Day 1, album #3?

[Miguel]

If everything seems to indicate Haley signed a record deal with Concord,could there any reason why no one made an official announcement?

Maybe they're waiting until the album is ready to be released? Scott Bradlee's artist bio on their site included this line, "The Essentials, set for release via Concord Records and Postmodern Jukebox Records..."

Or it could be they're merely providing "label services." But that doesn't seem to be how they operate. The only reference I can find to label services and Concord is a story from 2014 about Tom Whalley, who co-founded Interscope, moving the artists under his Loma Vista label to Concord. The press release states Concord would provide label services for them.

Tom Whalley Q&A (would be great if Haley were working with him):

Why the switch from Republic to Concord?

A lot of what I've been doing is signing artists who are coming from more of a touring, artist development place and an independent label place and need more nurturing and marketing support than traditional mainstream radio promotion. Concord was looking to expand their musical sensibilities in the area I was in, so everything just kind of made sense.

What is your philosophy on whom you sign and how has it changed since you started the label two years ago?

My philosophy probably hasn't changed in my entire career. I believe in long-term development. I believe that when you sign an artist you have to have a shared vision with that artist and if you really tie together on those things, then you always have the conviction to continually build and support even in a down period. The style of artist I've always been attracted to are those that have a really strong point of view. And it doesn't really matter what that style is. So far, we have been signing artists who are more self-contained, who are musicians, write their own songs … artists who have a vision about what they're doing. That will continue.

What has been the biggest wake-up call in terms of trying to start an independent label?

I'm a strong believer in the art form of the album at a time when things are moving to more about the song, so that's been a bit of a wake-up call on a certain level, but it doesn't discourage me from the belief in what an album is intended to be as an art form. That's probably the main thing.

Nielsen SoundScan's mid-year numbers showed a continuing decline in physical sales and digital downloads and an increase in streaming. How does that affect the development of your label?

One difficulty with [streaming] is what I call the buy-in. When you went out and bought a physical copy, then that commitment to that artist was made very quickly with the purchase of the album. From there, [fans] buy tickets, merchandise and whatever else. I think there's less of a buy-in or believability in the artist with streaming. It's our job as a record company on behalf of the artist to do the things that will help with the buy-in even while streaming is increasingly becoming the way people listen to music.

Your roster includes vets, new artists and developing acts. What's the right mix?

I wake up some days and go, "What should the balance of the roster be right now?"or "What should I do next?" And then I go, "You know what? I shouldn't worry about that." I'm just going toward whatever I believe is great. … Artists I want to work with and who want to work with me. It doesn't matter whether it's a new artist, one in the midstage of their career or an artist who's been around a long time. … As long as they want to do great work, I'm in.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wh...sic-717907

---

...

Michael Buble side story:

Buble started out as a swing crooner and also sings jazz and pop songs.

He told presenter Kirsty Young that David Foster, who has worked with Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, had told him: "You will never be signed to my label, I will never produce you.

"You are talented but I see no record sales for this genre of music.

"To dismiss me, [Foster] said, 'For $100,000 a track, I will produce on spec a record for you, and because I'm an executive of Warner Bros they'll get first right of refusal.

"And then he pushed me out the door thinking he would never see me again."

But the singer said the encounter made him determined to raise the money to work with Foster.

"What he didn't know was that I would go back to Vancouver and go bank to bank with a manager I had at the time and find an investor," Buble said.

"I flew back to Los Angeles and went to David's house, and he said 'What do you want?' And I said 'Mr Foster I have the money.'

"He couldn't believe I had come back. But he said, 'All right', and we started making the record."

Later, Buble explained, he asked Foster if he could speak to the president of Warner Bros and "plead" for the album to be released.

"I walked into the Warner Bros records' home in Burbank, and I don't think I'd ever been as terrified," Buble said.

"This executive named Tom Whalley came in the room and he said 'Why should we sign you? We have [Frank] Sinatra'."

"And I said 'With all due respect, Sinatra's dead, don't bury the music with him.' I said 'I'll work hard and help fill the void and we will keep this music alive together'.

"Three days later, I was on the treadmill and my grandfather was with me, and the doors flung open and my grandfather said 'Sunshine, you're with Warner Bros'."

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37797675