Primarily, though, the label exists for veteran bands "that are still working and relevant, showing them they’ve got a home," Gould elaborates. "I try to remember, as a manager, what artists really care about. The majors can’t really be in the legacy rock business, so I saw there was a gap."
He approached Bruce Resnikoff at UMe with the concept. "Bruce is a really good guy and they do exemplary work," Gould notes, adding that UMe’s handling of Zombie’s greatest-hits record led to almost 2 million in sales, an exceptional feat for a hard rock/metal hits set.
"The catalog department’s sort of a crazy world unto itself," muses Gould. "These departments really help the labels through the lean times. UMe did the repackaged Rolling Stones and Nirvana, had a huge hit with Pitch Perfect. They have their own marketing and one of the best sales divisions. They have one of the better relationships with iTunes and Amazon, because they have so much stuff people want." He also singles out the creative digital marketing by the company’s Doug Barasch.
The graphically vibrant visuals accompanying T-Boy releases and associated collateral, it’s worth noting, reflect the canny design smarts of Zombie himself, whose funhouse cinematic vision has spawned plenty of eye candy.
Thus far, hard rock releases have dominated the T-Boy roster, but other rock genres—or, for that matter, hip-hop—would be fully compatible with the company’s model. Gould says he might also consider a pub division at some point down the line.
"At this point, the majors can’t win without a hitting a grand slam," he argues. "They can’t make money with a double. But I can make money for our artists with a base hit. We do this thing called ‘research’—we ask our people in different markets around the world how many records they could sell by a particular act, and then we add up those numbers."
Of course, between T-Boy’s projects and Zombie’s enterprises alone—which include touring spectaculars (including music-meets-horror fest The Great American Nightmare) and feature films—Gould’s obligations add up to a lot. "I have to remind people that I don’t just manage Rob," he says with a laugh. "I manage Rob, Rob and Rob."
New talent being developed at Spectacle, meanwhile, includes buzzing rock band Beware of Darkness and experimental pop-rock band September Mourning (who were recently signed to Virgin by Ron Fair and are producing a debut album with Howard Benson).
THE COUNT: COACHELLA, FROM THE COUCH
The coziest way to experience the fest (4/18a)
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THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
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