Tampa Calling

Ever since the phrase “pull a Radiohead” entered the music blogosphere’s lexicon, we’ve watched as a diverse list of acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Saul Williams, Pennywise, and Portishead explore ways to reinvent the music business wheel. One of the highest-profile free agents is Pearl Jam – a group unafraid to fight corporate giants like Ticketmaster head-on. But Eddie Vedder and company don’t fear partnering up with a big box store either.

Billboard reports:

[Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis] confirmed that deals were also finished or in the works with an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and with a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores. “Target ended up allowing us to have other partners. We’ll be able to take care of all levels of the Pearl Jam fan…We wish we could tell the whole story right now, but all the deals aren’t done. Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition.”

Pearl Jam will follow in the footsteps of AC/DC, Prince, Guns n’ Roses, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and many other famous names that granted exclusivity deals with big box retailers. But Pearl Jam’s deal with Target is not quite as odious. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Portishead stands on a precipice in 2009, and endless possibilities lay before them. Their album Third, released last year, fulfilled their contractual obligations to Island Records – and as Pitchfork reported yesterday, Portishead are free agents. Here’s Geoff Barrow:

“with the world being the way it is, there are lots of options open … but if you lot have any bright ideas of how we should sell our music in the future, lets us know, why not! [...] i dont think that we’re into giving away music for free to be honest…it fukin takes ages to write and we have to heat our swimming pools…!!!”

I can’t imagine better circumstances for a band like Portishead. Although Portishead lacks the vast catalogue and consistent longevity of other bands that recently introduced new business models, they’ve still done more than enough to earn a decent following of rabid supporters – the type of fans who’ll wait 11 years for the band’s third album. They know how to make music – they just need to decide where to go from there.

Radiohead let fans name their own price for In Rainbows on top of a 90-cent service fee, and made a ton of money; probably less cash than if they picked a set price, but exponentially more than if they shared the profits with a record label under the dying system. Nine Inch Nails released the instrumental Ghosts I-IV independently, in a variety of digital and physical configurations, and cleared well over a million bucks in its first week alone! I’m not sure Portishead possess a high-enough mainstream profile to garner similar multi-million dollar attention from Live Nation as U2, Madonna, Jay-Z, or Nickelback, but it’s still an avenue to consider. Could you imagine the hipster outcry if Portishead went down that road?

So as Geoff said, if you’ve got an idea, pass it along. They’ve got pools to heat and music to write, and Portishead aren’t exactly known for doing things quickly. Here’s are a couple of good Portishead videos, one older, one new

Read the rest of this entry »

Portishead’s 1994 debut Dummy might be the sexiest album ever made. Seriously. There’s something about Beth Gibbons’ pleading vocals draped in those hypnotic beats that’s, well, sexy. Portishead’s self-titled sophomore release from 1997 is another late-night, trip-hop masterstroke and then there’s the 1998 live album I’ve never heard … and then nothing from Portishead.

Until now.

(OK, blog chatter has been predicting a new album from the British duo-turned-trio for months — my coworker Leilani submitted this Portishead post here at Tampa Calling last May. The first official statement, however, hit my inbox on Friday. The pic is the new album cover.)

From the press release:

Portishead announce the release of Third their hugely anticipated, new album, their fourth album in total and first since 1998’s Roseland NYC Live. Third is to be released on Mercury/Island on April 29th 2008. Portishead will appear on the main stage at Coachella on Saturday April 26, 2008.

Portishead are: Geoff Barrow, Adrian Utley and Beth Gibbons

TRACK LISTING
1. Silence
2. Hunter
3. Nylon Smile
4. The Rip
5. Plastic
6. We Carry On
7. Deep Water
8. Machine Gun
9. Small
10. Magic Doors
11.Threads