Labels Part 2 (Amended) | January – Kevin Lyman
ack in October we ran a feature called “Labels Pt. 1”. For those of you waiting for Part 2 the following month, we want to explain why this delay occurred. As we conducted these various interviews with labels heads and other well known names in the music industry aside from the musicians themselves, we felt the conversation begin to steer in another direction. The topics began to expand and the answers became more and more candid. The general state of the music industry is a matter that will undoubtedly always attract an opinion and most of the time it will be a very heated one. We did close to a dozen interviews with folks working in all different avenues of the music world, from press to labels to promoters and we believe we have presented an educated and informative cross section of what some of the most influential names in today’s scene think about its current circumstances. Firstly, we spoke with Kevin Lyman, who is the founder of The Vans Warped Tour, The Taste of Chaos and many more festivals. He is an innovator and a pioneer, an entrepreneur and most importantly, a fan.
What is your title and main duties when it comes to Warped Tour?
Kevin Lyman: Creator and producer. Right now the duties are that we are closing out the 2010 tour and I’m starting to book the 2011 tour and I’ve confirmed a few artists already so I’m starting to work on that. This is the month of October so that’s when pretty much everyone comes through the office, labels, managers, agents and everyone so that’s actually probably the best month of the year because we get to listen to a lot of music and talk about plans for artists, especially developing artists. For main stage artists, I kind of already know in my mind what kids want to see and I’m kind of looking for that rough gem or something up and coming that someone doesn’t know and maybe taking that gamble on booking them on Warped. We’re routing tours and booking my Mayhem tour right now my country tour. This is a year round thing. By the time we hit January/February, the marketing and logistics side is going and I just kind of have my hand in a little bit of everything. On the road it’s just day to day operations of the tour.
You’ve been doing Warped for almost two decades now, what have you noticed about trends? How do you avoid flash in the pan types of situations or is that something you just have to kind of embrace and hope for the best?
“Times seem to be moving so quick in music that there will always be a couple of those acts that kind of have that Brokencyde thing going on (laughs), it’d be dumb to ignore that because kids were actually into that for a little while but things are moving so quick”KL: Well, you kind of embrace that. Of course I always look for longevity and I try to help bands with that in different points of their career. You saw someone like Sum41 last year coming back to the tour and understanding that they’re out there trying to reconnect with a younger audience. Times seem to be moving so quick in music that there will always be a couple of those acts that kind of have that Brokencyde thing going on (laughs), it’d be dumb to ignore that because kids were actually into that for a little while but things are moving so quick. We’re always trying to figure out how to pay homage and give recognition to the core of what Warped tour is but always moving forward and that’s understanding trends and tastes in music. Originally, I booked music on the tour that I liked but now I’m almost 50 years old (laughs). I could potentially book a tour for a bunch of 50 year olds. I could book artists that are relevant to me and that’s why you see Bad Religion or Fishbone. I bring them back to the Warped Tour because they are putting out something relevant. It’s a fine balance. You take a lot of heat but then I think wait a second, if I just booked the same show every year, would Warped Tour be a bunch of 50 year olds going? No, its 15 year olds and 20 year olds and that’s why I think we’ve been around for 17 years. I think we’ve kind of been able to balance it all. People are always saying “We need more punk! We need more punk!” and I say “Man, I wish there was more punk”, but when did the last punk band really break, just talking straight ahead 3 chord punk rock? You see bands like Anti-Flag and The Bouncing Souls and they’ve been around for 20 years. I’m looking for that new punk band all the time. There’s a band I like out of the UK right now, Strawberry Blond, that are fantastic but I’m just looking. I wish these kids would embrace them like they do Rancid or NOFX. I wish I had a new punk rock headliner. But the fans haven’t really embraced one of these bands to take them to a movement like we used to have. I always have punk bands out there but it hurts to see because that’s the music I grew up with, why don’t the kids get it? You know it’s not for me to judge or force it down their throats. I bring a band like Reverend Peyton out on Warped Tour and all the kids love them but are they the band blowing up that everyone wants to see? No. They’re all about All Time Low or A Day To Remember. I want to expose them to the things that influenced what they like now.
You’ve seen a lot of acts come and go, some over years, some over months, what, in your opinion, keeps a band progressing and successful enough to make it a career?
KL: Bands that do well with their fans. Its interesting, Sum41, who was around last summer, their songs still speak to 15 year olds at Warped Tour. You have to somewhat stay relevant and write good songs. If you write good songs then people will recognize you and continue to follow you. It’s a challenge to stay relevant right now. I thought some of these bands would be around a lot longer and it’s just tough right now. Kids learn so quickly about an artist, I can’t keep up with it. Everything moves so quickly that the discovery of a band can be overnight now. It’s amazing how quickly things can be checked out and how quickly things can be discarded. It’s a bummer in some ways.
Is there a band right now that you see breaking that you think you will see still doing their thing in ten years?
KL: I’d like to say that A Day To Remember would be that band. I think they could. I think Paramore could, they grew up in Warped. They were able to cross over to the pop side a little bit and still maintain credibility with the fan base. That’s always the big thing, when you’re ready to give up the punk for the pop, you better be ready for it. If you don’t do it right, your core fans are going to abandon you when you don’t have enough new ones to stay. The first reaction to a band getting played on the radio is that they sold out. If there’s enough people there and they’ve solidified that fan base then a lot of fans will say they’re glad they’re on the radio or a lot of people won’t.
I know there is a “Kevin Says” stage, that stemmed from so many bands approaching you to play but what is your advice for unsigned bands who want to hop on Warped?
KL: A couple unsigned bands always get on Warped Tour. I dig that if they’re really good. Don’t submit something that is not your best effort.
Do you think that now days labels have less clout when it comes to a band being considered successful?
KL: I still think you can be successful without a record label but if you want to go to a certain point you’re going to need one. You could be a working band for a long time without a record label, you can build your fan base, you can sell your merchandise, and you can sell songs now! I think if you want that broader appeal then at some point you’re going to need to sign to label. You don’t have to sign right away, I think a lot of the labels now are looking at bands that have done a lot on their own before they sign them. Once you jump to a label then all of the sudden the expectations jump a lot higher no matter what level. If you’re selling your songs on Tunecore and selling stuff at shows, that’s one expectation, but if you sign to a label and start buying ads in AP or your magazine, there’s going to be some expectations that you’re going to have some relative commercial success. On an indie label the expectation may be for you to sell 5,000 records but on a major it may have to be up in the hundreds of thousands before anyone is happy over there.
Do you think labels are dying out or that they’ll always be necessary?
KL: I think the major labels are looking at how they’re going to become the big indie label. I think they’re looking at how they’re going to have to cut their expenses and their costs but still be effective because otherwise, who needs them, when you’ve got Epitaph doing well and Sideonedummy doing okay, and Hopeless and Fearless, those are going to be the new major indies. Major labels can’t function at the level they used to. They’re going to have to become more personable, more efficient, and sign artists for artistry, not just a single. You still have your majors that sign for a single, Interscope and things like that. I don’t think that’s going to survive the way it is now.
We spoke with Underoath recently about why they’ve never tried to jump to a major and it’s simply because their label treats them like family.
KL: Yeah and they do a good job with them so why leave? Flogging Molly hasn’t jumped from Sideonedummy and they’ve had a lot of success. They’ve sold hundreds of thousands of records but what more could a major do for them because now all of the sudden they’re going to have to sell five times more records to be profitable.
Each month from now on we will be presenting a new outlook on the current state of music from a different perspective. These opinions are widely varying and extremely interesting but we want to know what YOU think as well. Write to us via Facebook or Twitter and let us know your opinion on these topics and what our guests had to
say whether you agree or disagree-WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Below is who you’ll be hearing from in the coming months.
Mike Shea-Founder of Alternative Press Magazine
Chad Johnson-Founder of Come&Live
Sean Patrick Rhorer-President of Blood and Ink Records
Rich Egan-Founder of Vagrant Records
And more!
