dave's solo record deal with WB

[bigc]

as this was way before my time, does anyone know what the ins and outs of Dave's solo deal with Warner was? I mean, did he get a 2 album deal, then sign an extension, or was it a 4 album one,or simply not fixed.

[vanzilla]

I'm not sure about the number of albums he was contractually obligated to release on WB. Usually, according to my friends who are in the music biz...a record label will usually sign an artist to a 1 or 2 album deal with an option for more depending on how well sales are. Dave put out 3 on WB - the first 2 "EEAS" and "Skyscraper" sold well. "ALAE" didn't do as well as the first two (largely because of the country's shift in musical tastes from Metal to Grunge) - and as a result Dave's 4th album was shifted to one of WB's boutique labels Warner Reprise. As we all know, "YFLM" didn't sell well (although I thought it was great) and as a result WB dropped Dave from the roster.

I have no idea what his royalty or points rate were, or if he owned the publishing or merchandise rights to any of his releases.

[BenJammin]

The music industry is so damned fickle... the typical "what have you done for me lately?"

Probably kicked Dave in the stomach with that one. Would he show it? Naw, but I think it put a dent in his confidence.

Bastards.

[Terry]

Am sure being dropped down in the WB prioroty list after YFLM didn't sell very much had to be a blow to Dave's confidence, but he also probably realized going into his music career that nobody stays hot forever, least not record sales-wise in terms of every new release being a multi-platinum smash.

Think Vanzilla nailed it as far as WBs attitude softening towards promoting Dave, even though ALAE was put out during Desert Storm 1 and the grunge wave didn't really roll in big-time until 6 months later. Don't really know the particulars of Dave's deal with WB when he signed as a solo artist (presumably would have had to when Crazy From The Heat was released), but WB is a money-making venture. Didn't take too long after VH3 bombed for WB execs to decide VH without Roth or Hagar wasn't a commercially viable product.

[vanzilla]

Originally posted by Terry
Am sure being dropped down in the WB prioroty list after YFLM didn't sell very much had to be a blow to Dave's confidence, but he also probably realized going into his music career that nobody stays hot forever, least not record sales-wise in terms of every new release being a multi-platinum smash.

Think Vanzilla nailed it as far as WBs attitude softening towards promoting Dave, even though ALAE was put out during Desert Storm 1 and the grunge wave didn't really roll in big-time until 6 months later. Don't really know the particulars of Dave's deal with WB when he signed as a solo artist (presumably would have had to when Crazy From The Heat was released), but WB is a money-making venture. Didn't take too long after VH3 bombed for WB execs to decide VH without Roth or Hagar wasn't a commercially viable product.

I keep forgetting about "CFTH"...

You're right Terry, I think Dave realizes that no one stays on the top of the charts forever...Remember the line in Showtime? "Hear today, gone late today...

I don't blame a lot of the record companies. If acts aren't meeting expectations, they've got to cut ties. My problem is that often times, the labels don't do the right type of publicity to sell the artists. Take Joss Stone for instance. Her new album had been out for several months, but it didn't crack the top 20 until she appeared on Oprah - which pushed her single.

I know that's a gay analogy, but I like Joss. And no, I don't watch Oprah.

[academic punk]

Originally posted by vanzilla
Take Joss Stone for instance. Her new album had been out for several months, but it didn't crack the top 20 until she appeared on Oprah - which pushed her single.

You are so queer.

[vanzilla]

Originally posted by academic punk
You are so queer.

I liked you better when you had chicken pox.

[academic punk]

I still have 'em! Want me to rub my face all over yours?

[vanzilla]

Originally posted by academic punk
I still have 'em! Want me to rub my face all over yours?

Now you're talking! Friends?

[academic punk]

Originally posted by vanzilla
Now you're talking! Friends?

Like Schwimmer and Aniston, baby!

[Terry]

See, for the bulk of 'musicians' and 'actors', I don't even think of them as artists, because they are just trying to calculate what will be saleable. I think once you start tailoring your creative expression to try and suit a market demographic, you've ceased to become an artist and are just another product.

If you're a musician, seems to me your only concern should be how your music SOUNDS, and not how you look in the promotional video. Even though CVH had an appealing visual component, at the end of the day it's what was recorded that matters to me.

I mean, I can see where a band or an actor would want to be appreciated by as many people as possible and make some money in the process, but too much of what todays entertainers are putting out there comes across like a series of career moves. I'd define an artist, regardless of the milieu, as someone who is compelled from within to create whatever they're feeling, and have it presented to the public in its undiluted, pure form.

Would be more impressive if record companies just let the musicians produce the music without interference. Just take what is given to them, put it out there and let the public decide. MTV started off as a great idea, but ended up as little more than a marketing and promotional tool...how many bands have come out that have little more to offer other than an attractive visual component? There has always been pop-40 fluff out there since way back when, but today it seems like style has totally overtaken substance. Not exactly breeding an atmosphere where anything revolutionary is gonna get a chance to be nurtured if everyone is busy sticking to traditional forms because that's the only way to land a record deal.

[academic punk]

Good points, T. But I think a HUGE part of Dave's artistry is the visual component. It was the toal package = as he himself says, he's past being a rock star, he's an action figure.

He rethought how a rock band is presented, to the point where it was performance art. Did Sabbath or Zep have a sense of humor? Did they strut simply 'cause it felt like the thing to do? Yeah, they did, but at the time it was difficult to realize that past all the hocus-pocus "we are agents of Satan" gibberish. Dave and VH were humourous bad-asses, or bad-assed humor incarnate.

[MAX]

Originally posted by academic punk
Like Schwimmer and Aniston, baby!

I love that show.

Chester and I watch it together and dance around the room to the theme song.

[academic punk]

Originally posted by MAX
I love that show.

Chester and I watch it together and dance around the room to the theme song.

Why does this not surprise me???

Lord, I miss Chester. How is that old perverted sexy-assed piece of livestock, anyway?

Gladiator is on one of the five billion HBO's right now. You might want to turn it on, if you're in one of your "I wanna spank my monkey to Russel Crowe" moods.

[Hardrock69]

That movie kicks ass on so many levels.....


Anyways, Van, a 1-2 album deal with an option for more may be a sweet deal these days, but that would be sweet for an artist NOW...back in the mid-80s with Dave at the top of the heap, I am reasonably sure he woulda got at least four as part of the initial deal.