Toby Keith unveiled his new record label today (August 31, 2005) at a press conference in Nashville. Show Dog Nashville and its counterpart, Big Machine Records, will be distributed by Universal Music and Video Distribution. “It’s a pretty big undertaking with every business lesson I’ve ever learned in hand,” Keith told The Associated Press.
“Probably 75 percent of the people in this town think I’ll fail, and the other 25 percent hope I fail,” said Keith, who has had high-profile clashes with The Dixie Chicks and Peter Jennings.
But Keith is optimistic other artists will want to join his label after their contracts with others are up.
“I think we’ll be able to sit back and watch people jump over the wall into my nut house,” he said.
Keith said he likes the freedom of his own record label. “We can literally make a decision at noon and get started by 1 p.m.,” he said.
As reported by Billboard.com, Keith and veteran label executive Scott Borchetta have partnered up for the new venture that will see them each running a label, but sharing staff, resources and office space.
Keith says he and Borchetta started talking about joining forces and ìfound out we had a lot more in common than we had differences.î
For Borchetta, who was instrumental in taking Keith from star to superstar at DreamWorks, the new venture is a bit like getting the band back together.As reported last week, much of the former DreamWorks team, including VP/sales Johnny Rose, West coast regional promoter Lisa Owen and Northeast regional promoter Suzanne Durham have joined Show Dog/Big Machine in similar capacities.
At DreamWorks, Borchetta says, ìWe helped change the game . . . This [new venture] will be an extension of a lot of the ideals we had there.î
One new addition to the staff is Show Dog GM George Nunes, formerly of Sovereign Artists. Keith says he knew Nunes only by reputation, but hired him ìon the spotî the first time they met.
Show Dog will serve as the umbrella company. Releases from Keith’s label will bear only that imprint. Borchetta’s releases will be labeled Big Machine/Show Dog. Borchetta calls the set-up ìone staff with two A&R sources.î
Borchetta predicts that the combined roster for the two labels will eventually top out at seven to 10 acts, including Keith.
Earlier this year Keith announced plans to start a large publishing company and sign 10-15 writers. While still in the works, Keith now says those plans have been scaled back so he can focus on the label.
In addition to Owen, Durham, and VP of promotion and marketing Denise Roberts, the rest of the previously-reported promotion and marketing team will comprise John Zarling (national promotion and new media), Tony Morreale (Southeast), Greg Sax (Southwest) and Darcy Miller Lashinsky (promotion coordinator). All are experienced Nashville promotion execs.
ìOur promotion department is lethal,î boasts Borchetta. ìWe’ve got veterans in every corner.î
Borchetta’s wife, Sandi Spika-Borchetta, will handle creative services for Big Machine. Office manager Andrew Kautz joins from Emerald Studios.
With the staff he and Keith have assembled, Borchetta predicts the label will ìhave monster game from day one.î
source: Billboard/Associated Press
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