K Records
February 23, 2016 1:02 PM Subscribe
Is K Records a 'Broken, Sinking Ship'?
Legendary Olympia Label Struggles to Stay Afloat as Kimya Dawson and Other Artists Demand Unpaid Royalties---
Where to start with the indie charm of Beat Happening and K Records
"Do I make music for the money?" she wrote. "Absolutely not. If the music I make sells do I want the money that is rightfully mine? Absolutely yes. People don't speak up because they get accused of all kinds of shit when they do. I just can't even handle people talking about how super rad K is when it's a broken sinking ship."
It makes me sad that I feel like I know exactly what she means when she talks about getting "accused of all kinds of shit" because that's pretty much standard capitalist operating procedure for marginalizing squeaky wheels and it's been heartbreaking over the last few years realizing there's not really any significant difference between how the indie community operates versus the mainstream when it comes to doing business.
posted by saulgoodman at 1:17 PM on February 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
It makes me sad that I feel like I know exactly what she means when she talks about getting "accused of all kinds of shit" because that's pretty much standard capitalist operating procedure for marginalizing squeaky wheels and it's been heartbreaking over the last few years realizing there's not really any significant difference between how the indie community operates versus the mainstream when it comes to doing business.
posted by saulgoodman at 1:17 PM on February 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
Reminiscent of what happened to Lookout Records in the post-Larry Livermore era, with Green Day pulling their records in 2005 for lack of royalty payment.
posted by larrybob at 1:27 PM on February 23, 2016
posted by larrybob at 1:27 PM on February 23, 2016
God I am so old.
Larry Livermore will be seventy next year. Seventy! Larry Livermore is older than my parents. I did not realize this in the nineties.
posted by Frowner at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
Larry Livermore will be seventy next year. Seventy! Larry Livermore is older than my parents. I did not realize this in the nineties.
posted by Frowner at 1:58 PM on February 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
Man, Oly is such a small town. To the point where I've started and erased different versions of comments a couple of times. :\ I don't know anything about it directly, but I'm 100% sure I know people who know.
Maybe totally unrelated, but mr epersonae does an amazing impression of Cal's singing style.
posted by epersonae at 1:59 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
Maybe totally unrelated, but mr epersonae does an amazing impression of Cal's singing style.
posted by epersonae at 1:59 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
k records, that reminds me of the good old days when you actually owned music
posted by entropicamericana at 2:02 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 2:02 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
there's not really any significant difference between how the indie community operates versus the mainstream when it comes to doing business.
same as it ever was. same as it ever was.
posted by sleepy pete at 2:17 PM on February 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
same as it ever was. same as it ever was.
posted by sleepy pete at 2:17 PM on February 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
there's not really any significant difference between how the indie community operates versus the mainstream when it comes to doing business.
A bunch of indie labels stayed afloat in the '90s and '00s by figuring out agreements that were fair for both the labels and artists, mostly by being realistic about their sales, recording/production/distribution costs, and overhead. At least for a while, it was a pretty different ecosystem than what worked with the big-spending major labels. I don't think I've heard similar complaints about, say, Merge, as there are with K. It's really too bad about K (I've loved a lot of their releases), but it seems like Calvin has had plenty of time to figure out that he really isn't a good businessman and get some help.
posted by lisa g at 3:26 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
A bunch of indie labels stayed afloat in the '90s and '00s by figuring out agreements that were fair for both the labels and artists, mostly by being realistic about their sales, recording/production/distribution costs, and overhead. At least for a while, it was a pretty different ecosystem than what worked with the big-spending major labels. I don't think I've heard similar complaints about, say, Merge, as there are with K. It's really too bad about K (I've loved a lot of their releases), but it seems like Calvin has had plenty of time to figure out that he really isn't a good businessman and get some help.
posted by lisa g at 3:26 PM on February 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
We can only hope that Greg Ginn swoops in and saves everything.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 4:27 PM on February 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 4:27 PM on February 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
Also reminiscent of the Dead Kennedys dust up over unpaid royalties.
posted by destro at 4:46 PM on February 23, 2016
posted by destro at 4:46 PM on February 23, 2016
I was a buyer for an indie record store in the 90s and K was a nightmare to work with from the jump. You *always* wanted to talk to Candace to get shit done. It was heartbreaking then, because these were artists who slept on my floor or the floors of my friends when they came through town, so we rooted for them, and it sucks that it never got better.
posted by padraigin at 7:23 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by padraigin at 7:23 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Very similar sounding to early days of SubPop.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 8:28 PM on February 23, 2016
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 8:28 PM on February 23, 2016
I was thinking of writing a FPP about this, but I felt sketchy linking directly to Kimya's FB note and was waiting for more substantial information to come out.
The blog Teenage Hotdog has been running a series called The Lonely Financial Zone about the experiences of K Records artists. Lorena from Store Brand Soda weighs in.
posted by pxe2000 at 7:08 AM on February 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
The blog Teenage Hotdog has been running a series called The Lonely Financial Zone about the experiences of K Records artists. Lorena from Store Brand Soda weighs in.
posted by pxe2000 at 7:08 AM on February 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
there's not really any significant difference between how the indie community operates versus the mainstream when it comes to doing business.
One of the misinformed opinions that fills the internet is about how the major labels are evil and the indies are the good guys. Except in real life the majors will actually pay you when they owe you money. You may have to argue occasionally, but they will. Indies are a totally crapshoot if they will ever pay you at all, and if they do there's a really good chance it’s going to be a hassle.
posted by bongo_x at 12:20 AM on February 25, 2016
One of the misinformed opinions that fills the internet is about how the major labels are evil and the indies are the good guys. Except in real life the majors will actually pay you when they owe you money. You may have to argue occasionally, but they will. Indies are a totally crapshoot if they will ever pay you at all, and if they do there's a really good chance it’s going to be a hassle.
posted by bongo_x at 12:20 AM on February 25, 2016
Except in real life the majors will actually pay you when they owe you money.
Oh. Who's being naive, K(ay)?
posted by entropicamericana at 5:25 AM on February 25, 2016
Oh. Who's being naive, K(ay)?
posted by entropicamericana at 5:25 AM on February 25, 2016
Spotted on my ride to work recently: For Sale sign on the studio/building. Anybody wanna buy a former synagogue/recording studio? (walking distance from the post office, library, and state capitol!)
posted by epersonae at 11:29 AM on March 9, 2016
posted by epersonae at 11:29 AM on March 9, 2016
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I have so many nineties K releases.
posted by Frowner at 1:11 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]