Rob Thomas and his longtime friend Evan Lamberg have started R Tel Records as a response to the current state of the music industry. According to Billboard, the venture began after Thomas had repeated conversations about talent development and came to the conclusion that record labels don't give artists enough of a chance.
R Tel Records is part of Sony BMG Epic Records, and will receive financial backing from its parent company in order to launch new artists. However, R Tel promises to stay dedicated to artists, regardless of sales.
Lamberg explained, "If you sell 30,000 records, we don't blink. We're making a second record. That's where patience factors in. We're not under the rule that we've got to ship a bunch of records in the next 90 days or our cash flow won't be right --there's no economic pressure."
Thomas revealed that he's also there to help any of the label's artists with songwriting and production, but only if they want the help.
"I'm doing a lot of writing with these artists and helping them produce," he said, "but it's not about me being a producer and having a writing credit on the record. I don't have to have any creative input whatsoever, but I'm definitely here if they want it. I'm like an in-house musician who's been through the last decade with really great success."
The label has already signed its first artist, British singer/songwriter Garfield Mayor. Mayor's debut album should be out this fall. And even if it totally sucks, he's not gonna go away. No, truthfully, this is exactly what the music industry needs. The decline in record sales can only be countered by increasing the number of artists with a dedicated fan base. If people love an artist, they'll support them financially. If they just think someone's beat is hot, they'll buy the ringtone and move on to a new artist du jour in 3 months. This is some real forward-thinking business, and it comes from the Matchbox 20 dude. What's next, will the singer of Three Doors Down launch a string of affordable concerts?
