Indie label trade group recruiting in L.A.

[assholitis]

Indie label trade group recruiting in L.A. By Chris Morris

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sony BMG Music Entertainment's $10 million payola settlement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is music to the ears of independent music labels.

The pact, announced Monday and also likely to affect the other majors, will "definitely" level the field when it comes to getting songs played on radio, says Don Rose, acting president of the American Association of Independent Music, a new trade group representing small U.S. labels.

"(Independently owned labels) are 27.5% of the market sector (as tracked by Nielsen SoundScan). We're less than 10% of BDS (Broadcast Data Systems) spins (on radio). Do the math: We could double that number and still be at half our potential."

Founded last month in New York, AAIM is dedicated to reaching parity for indies in the music business. AAIM met with West Coast labels in Los Angeles Monday in an attempt to bring them into the fold.

Speaking before about 50 people at Hollywood nightclub the Knitting Factory, a Hollywood concert venue, Rose anchored a panel of the trade organization's interim board members -- such seasoned execs as TVT Records' Steve Gottlieb, Tommy Boy's Tom Silverman, Roadrunner's Doug Keough and Lookout's Molly Neuman.

The attendees represented indies big and small. In the audience were Concord Records' Glen Barros, whose company led the field of Grammy winners this year with Ray Charles' triple-platinum "Genius Loves Company," and Derek Sivers, whose online retail outlet, CD Baby, represents thousands of artist-operated labels, some of whose wares may be certified tin, if they're lucky.

Six Degrees Records' Pat Barry, who made the trip from San Francisco for the AAIM session, was upbeat about the group's prospects, saying: "It looks like this is the (organization) that makes sense. These guys understand what the issues are."

Action issues, as outlined in AAIM's presentation package, include addressing new technologies as a locus for dissemination and distribution of indie music, creating access to broadcast outlets, networking with like-minded international indie groups and spearheading advocacy and legislative lobbying.

The trade group already is evincing a far more forward-looking viewpoint than that of the now-defunct Association for Independent Music; that long-running organization folded last year, the victim of a narrow constituency, poor funding and what can only be described as a horse-and-buggy mentality.

AAIM appears committed to vigorous outreach. During Monday's meeting, Silverman, one of the original prime movers of the group, emphasized that member labels from all sectors of the business were being encouraged to join. Rose says his Tuesday meeting schedule included a sit-down with Latin indie powerhouse Univision.

AAIM's platform already has enlisted 60 member labels, who pay dues on a graduated scale based on market share. "We're probably at 25% funded," Rose says. "We've been in business six weeks."

Before AAIM can open its New York office and hire staff, more member labels need to be corralled. Rose says the group is contemplating organizational meetings in such indie-centric locales as Nashville and Chicago.

"We're being very conservative on committing to overhead," Rose says. "It's all related to how fast membership ramps up."

Board member Neuman says: "The value's been articulated. Now people need to put it in the budget."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[Glenn]

jeez - when asked Sony for a cool million they siad they where tapped out.