PRESS CONFERENCE“Welcome to everybody here today, I know this was given very short notice but in the business world things can happen very rapidly. I appreciate those of you that have managed to be part of this conference today to formally announce the new ownership of Studio60 and it's assets. It's a vast company with quite a history of it's ten year existence now, from it's humble beginnings to it's quick success and the position it once held at the top of the music industry at a time when the famed 'label wars' were at it's peak. It's always stood out as a beacon of the industry but in recent years a lot has changed in the industry leaving many of those labels from that time period behind.
I hope to bring a fresh prospective to the label alongside a team that I would put up against any and I'm so proud to be able to work alongside. I'd like to confirm the management team at Studio60 are as follows. Sofia Indiana Couture as head of artist and repertoire, Millie Galloway as head of sales and promotions. Joel Cartwright standing to my left will be heading up the scouting division as head scout and on my right is Alia Kane who I'm sure you'll all get to know very well over the coming years as head of public relations as well as working with our talent scouting team. We have Chani Brion as head of art direction, Benjamin Lancaster as head of marketing, Dylan Callaghan as head of artistic development, DeAndre Patton as head of production and Jonas Hedlund as head of our songwriting division.
Of course we have a large number of staff that will be working under the various management structures between both Studio60 Records here in Hollywood and Tric-Jam Records over in New York. I think it's important to surround yourself with the right people and I certainly feel like I've got an incredible team with me to go forward with this incredible company.
In regards to our plans, I'm sure we'll get into the specifics in our discussions but initially I'm looking to stabilize the rosters and company as a whole before we step into the various different planned phases of development for the company. We do have a long term plan to expand the company over the years which will be done in gradual steps but for now, it's a stabilisation effort to support the artists that we currently have with the label as well as hopefully announce some new additions in the coming weeks and months.
I'm sure there's a lot of questions to get through, so I'll now open the floor and hopefully myself, Alia and Joel will be able to answer any questions that you may have in regards to the label and it's future.”
- Brianna Harrington
The record industry has struggled more in the past couple of years than any other period in history. Why did you choose this particular venture?Brianna: That's partly the reason why, it's the industry that I've always been most fascinated by and had a passion for. We've all seen it's decline recently and for labels a lot of that was due to the changing of music distribution. You don't need a record label to put your music out there anymore, you can find just as big an audience on your own and that's the direction a lot of artists have decided to go in. It's why the live music scene has died in recent years. Record labels offer more than just distribution and studio time but these things do go full circle and I believe there's a change around the corner, you can fly pretty high on your own these days but with the support of a record label you can go a lot higher, that's always been the case and always will be the case.
This is a purchase that has been in the works for many months now, I think the timing was right for a change of mentality and some fresh ideas to be put into the company. It has the potential to grow and I know that seems crazy when you consider the heights the label has been too. It's literally been at the top of it's industry. But the potential for expanding this into something even bigger, it scares me but in a positive way. The idea of what we can possibly do here gives me a thrill.
It's a brave move for somebody for someone with moderate wealth. Your level of wealth takes away some of the bravery and risk involved. How is the financial structure of the label. Are yours the only hands involved or are your families hands involved in this?Brianna: I own the label one hundred percent. It's not falling under the family name or any of their business ventures. It's entirely under my name and I see it as an opportunity to show what I'm capable of achieving away from my families own achievements. Of course as you've alluded to, there's a certain amount of wealth linked to my surname. The benefit of that is that there is a safety net there if it's needed. The expectation is that any safety net in place will very much not be needed. It's nice to have that there, but I almost think of it as redundant. I'd like to see this as a company that will be viable to add to the pot rather than drain it. The due-diligence done on the deal would suggest that to be the case also.
And what about the future plans for expansion of the company. Can we see more subsidiaries in the mould of Tric-Jam and possibly venturing into other industries outside of music?Brianna: As stated previously, it's a stabilisation effort to begin with. After that, we know what we'd like to achieve and this list is quite extensive. I don't think it would be right to discuss these in this moment. But we're looking into Studio60 as a company, not just as a record label. On the music side of things we're looking at the live entertainment side of things as well as the option of exclusive streaming as an additional source of income for our artists. But those are some ways down the line. I can acknowledge that we'd like to see this develop beyond the music industry and further into the entertainment industry as a whole. But for now, we will be focussing on the stabilisation and setting the pathway to future growth.
And currently, looking at the roster it would be fair to say that the majority have been inactive in recent years. What are your immediate plans for the roster?Brianna: I think first and foremost it is an exciting roster when you look at the names and what they've done in the industry. I can confirm that I've looked over all of the contracts and have very little worries in terms of from a financial aspect. We will be encouraging activity from all of our roster, but these contracts are based on activity. If you're not working then you're not earning money, so inactivity doesn't concern me from a financial aspect. But as I've said, we encourage everybody that is ready to work to work and we'll help in every way we can.
Joel: I think if any of those names announced tomorrow that they were putting out new music, the world or at least a large portion of it would lose their minds. As would we. Because we're fans first and foremost. It's a legacy roster for sure right now, but that can change on the turn of a dime. The hope is this new era sparks a fire underneath them and we see some names that we ain't seen for quite some time. However, it is my job as Head Scout to look at what's out there right now and my good lord there is some mighty fine artists working out there. My job is updating this roster and adding to it with contemporaries and talent. There will be signings happening very soon which will increase our output and making new signings and hopefully getting some of our current roster back in the studio are the two main jobs of this first phase of work.
Looking through the roster, we sadly see a name of an artist that is no longer with us. Hannah Beth. She was a cornerstone of this label and there have been no posthumous releases. How do you plan on addressing her legacy?Brianna: Hannah is an all time favourite artist of mine. She was one of the first thoughts in my mind when looking over the roster list and contracts and how loyal and important to this label she was over the years. We will be handing the music rights to her family, I had a discussion with Mr. Caulfield and it was suggested that he'd rather this went to Hayden and Isabel, the songs will belong to her family along with any royalties earned. If they wanted a retrospective album released they now own all the licensing to her work under Studio60 Records, if they wanted any album to be released or reissued under our label then we'd be more than happy to oblige.
And what about the day to day running of the label. Having read over the press release. It seems to indicate that you'll be very hands on at least in the initial stages.Brianna: This is something that I will be dedicating my full working life to. I will be in my office on a daily basis, of course I have a management team in place but make no mistake, every major decision will have my involvement. I wanted to make this clear immediately. I don't plan on being the person at the top that you never see, I will work closely with everybody involved and it's very much an open door policy. I encourage dialogue between all of us, this is very much a team effort and it needs to be that way from everybody involved.
Another potentially contentious issue was relating to 'The Stat Nerds'. There were issues between the group and the previous ownership, are you aware of this and is it something you're looking to resolve?Brianna: I think there's quite a lot of discussions that need to be had and this is one that certainly is top of my agenda. They're a group of incredibly talented guys that we want to keep around here and legally the issue was that they weren't able to get out of their contract until all obligations were fulfilled. I will be in contact with them in the coming days and hopefully we'll be able to work something out. I think we need to right some wrongs in regards to that situation. They're a group that has lost a couple of years due to this, they can't lose any more. Their talent cannot be held back in this way again, I'm optimistic of resolving this and hopefully working with them for quite some time.
Would you be able to shed a little light on the other artists that require swift discussions?Brianna: Honestly I'd like to speak with them all individually and I'm sure I will over time. I think it would certainly be interesting to see what sort of dirt Atomic War Bride have on the label for them to have been given the keys to the kingdom for so long. There's is a certainly unique contract, but I respect the hustle. I joke of course, but I think whatever discussions are had between myself and our roster over the coming days will be interesting ones for sure.
Is there anybody out there currently that you'd like to sign up and work with?Brianna: If it was a free market absolutely, it would be foolish to give any names that are legally contracted elsewhere.
Joel: As alluded to before, there's more people releasing stuff independently than ever before. There's names in that area that we'd be foolish not to look at.
Alia Kane signals the end of the press conference and thanks everybody for coming, a three page report is then handed out to everybody in the conference with information and important dates pertaining to the record label as well as contact information for certain members of the management team before everybody vacates the room.