NEW YORK (Billboard) - CBS Corp. is reaching into its past
by reviving the CBS Records name for its latest business
proposition.
The label is starting out small, with three artists
--singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J. Olsson, and rock band
Senor Happy. Likewise, staffing will be kept at a minimum, with
five hirings expected next month.
CBS bought Columbia Records -- eventual home to the likes
of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen -- in 1938 and then sold its
CBS Records business to Sony Corp. in 1988 for $2 billion.
While CBS is hoping to latch onto some of the magic it created
during its 50-year stewardship of Columbia, the startup will
leave the traditional record label model as the last step in
its sales process. Instead, the new CBS will concentrate on
building an imprint to take advantage of digital sales and
distribution capabilities and the power of television.
CBS executives envision the integration of songs from CBS Records artists into the
network's programming, with call-outs at the end of hte shows
providing artist and purchase information.
"Our artists will have access to an incredibly powerful
medium -- television -- to drive music sales," said Nancy
Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television
Entertainment Group, who will oversee the label.
Larry Jenkins, a consultant for the new label who runs his
own management company, LJ Entertainment, said music will be
sold through CBSRecords.com, Apple's iTunes Store and other
digital or wireless merchants.
If digital sales warrant it, CBS Records will offer
physical product. But executives at the company said they will
do so sans long-term deals. Jenkins -- a former Columbia
publicist -- said the label will work with its artists and its
artists' managers to decide what sort of distribution deals
make the most sense. Sometimes that might mean the label will
put the record out itself through an independent distributor,
or it might mean going through an existing label or a retailer.
"We will do those deals on an artist-by-artist basis, and
maybe even a project-by project basis," Jenkins said.
Dailey was named best male singer-songwriter at the 2006
Boston Music Awards and will soon release his debut album "Back
Flipping Forward." A song on that album, "Grand Opening," was
featured on the November 29 episode of CBS' "Jericho." Senor
Happy's album "I'm Sorry" will be released by CBS Records next
month, and one of the songs on it, "Love If You're Real," will
be featured on Friday night's episode of "Ghost Whisperer."
Olsson has released three albums since his 1998 self-titled
debut and is recording an album for the label.
