Rockbites: The Rosenbergs and DGM blaze artists’ rights trail

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January 2001 • Rockbites Alternative Daily

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The Rosenbergs and DGM blaze artists’ rights trail
9 January 2001

Last summer Salisbury, England based indie label Discipline Global Mobile announced a trailblazing approach to music distribution in which the signed band retains 100% ownership of their master recordings in exchange for a percentage of revenues earned from all sources including Internet music distribution. The vision was essentially one of “total partnership” according to DGM cofounder David Singleton.
    DGM’s other cofounder is guitarist/futurist Robert Fripp, who approached New York power pop band The Rosenbergs last year after hearing front man David Fagin speak at the Internet Music Expo—exposing Jimmy And Doug’s Farmclub as little more than a front to a typical greed-driven major label (namely Universal Music Group).
    Farmclub’s big draw is the opportunity for unsigned bands to play on TV and compete for a six album deal. The hidden gotchas include a sixty day exclusive signing option (meaning a band cannot accept any other offers for that period), and a proviso that signing with Farmclub includes abandonment of almost all music rights, including all Internet rights. A band would, among other things, turn their Web site over to Farmclub. The Rosenbergs said “no thanks,” and news outlets from the LA Times to Entertainment Weekly picked up the story. Farmclub has altered some contract terms in response to the negative publicity.
    Fast forward a few months: The friendly collaboration between DGM and The Rosenbergs sees fruition on 20 February with the release of the band’s new album Mission: You, produced by Dan Iannuzzelli (engineer for Anthrax, as well as producer for The Rosenberg’s 1999 release Ameripop).
    As happy power pop, Mission:You is perhaps not what you’d expect as the flagship product from a label run by a guitarist best known for his work with Eno and King Crimson. But happy power pop, like any genre, can have integrity and substance—and Mission:You easily earns those accolades. Its 11 tracks are instantly accessible (at times veering blithely on two wheels toward bubblegum) without being clichéd. And the music is sufficiently layered, varied, and well-executed to grow on you with repeated listening.
    Tracks are Sucking On A Plumb, Paper And Plastic, A Little Lie, In Pursuit, Secret, Houseboat, Drug Of Choice, Fast Asleep, After all, Soaked In Polyester, and Overboard.
    The Rosenbergs play two acoustic shows in Washington, DC on Wednesday at Gaston Hall on the campus of Georgetown University (with Kristen Hersh of Throwing Muses) as part of the Future Of Music conference. David Fagin serves on a panel at the conference on Thursday along with Momus (see our story from yesterday), Kristen Hersh, and others. Look for The Rosenbergs to be touring the US Midwest next month. | The Rosenbergs | | Discipline Global Mobile | | Ameripop (CD) on Amazon USA | | sample from Ameripop | | top of page |

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