Blue Note Records is an institution in the world of jazz musicians. Last month, the legendary
label celebrated its 70-year anniversary with some of its most successful
artists, including Norah Jones and Lou Donaldson.
Photo courtesy of perole/flickr.com
At 70 years old, one would think a company would have certain
security in the business, but Blue Note’s future as a primarily jazz label
isn’t too comfortable. The company has already made attempts to keep up with
the times and trends of the music industry. It is now owned by the larger music
corporation EMI, which was bought by Terra Firma in 2007. Blue Note also opened
its doors to more commercial artists like Jones and Anita Baker in the past decade.
Even with these adjustments, Blue Note is still finding it
hard to be profitable as a jazz-focused label. And with their current leader,
Bruce Lundvall, heading into the retirement years of a career — Lundvall took over the label
in 1984, making 2009 his 25th year at Blue Note and 49th
year in the business — the company has some restructuring to do to remain a top
name in music.
After Blue Note received the Record Academy’s President’s
Merit Award at the 2009 Grammy Salute to Jazz last month,
EMI’s president for A&R, Nick Gatfield, hinted at future changes for the
label.
“Blue Note as a label and a heritage is very important to
EMI. There is no question that it’s not going to be just a catalog. It needs to
flourish and grow.”
But the company admits that’s difficult in the jazz world
because of the extremely focused audience. Guitarist Lionel Loueke’s debut
album, despite high acclaim, sold just 6,000 copies since its release last
year. And that’s on the higher end for jazz records. Compared to the more than
500,000 albums Britney Spears sold her debut week for “Circus,” that number is
petty cash.
“With the serious jazz artists, you look to break even or
make a small profit,” Lundvall told The
New York Times.
“You keep the budgets in line, do the best marketing job
that you can and stay with the artists as they develop.”
The best investment to help an artist grow is to offer the
albums in digital form on services like iTunes and Rhapsody because catalog is
no longer cutting it. Lundvall said that catalog once accounted for about half
of Blue Note’s revenue and now is only one-third. Furthermore, the label made
some cuts recently, offering some albums in solely digital form on the
aforementioned services.
But never fear! All hope is not lost for Blue Note to remain
the legendary jazz-focused label it is. Lundvall said he doesn’t see a smaller
future headed for the company, whether he remains at the helm or not. Blue
Note’s longevity at the top demonstrates its knowledge of the industry and
ability to adjust to the ever-changing world.
Plus, even if he does retire, Lundvall’s won’t be completely
out of the blue note picture.
“I don’t want to sit around the house and mow the lawn,” he
said. “I want to keep doing this.”
In other words, optimism exists. Success will continue.
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