Aaron Bieler
Recently, we caught up with Aaron Bieler, who along with his brother Jason, owns and operates one of the more successful independent Rock labels in the game today. Currently riding high on new releases by Another Black Day and Stereoside, the label is anything but a small operation, it’s a serious global enterprise focused on international success and long-term viability…
How did this venture with your brother first transpire?
I was the tour manager of my brother Jason‘s band, Saigon Kick, in the early nineties. After many worldwide tours and 5 albums, things had run their course. I then began producing tours, radio shows and festivals while Jason started producing records for other labels. After a few years, we decided to join up again and use our experience to start an artist management company. Our early roster includedNonpoint and Darwin’s Waiting Room. Our close dealings with MCA Records eventually led to the start of our own label as an imprint thru MCA. We aggressively started signing and building a number of bands including Skindred and Fiction Plane. Now we are completely independent and are distributed through ADA in the US with great partners Andy Allen and Mitchell Wolk.
Breaking away and becoming totally independent – how much of a struggle was that (or was it?), and what are some of the main hurdles you had to overcome?
It became harder and harder to successfully develop new artists in the major label system. Projects stop before they start, or more commonly have a lifespan of three to four weeks to create a hit record. This combined with trying to navigate through endless executive turnovers, mergers and internal conflicts proved to be a counter productive place for us to implement our business model.
What do you perceive to be the main hurdles that an independent rock label has to overcome to compete for airplay with the majors?
I don’t really see hurdles as much as opportunities. Nowadays, you constantly hear the music industry is dying, record sales are declining etc…while there certainly are challenges to be met, I believe music has never been more popular, with the advance of the iPod, cell phones and internet…every other kid has ear buds coming out of their head. They are constantly listening to something. It is how people get exposed to new music and what they are willing to pay for it that is being redefined.
How receptive has Rock radio been to your label and roster?
We have developed some great relationships at Rock radio and pride ourselves on being great partners. It’s a two-way street, when they step up for our bands, we try to return that faith by being the most aggressive supporters of those stations as possible. We try and give far more than we take and that creates healthy long term trust and benefits for everyone. One thing I am very confident of is that we have amazing BANDS. I firmly believe that we have one of the most talented, competitive rosters out there. Show me a band that can match Skindred or Nonpointlive.
What are the advantages from an artist’s point of view, on being on an indie such as yours?
The biggest advantage by far for us is our real experience, we have a very intimate knowledge of what it is like to be an artist and what the real challenges are that face them. We are also not the “classic indie” model with 2-3 people who raise organic goats and release records to the hemp centric crowd; we’re a global company, with distribution all over the world and over 50 of the hardest and smartest working people around!
Tell us a bit about your roster and your current projects.
We currently have a Top-20 hit with “Wicked Soul,” the first single from one of our brand new bands, Another Black Day. Nonpoint is getting ready to embark on the Grindco tour withSevendust and Drowning Pool. We also have Skindred who is coming off HUGE success in the UK and Europe. They have an upcoming appearance in Japan on the Summer Sonic Festival withColdplay, and have recently toured with Bullet For My Valentine, Gogol Bordello and Download Festival. We look forward to bringing them back to the US this fall. Fiction Plane is currently on the311 and Snoop Dogg tour.
Is it more beneficial for indies to hire out for promotion and marketing, as most are seeming to do?
We do most of our marketing and promotions in-house. We do hire out on a project-to-project basis to reinforce where needed. It’s important for Jason and I to know the PDs personally and convey our passion and excitement directly. These PDs sit face-to-face every day with tons of people who don’t have passion for the artists they are pitching; they have passion to try and keep their job for another week, a noble cause…but not a winning formula over the long haul.
What are your thoughts on the current 360 deals artists are now signing?
The “360” deal is not a new concept to us. We have been pursuing this almost since our inception. At the end of the day, we feel the more an artist and label are TRUE partners and tied to each others’ successes and failures, the better the relationship and longer term outlook for developing career artists. That’s why we are announcing our new “720” deal…not sure what it means, but it is obviously much better for everyone than 360.
What do you when you’re away from the biz?
Spend time with my boys and play hockey!
** QB Content by Mike Bacon **
