Since the mid-80’s Eric Lawrence and Rob Lanni have worked as dedicated duo managing acts and forging relationships in the music industry. In 1992 they formed Coalition Entertainment and proceed to launch the careers of such North American success stories as Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven and Simple Plan. Millions of albums and thousands of shows later, the two have built one of Canada’s strongest and most successful musical brands, and one of the few, if not only, companies that effectively translate that success in the States.
Since the mid-80’s Eric Lawrence and Rob Lanni have worked as dedicated duo managing acts and forging relationships in the music industry. In 1992 they formed Coalition Entertainment and proceed to launch the careers of such North American success stories as Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven and Simple Plan.
In 2005, they launched Coalition Records in partnership with Warner Canada and set about fulfilling their dream of becoming a true full-service management company with true artist development as the lynchpin to all of their endeavors. Millions of albums and thousands of shows later, the two have built one of Canada’s strongest and most successful musical brands, and one of the few, if not only, companies that effectively translate that success in the States.
We caught up with both gentleman as two of their artists, Our Lady Peace and Inward Eye, have set about rattling the buzz bin in America.
How was the company first established?
Eric: Rob’s older brother Arnold Lanni was in a band called Sheriff that was big in Canada and did okay in America, and then disbanded. When that happened, Arnold and one of the guys from Sheriff formed Frozen Ghost and were signed to Atlantic. After the Sheriff debacle those guys didn’t trust anybody in the world, so they hired Rob to be their manager. And in turn, Rob hired me to be their tour manager (Rob and I are childhood friends). We worked with that band over a couple of records, but eventually, that rolled into forming the management company and coming off the road.
Rob: That band was sort of a stepping stone. Arnold went on to be a producer/songwriter and we figured out how to manage bands. Eric: Arnold produced the first four Our Lady Peace records, the first two Finger Eleven albums, and the first Simple Planrecord.
Rob: We were in a good position because we were able to put a young band together with an established guy who would guide them through their first few studio experiences and then send them on their way once they’ve grown. That’s how we sort of evolved.
Eric: The first band that really allowed us to act as a bonafide management company with some experience, knowledge and relationships was Our Lady Peace.
Rob: We had been under the radar for some eight years before that plugging away and finally Our Lady Peace broke in ’95. We met that band at the end of ’91. They were just teenagers. Jeremy [Taggart, OLP drummer] was only 17 when he joined the band.
Eric: I remember when he came in to audition; his mom was helping him load in his drum kit. I think he was the last guy to come in – this dorky little kid with his mom helping him set up. Rob and I were outside kind of laughing and Raine Maida [singer] came running outside like 20 minutes later and said, “I think this is our guy! He’s f*king awesome!” And he got the job.
Rob Lanni
How would you describe the makeup of Coalition Entertainment today?
Eric: By osmosis were primarily a touring company first. We dealt with all of the record companies and marketing, but for us it was always about having great touring bands out there and we built our office around that. Over time we started bringing in marketing people and an accounting person. As the years went by, we had this full infrastructure. As the major labels started changing we realized we have a team here that can operate just as well with our knowledge and relationships as the people we were doing business with anyway.
Rob: The forming of the label came down the road. We always wanted to be the best management company we could be, and eventually we forged this relationship with – we have good relationships with all the labels we deal with – but in particular, Warner Canada offered us an opportunity to work with them. We were a little bit hesitant. We could have done it years ago, but we said, “ok, let’s slowly and methodically find the right bands and artists and not pay less attention to the management side because that’s always our prime focus.
Eric: The impetus to forming the record company was out of frustration because we were taking young acts that we believed in out there and shopping them – and we’re Canadian, so we would be a little nationalistic – and we would take them to Canadian majors first. That’s how we did business back then, and then see if our U.S. partners would be interested. When we were out shopping Simple Plan, every A&R department in Canada passed on that band. We ended up taking it to Atlantic in the U.S. and then went off and sold seven million records, so Warner got it anyway. It was frustrating to us that we couldn’t find the right partner for stuff that we believed in, and our record company gives us the opportunity to develop something by our terms and means and they don’t need to be judged by someone else, we’re in it together. It’s always been true that people often talk about artist development but it seems that not many are really focused that way. It’s a little bit truer these days when so many record company executives are worried about losing their jobs and have to have a hit in six months. Our Lady Peace, for example… back when we started working with them, they had some good songs, but they were not a touring band. They needed work. We decided to get them and keep them out playing and put them in the smallest little shack in the province of Quebec, let them get their chops and get the record out… and we spent a full year doing that before we took them outside of Canada. We knew we had something special. Then one day we had a showcase in Montreal, and something just clicked with Raine. He became this great frontman. So by the time we started soliciting this band, it meant something and felt real because we were able to develop them that way.
Rob: Naveed was out in Canada for a year before we felt they were ready for the world stage.
Eric: We’ll never go out of business, because it’s us. We could lose all of our staff and furniture and Rob and I could end up back in his mom’s basement where we started, but we’d still be in business. We don’t worry about ourselves. We worry about putting our heads down and trying to develop our artists. We just need to be wary of the guys that need to see our artists blow up in six months or they’re disinterested. That’s why we wanted to have the opportunity to have the label so we could take our time. We have this kidJustin Nozuka (http://www.myspace.com/justinnozuka) that we’re developing and he’s sold a couple hundred thousand records around the world. He’s meaningful in five different territories.
Rob: One of the reasons he came to us was because he looked at our roster and saw the longevity of the relationships we have: Our Lady Peace – 18 years, Finger Eleven – 13 years, Simple Plan – 9 years… every band that’s made it to the level of a headline act has not left us. He liked that; the stability. We’re hands on and accessible.
Eric: We’ve been lucky because we’ve had artists that have set benchmarks for us. Our Lady Peace and Raine in particular is driven and wants to be successful. He gets it and goes out there and chases it very passionately. Simple Plan as well; they are so driven and fantastic to work with.
Rob: Finger Eleven is another band that went through an evolution. We started working with them when they were using a different name back in ’96. Without even a member change the realized that they weren’t the same band as when they started, so they changed their name and forged ahead. They’re a prime example of just waiting until the fruit is ripe, and on the third album delivered a song called “One Thing.” That was a huge ballad that put them into gold status in the U.S. and offered them a little bit of an opportunity to take some time writing to follow that up. The easy road would be to put out another ballad and end your career, but they came back with “Paralyzer,” which was huge and sold over 2.7 million singles. They’re a band that’s not afraid to take chances and keep working.
Eric: Our rule remains the same from day one: find great artists with great songs that are tremendous performers. We do everything we can to guide them through their career. It’s that simple. Our job description has changed a lot. We function as a record company as well, and we focus on a lot of online and social networking initiatives that never existed before. A lot of that stuff falls on us now and we’ve adapted accordingly.
Eric Lawrence
How has the partnership approach with labels now been both beneficial and challenging to the company?
Eric: With Our Lady Peace, for example, it’s beneficial in that if we sell a couple hundred thousand records, they’re going to make money. Whereas, back when we were signed to a major label, when we sold a couple hundred thousand records, they didn’t make money. They made money from all their other income streams like touring and merchandising. It’s kind of key to a band that’s given so much of their lives to their songs and their art for them to feel that come back monetarily. The downside, of course, is all the money that needs to be spent on advertising, marketing and promotion has to be spent with the band’s money. I can’t remember the last time the band needed tour support from a label, actually. Same thing in Europe.
Rob: It’s a good position to be in.
Eric: We don’t have to give up a whole bunch of rights with OLP because we’re not asking for a whole whack of money to tour and stuff. We’re out there supporting our own record and actually making money from doing that.
The reward is definitely worth the risk in this case.
Eric: The guys are very excited about it. They walk around feeling great because they own their masters; this is our record. We made this as a band and we’ll live or die by how well it does.
How important has licensing become to you and your artists?
Eric: It’s always been important if you find the right opportunity. We mostly focus on North American opportunities and multi-tiered deals that include licensing, tours and product with telcos, video games and corporate entities.
Rob: The returns on it most times aren’t very quantifiable, but helps overall virally.
Eric: The artists are also very careful about what they do and where their songs are used.
Let’s talk a bit about your latest artist about to break in the U.S. – Inward Eye.
Rob: They’re signed to RCA; three brothers from Winnipeg. They carry on the spirit of The Who, The Kinks, The Clash, The Jam – any of those U.K. acts; old school punk attitude with a modern rock n’ roll vibe. We saw these kids five years ago when they were 15-years-old, just by accident. Then word leaked out to several labels that they were out there playing. They were still very early in their career and hadn’t even had any demos. Ultimately we ended up signing to RCA without any demos, and have spent the last three years writing, touring and finally the record is coming out in August. We feel it’s really strong. They’re a great live band that touches all kinds of genres. It’s hard to peg them. They’re not an Emo, Punk or skater band. But when you see them in front of an audience, anyone who loves rock n’ roll will get it (www.inwardeye.com).
Eric: Hail The Villain is another band that is coming in the Warner system (www.hailthevillain.com). They’re a great, young driven band that we’re excited about.
Rob: The Waking Eyes (www.thewakingeyes.com) is a real artsy (they label their music Alternative Pop) but very melodic band that’s sort of like our Flaming Lips. Both Eric and I like “cool” sounding bands that may not sell the numbers some do, but are still equally as talented as the rest. We love all our children! They’ve put out a few records and are just waiting for that right one to connect.
Eric: In the new world of indie labels, we’re finding people and companies that are very like-minded to the way we’ve always worked. We’ve got partners like Daniel Glass (Glassnote Records) for Justin Nozuka, who put their heads down and work for something they believe in, and Stu Bergen at ILG. Really, the main reason we went to him with OLP was because he had a bit of a standing relationship with the band, one that was always built on honesty, trust and respect, and he’s built a great team around himself and that’s why we wanted to do business with him. It’s really given us a great chance to work with some people who were in a major label system who aren’t now, and are able to use all that they have and guide themselves over a couple of artists instead of a couple of hundred.
***QB Content By Mike Bacon***
