![[As part of our new client spotlight series, we’ll be exploring the opinions, advise, and experiences of some of the brightest minds in the industry. Listen up kids! Please feel free to be part of the conversation by emailing me at melissa@dropcards.com.]
Alternative Tentacles has a reputation for being one of the oldest and most well known underground labels in the world. Established in June of 1979, A.T. is well known for its outspoken provocateur owner, talent scout and recording artist, Jello Biafra and his former band Dead Kennedys.
An interview with Jesse Townley, General Manager at Alternative Tentacles
_________________________________________________
Melissa: How long have you been with the label and how did you get started there?
Jesse: I’ve worked at AT since 2002. I started running the mail order department (I worked mail order for Lookout! in the late 1990s) and have been the General Manager since 2007.
Melissa: What would you say the biggest pro is when it comes to working in the music industry?
Jesse: Being able to spread great, often subversive art, music, politics, and thought around the world. Also, even though it’s also the biggest con, having a job in this business during this historic time of upheaval. Seeing everything from inside a legendary independent label is really eye-opening!
Melissa: Biggest con?
Jesse: The financial woes of the “music industry” are magnified at our level, but unlike the flabby major labels we’re more flexible and this helps mitigate some of the financial pain. We cut 1/2 our staff in early 2009 (from 4 down to 2), so that helped a lot even as it increased workloads above a realistic level.Melissa: In the time you’ve been with Alternative Tentacles have you grown particularly fond of any one release or band?
Jesse: Two that come to mind instantly (since they’re still existing and have new releases out) are 2 of our twang bands I had heard of but never heard much from before I started at AT: Slim Cessna’s Auto Club and Dash Rip Rock. Now I’m a huge fan of both! This goes for a lot of our bands, especially some of the ones who I didn’t grow up with (my first punk compilation was “Let Them Eat Jellybeans”!). There are some really great bands like Facepuller, Flaming Stars, eX-Girl who are criminally underappreciated. Melissa: Do you think a lot of the bands on the label have adjusted to the advent of mainly digital music delivery or are vinyl and CD’s still a big part of your distribution efforts?
Jesse: Our sales are split 2/3rd physical, 1/3rd digital. Vinyl has made an exceptionally strong comeback, compared to where it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a band-by-band decision- what do their crowd/their scene prefer? Some bands are CD/digital only, others are LP/digital only.
Melissa: Do you have any tips you would share with young artists trying to get heard?
Jesse: Tour a LOT. Put out your own EPs. Make them sound good. Tour a LOT. Repeat.
Melissa: We’ve had a few labels create merch, pair it with a download card, and sell it as their album. Has Alternative Tentacles ever sold pairings like this to add extra incentive?
Jesse: No, but Triclops! did that with a hand-crafted monster doll & a flash drive with their excellent 1st AT record. Creative ideas like this are really welcome.
Melissa: Are there any new trends in the music industry you think will crash and burn or alternatively make a positive impact?
Jesse: I am always meeting people who have no physical music collection. I don’t understand it because I don’t have as much trust in digital systems (i.e. computer hard drives) as they do. We’re told that physical is on the way out, but that trend is belied by the people who continue to buy physical product. I think that at the very least niches will always be out there for physical, but the question is, in what formats?Right now, I don’t think that the “new trend” of cloud-based music/art is going to work because of the often-rickety nature of internet connectivity (sometimes due to issues completely outside of human control like the weather). AT&T’s connectivity issues with the iPhone are infamous (at least if you have an iPhone, sigh…). It also ignores the technological gap between first world technologically savvy music fans who are fully connected, and the rest of the planet. Having a cell phone in equatorial Africa doesn’t mean automatic access to music/programming.
_________________________________________________Learn More About Alternative Tentacles here:http://www.alternativetentacles.comAlso check out:Slim Cessna’s Auto Club Dash Rip Rock](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lcrc7ubrbs1qza5pco1_400.jpg)
[As part of our new client spotlight series, we’ll be exploring the opinions, advise, and experiences of some of the brightest minds in the industry. Listen up kids! Please feel free to be part of the conversation by emailing me at melissa@dropcards.com.]
Alternative Tentacles has a reputation for being one of the oldest and most well known underground labels in the world. Established in June of 1979, A.T. is well known for its outspoken provocateur owner, talent scout and recording artist, Jello Biafra and his former band Dead Kennedys.
An interview with Jesse Townley, General Manager at Alternative Tentacles
_________________________________________________
Melissa: How long have you been with the label and how did you get started there?
Jesse: I’ve worked at AT since 2002. I started running the mail order department (I worked mail order for Lookout! in the late 1990s) and have been the General Manager since 2007.
Melissa: What would you say the biggest pro is when it comes to working in the music industry?
Jesse: Being able to spread great, often subversive art, music, politics, and thought around the world. Also, even though it’s also the biggest con, having a job in this business during this historic time of upheaval. Seeing everything from inside a legendary independent label is really eye-opening!
Melissa: Biggest con?
Jesse: The financial woes of the “music industry” are magnified at our level, but unlike the flabby major labels we’re more flexible and this helps mitigate some of the financial pain. We cut 1/2 our staff in early 2009 (from 4 down to 2), so that helped a lot even as it increased workloads above a realistic level.
Melissa: In the time you’ve been with Alternative Tentacles have you grown particularly fond of any one release or band?
Jesse: Two that come to mind instantly (since they’re still existing and have new releases out) are 2 of our twang bands I had heard of but never heard much from before I started at AT: Slim Cessna’s Auto Club and Dash Rip Rock. Now I’m a huge fan of both! This goes for a lot of our bands, especially some of the ones who I didn’t grow up with (my first punk compilation was “Let Them Eat Jellybeans”!). There are some really great bands like Facepuller, Flaming Stars, eX-Girl who are criminally underappreciated.
Melissa: Do you think a lot of the bands on the label have adjusted to the advent of mainly digital music delivery or are vinyl and CD’s still a big part of your distribution efforts?
Jesse: Our sales are split 2/3rd physical, 1/3rd digital. Vinyl has made an exceptionally strong comeback, compared to where it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a band-by-band decision- what do their crowd/their scene prefer? Some bands are CD/digital only, others are LP/digital only.
Melissa: Do you have any tips you would share with young artists trying to get heard?
Jesse: Tour a LOT. Put out your own EPs. Make them sound good. Tour a LOT. Repeat.
Melissa: We’ve had a few labels create merch, pair it with a download card, and sell it as their album. Has Alternative Tentacles ever sold pairings like this to add extra incentive?
Jesse: No, but Triclops! did that with a hand-crafted monster doll & a flash drive with their excellent 1st AT record. Creative ideas like this are really welcome.
Melissa: Are there any new trends in the music industry you think will crash and burn or alternatively make a positive impact?
Jesse: I am always meeting people who have no physical music collection. I don’t understand it because I don’t have as much trust in digital systems (i.e. computer hard drives) as they do. We’re told that physical is on the way out, but that trend is belied by the people who continue to buy physical product. I think that at the very least niches will always be out there for physical, but the question is, in what formats?
Right now, I don’t think that the “new trend” of cloud-based music/art is going to work because of the often-rickety nature of internet connectivity (sometimes due to issues completely outside of human control like the weather). AT&T’s connectivity issues with the iPhone are infamous (at least if you have an iPhone, sigh…). It also ignores the technological gap between first world technologically savvy music fans who are fully connected, and the rest of the planet. Having a cell phone in equatorial Africa doesn’t mean automatic access to music/programming.
_________________________________________________
Learn More About Alternative Tentacles here:http://www.alternativetentacles.com
Also check out:
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club
Dash Rip Rock
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