for this, none of which are posted on their site, so you have to contact them for specifics. Signing up for the ability to report your online and tour sales is an additional $500 a year (see guidelines link above). Also, keep in mind that SoundScan has nothing to do with receiving royalties on public performances (which is collected by ASCAP, BMI and SEASAC). In short, it's probably not a bad idea registering your album info with SoundScan for charting purposes but as far as tracking sales goes, there are better ways of spending your money. Worst case scenario... your album charts and you find out about it reading Billboard. Not a bad way to go and certainly much cheaper.
Other things that will help you: Get a UPC, get ISRCs, register with a performing rights organization (ASCAP, BMI, SEASAC), establish digital distribution (TuneCore, CD Baby, etc). FYI, UPCs are available through TuneCore, CD Baby and some CD manufacturers at a much better bargain than purchasing it on your own.
Hope this info takes some of the edge off... until next time.
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