AMERICAN AUTH0RS
Date Signed: January 31, 2013 Label: Mercury, Island Records Band Members: Zac Barnett, lead vocals, guitar; James Adam Shelley, guitar, banjo, mandolin; Matt Sanchez, drums/percussion; Dave Rublin, bass guitar. Type of Music: Alternative Pop/Rock Management: Shep Goodman / Alex Brahl Booking: Larry Webman, Matt Galle - Paradigm Agency Legal: Neil Shulman - Roberts, Leibowitz & Hafitz Publicity Lauren Schneider, lauren.schneider@umusic.com Web: http://weareamericanauthors.com A&R: Steve Yegelwel
T
he overwhelming success of their second single, “Best Day of My Life,” catapulted American Authors right into the plush studio seats of Island Def Jam. Now, these four Berklee College of Music dropouts are determined to keep the good times rolling. It all started with some Alt Nation airplay on SiriusXM satellite radio and a song that friends pitched to Lowe’s advertising team “just for fun.” The signing offers quickly came pouring in. But lead vocalist Zac Barnett claims there’s no big competition against prestigious rock label, Island Records. “We’d all been big fans of Island Def Jam for a really long time,” Barnett explains. “The minute we went into the office it just felt right–– such good vibes going on there. It felt like family and a good home for us,” “We ended up signing with them a week or so after our first meeting.” Things naturally fell into place after that. The guys now work with a team that understands their artistic visions and goals.
ALLEN STONE
Date Signed: July 2013 Label: Capitol Music Group Type of Music: Soul Management: William Olin - Red Light Management, 310-273-2266 Booking: Jaime Kelsall - APA, 310-888-4200 Legal: Jeff Worob - Serling Rooks Ferrara McKoy & Worob LLP, 212-245-7300 Publicity: Kristen Kanopka - Capitol Music Group, 323-871-5328, Kristen.Kanopka@umusic.com Web: http://allenstone.com A&R: Michael Howe
S
oul artist Allen Stone laid substantial career groundwork before signing with Capitol. In 2011 he self-released Allen Stone, which broke into the Top 10 of Billboard’s Heatseekers Album chart as well as the Top 5 on iTunes’ R&B/Soul chart. He also landed spots on The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live! Over the past three years Stone has averaged 200 shows annually. This is precisely the kind of self-starting action that labels find irresistible. Following his independent success, there was a surge of label interest. “Back in 2011, Allen Stone was making moves and selling relatively well,” Stone recalls. “A few different labels started coming after me: Atlantic, Capitol, ATO and Verve. I showcased for Michael Howe and [label head] Dan McCarroll at Capitol but I think they were in limbo then because they
“Don’t think that because you get signed to a label, all your problems go away.”
“You have to prove you can sell records on your own.”
“It was a very easy, organic process to make it work,” says Barnett. “When we signed with them we were just doing our thing, making music in the studio. And they respected that, they trusted us. I think trust is a big thing. We all come up with the ideas and we’re all there, seeing it through. We definitely have a lot of creative control.” A loyal management team, supportive since the beginning, already provided such freedoms––joining the Island Def Jam “family” simply added that extra boost of professionalism and widespread promotion. “It always just flows together so nicely. It’s great having all these people, but it’s also nice because a lot of the time it all works so well together, you forget that they’re all there,” says Barnett. “Everyone kind of does their part, and it’s definitely not as overwhelming as one may think that it could get.” But first things first––work hard, then work harder. “Don’t think that because you get signed to a label, all your problems go away,” he says. “These people are so amazing and definitely help propel your career to the next step, but it’s important to always continue working and writing. You need to make that hit song yourself.” American Authors is signed to Mercury Records (owned by Universal Music Group and operated through Island Def Jam Music Group). The debut album Oh, What a Life was released March 4. – Danica Belli
were coming under Universal ownership. I ended up signing a license deal with ATO.” Later, Stone found that he yearned for a label with greater reach and Universal’s ownership of Capitol had settled. “Capitol seemed like a good place for me,” he says. “ATO was great, but I wanted to try my hand at a bigger machine. There were no hard feelings. “Thirty or 40 years ago,” he continues, “[labels] could base their signing decisions on what they believed would sell. Now there’s not much leeway for that. You have to prove you can sell records on your own.” Like many contemporary success stories, having a popular video online had much to do with Stone’s rising fortunes. “I recorded the video for ‘Unaware’ and it started to get some viral looks.” he says. “That snowballed into TV appearances, the deal with ATO and my manager, who I met when I was 19.” Stone’s forthcoming album––as yet untitled––is slated for release sometime this year with a view toward summer. Meanwhile, he’s hitting dates throughout the country and across the world. “Unaware” has had nearly three million views on YouTube. It seems that the self-starter isn’t stopping anytime soon. – Rob Putnam
26 April 2014
musicconnection.com