All-Encompassing Van Halen New Album / Interscope Thread

[Seshmeister]

A broken calendar is right once a year.

[chefcraig]

We're doomed.

[ZahZoo]

This sounds promising... forward momentum, not quite ramming speed...

[Mama's Fool]

I guess an appearance on American Idol is on tap, with a possible Van Halen night for the singers to butcher.

[Matt White]

I guess an appearance on American Idol is on tap, with a possible Van Halen night for the singers to butcher.

I really hope not....but in all honesty it'd probably expose them to an entirely new generation.....who would get to see THE REAL DEAL for the 1st time in PRIME TIME.....

FUCK....I hope they don't fuck this up like they have everything else in the last 25+ years

[Blaze]

I guess an appearance on American Idol is on tap, with a possible Van Halen night for the singers to butcher.

Only if it is Dave, Ed, Alex, and Wolf as as the sole judges for the one op appearance.

[Sensible Shoes]

Dave as a judge on Idol is as scary to me as Dave as a contestant on DWTS

[Blaze]

Dave as a judge on Idol is as scary to me as Dave as a contestant on DWTS

David cannot dance, not even white guy ballroom dance.

Jumping from rafters and swinging from ropes is not dancing.

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

I'm just trying to be patient and see what happens two weeks from this Wednesday. This all sounds promising, but I will remain calm until we all get confirmation from the band.

[Sensible Shoes]

Jumping from rafters and swinging from ropes is not dancing.

Bet he'd do better than Chaz Bono. I think you're wrong anyway.

[WowFace]

This article kind of does away with the notion that Dave is simply an employee and has no say in anything...

Van Halen To Sign with Interscope Records

A source tells THR the deal is expected to be finalized next week. The band had been with Warner Music for 35 years.

2:01 PM PST 11/11/2011 by Shirley Halperin

Iconic rock band Van Halen are set to sign with Interscope Records, says a source familiar with the negotiations. The deal is expected to be finalized next week, marking the first time in 35 years that the band will not release music through Warner Music, its longtime label home.

It had been rumored -- and reported -- that the band was joining the Columbia Records roster. In fact, an insider tells The Hollywood Reporter that the contract for the Sony deal was drawn up and approved but hadn’t been signed when Universal Music stepped into the picture. The signing was a group effort involving UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, UMG International COO Max Hole, Interscope Geffen A&M vice chairman Steve Berman and Interscope's Jimmy Iovine, who, says a source, "heard the band was available and wanted to work with them. It was decided at the 11th hour.” What came next was a series of meetings that presented the band with a global plan that included extensive marketing, merchandising, touring and, of course, recordings.

So what derailed the Columbia deal? The usual rock band complications, says an insider. While the group reunited with original singer David Lee Roth in 2006, the Sony label could not come to terms with Roth, who has a separate management, legal and accounting team than the other three members, guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his son Wolfgang, who replaced bassist Michael Anthony, and drummer Alex Van Halen. The main issue for Roth? He was apparently adamant about being on a west coast label. "He was never on board [with Columbia]," says the source. "It was as complicated as anyone would imagine, when one side says black, the other says white. The label was pretty skeptical that things would work out."

It's expected that as frontman, Roth will have to carry much of the marketing burden and it seems the band members ultimately want their singer to be happy with the deal which is why they went with Universal's west coast-based Interscope.

A new album, their first studio effort since 1984, is believed to be nearly finished with the hope that it can be released in 2012. The band is expected to make a “special announcement” on Nov. 30 at the Grammy Awards nominations concert, which will air live on CBS from Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater.

An Interscope rep had no comment.

[FORD]

I think that's the first time I've ever seen any media article admit that Van Halen hasn't recorded an album since 1984. I'll bet Sammy's going to shit a big brick of cheese when he reads that.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

It's expected that as frontman, Roth will have to carry much of the marketing burden and it seems the band members ultimately want their singer to be happy with the deal which is why they went with Universal's west coast-based Interscope.

Now that's what I want to see....

[VHscraps]

I think that's the first time I've ever seen any media article admit that Van Halen hasn't recorded an album since 1984. I'll bet Sammy's going to shit a big brick of cheese when he reads that.

Yep. Cool!

I think that if there is any truth in that Hollywood Reporter story, then it could be good news for the possibility of this album not being a turkey. If Dave is taking an upfront role, and has his own people, and if they have been sort of manouvering for a different kind of deal (and one that probably doesn't just mean the most cash), then he's not just turning up to take a payday.

In all honesty, when they first were rumoured to be working on this album and people said they were going to go with some kind of Best Buy deal, or whaveter it was, my heart sank at the mere idea. That would just be selling out a legacy that has been left to rot as it is. Didn;t Springsteen do an album once through Wal-Mart, but later say he learned that the fans don't appreciate the music being treated that way, and he'd never do it again?

If this means supposed Interscope deal means that they will get the full on marketing treatment from a company that might have the nous to realise they have something really valuable on their hands, then all well and good. Who knows, assuming that it is not some kind of one-off album deal, the vaults could be prised open.

I was looking on Amazon last night at the Who's Quadrophenia 'directors cut', or whatever they are calling it, and there were all these links to expanded and deluxe editions for almost any band who began in the 70s you'd care to mention. A savvy record company must know that while it is hard to sell actual physical units these days, if you have a band who have a credible legacy to market (witness the U2 Achtung Baby expanded editions as well), then there's value there. And - hopefully - more goodies for the fans.

[LoungeMachine]

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/van-halen-to-sign-with-interscope-1005511802.story