First Dan Rather, now Tony Brummel?
Tony Brummel runs the hippest, most successful indie label other than TVT. But TVT is different. TVT functions in all facets of music. It's full service. It distributes its own records. It's a mini-major.
Victory Records is something different. Victory Records is a MISSION! The effort of one man in a singular genre. New rock for new people. Victory Records was built on CRED!
Not that the industry hasn't noticed. Hell, IDJ made a deal for Thursday. Universal made a deal for the WHOLE LABEL! Which, was ultimately negated at Mr. Brummel's insistence.
We can argue all day long whether Thursday SHOULD BE on a major label. Based on the lack of success of their IDJ record, I'd say moving up to the machine was a mistake. Because the machine sells everything the SAME WAY! FULL FORCE! BALLS OUT! And this isn't what BROKE Thursday. Thursday was broken by word of mouth. Hand sold from person to person. Thursday was REAL! Until IDJ got a hold of them.
But Thursday has broken up. And the point of my story is NOT whether you should move from an indie to a major.
Possessing some kind of GENE, an INSTINCT, an ability to find star talent straight out of Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink", Mr. Brummel went on to do it AGAIN! He lost Thursday, but he built TAKING BACK SUNDAY!
If you didn't know that Taking Back Sunday was one of the biggest bands in the land, you read "Billboard" and "Hits" instead of surfing the Internet. You think it's about SoundScan instead of BigChampagne. You're OUT OF TOUCH!
Taking Back Sunday was THE hip/credible band amongst the younger set. Their debut sold HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF COPIES! And, unlike the evanescent crap the majors specialize in releasing, it kept selling thousands of albums every week, a YEAR after its release, like clockwork.
But then word came down that Taking Back Sunday wanted to leave Victory.
I know too much here.
Then again, everybody's perspective conflicts.
On one hand, do you have an ungrateful band that is only in it for the money, that doesn't want to live up to its contractual obligation to its label?
OR, do you have a talented band whose label DID work hard to break them, but was abused at the hands of said label. Not paid on time, not given marketing funds it thought it deserved, used as a VEHICLE to break OTHER Victory bands?
I lobbied hard for Taking Back Sunday to deliver another record to Victory. Which, ultimately, the band did. And, its success was the talk of the industry. Because indie stuff like this doesn't debut so high on the chart, it doesn't keep selling.
And then the vultures descended. Tony's a GENIUS! WE WANT TAKING BACK SUNDAY! WE WANT ALL OF VICTORY!
The major labels didn't only kick Victory's tires, they wined and dined Tony Brummel. They wanted what HE had. Which, stunningly, THEY don't have. Tony was able to find and build great rock act after great rock act. If you can't develop it, BUY IT! THAT'S the majors' philosophy. But, it's starting not to work. Because you can make MORE money and have JUST about as much instant success and SAVE YOUR CRED if you stay indie.
But Taking Back Sunday was gonna go. And SUDDENLY, Tony's got a NEW BAND! ATREYU!
I knew it was real when my eighteen year old nephew told me Atreyu was THE hip band at his high school. That's word of mouth you can't buy. Oh, the majors can FORCE stuff down people's throats, they just can't get them to BELIEVE IN IT!
But I'm not outside the loop. For all the street cred and STATISTICAL evidence indicating Victory's greatness, on the INSIDE, there was an incredible BACKLASH! Taking Back Sunday might have made a deal with Warner, but everybody still involved with Victory was saying the SAME THING! They were biting the hand that fed them. They were sick of Tony using them as his playthings, doing whatever he wanted, willy-nilly.
Now I don't work for Victory Records. Nor am I signed to the label. Not have I been paid in ANY WAY! But I have been exposed to some of Mr. Brummel's mercurial ways. Which I just held in evidence until TODAY! When I received a copy of the e-mail reprinted below.
The major labels don't get it. The major MEDIA doesn't get it. They're LOSING CONTROL! The old line powers believe that THEY make the news, THEY control reality, THEY DICTATE THE SPIN!
But, the public has taken over. Instead of a handful of reporters having their message filtered through a handful of media outlets, suddenly EVERYBODY'S a reporter and the word spreads like WILDFIRE! Say anything REMOTELY interesting, and EVERYBODY KNOWS WITHIN A DAY! I mean EVERYBODY!
Are there two sides to every story? Does Mr. Brummel have a response?
I'm sure.
But it looks like he's fighting a losing battle. Suddenly, the inside has become PUBLIC! It's like someone smuggled a videocamera backstage and shot a famous rocker having sex with an underage girl. It's a train-wreck that EVERYBODY'S INTERESTED IN!
Furthermore, as the rock star, as the label owner, shouldn't you know BETTER?? The underage girl and the artist are ALWAYS going to be given the benefit of the doubt.
Warner Music will probably be able to sell its stock. And probably at a reasonable price. But ONLY because they stole the company, ONLY because it was undervalued to BEGIN WITH!
Otherwise, make no mistake, the press would have killed them.
Or maybe it's just that the bloggers haven't put Wall Street in their sights yet. Wall Street thinks it's immune. But SOON, the PEOPLE are going to weigh in and THEY'LL have some input as to stock value. Soon, it won't only be the L.A. "Times" excoriating Warner management, it will be the entire BLOGOSPHERE, which does it with MUCH MORE VENOM!
I say we live in an information age. The more people know, the better.
Sure, we've got to parse out issues of veracity. But it appears that Dan Rather was only the first victim. Tony Brummel's got ongoing contracts with SOME bands, but will new bands now gravitate to Victory?
I wouldn't count on it.
From: Alex Varkatzas
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 10:50 AM
To: Victory Staff and Business Partners
Subject: VERY IMPORTANT FROM ATREYU...
to the victory staff...
This is Alex from atreyu.I would like you all to know that "ANT"hony Brummel has been encouraging a band on your roster to take physical actions against me. In other words he told a manager that his band should personaly kick my ass. Besides the fact that a real man would handle his own fights, this is a completley unexceptable way for a label CEO or even a decent human being to act(and we know that Tony is definitely not the latter). Subsequently i do not feel safe having you(victory employee) or anyone at your label(victory) contact my band in anyway shape or form. Sadly i know none of you share the veiws of your boss, but this kind of harrassment (beside bordering on being illegal) is completely immature...but i must say the verbal threats and things of that nature i take very seriously. Violence is not a rational way to handle any matter. EVER..
I heard that your boss has no promblem dropping "any" bands. I AM CALLING HIM OUT ON THAT. Then i encourage him to step up and DROP ATREYU. Since he can make bands overnight he should have no problem replacing us, after all according to him we are "done" and no one is interested in us anymore. So i propose we end this drama and you encourage him to drop us.. i dont want you all to waste your valuable time and hard work on a band your boss wants "beat up" and considers "traitors" and if by traitors you mean selling like almost 400k records and making MR.Brummel some cash then i guess we are.
There was a time when we were a team. And i releaze i can be "difficult" at times but i was sincerely dedidcated to this partnership.I want you all to know i do not harbour any ill will towards any of you, we have all been at very least on good terms and at best good friends. I am sad to see things go this way. In the end i understand that you all must side with Tony and i repsect that, i mean why lose your jobs over this shit, but the line has been drawn, and you all know me, and you all know him, this will get worse, it was nice knowing you all.I am sure this will get forwarded to the boss.DO NOT REPLY TO ME.i will never again open any email from ANYONE at victory nor will i answer any calls from you or him. You may all talk to mgmt as that is their job. I am sorry it has to be this way. I have immense repsect for all of you for dealing with this tyrant and his games, you have more pateince and maturity then i do. I would personally thank some of by name, but we all know you would incure some wrath for it.(ie kathi H and jason r)best of luck to all of you in your lives. god bless you all. except tony. i dont think god blesses bullies or COWARDS.take care.ps. if you are foolish enough to think this is over an AP cover (because thats what i heard) you need to get a grip. You know how your boss is. If you think we started this in any way. You are mistaken.
pss. "i have yet begun to fight."- you should know what this means, you guys put them out.
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