Lyle E. Style
September 10, 2002, 05:19 PM
I know some of you might presume the worst right off the bat, but if you read the whole article........this might benefit ol' Moz or something like this anyhow
Artistic freedom, fun still float Buffett's boat
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 8/28/2002
Look again at Jimmy Buffett. Underneath his beach ballads lies the heart of a true businessman.
His fondness for owning eateries is well known - he has six Margaritaville restaurants and just opened his first Cheeseburger in Paradise, a new chain of beachy hangouts that he hopes will spread to Boston in the next year. The first opened last week in Indianapolis and became an immediate hit with his fans.
Yet, what seems to be exciting him the most these days is his new label, Mailboat Records. It is an independent label, Buffett's way of snubbing the major record companies he believes exploited him for most of his career.
''I'm looking at signing people who are at the end of contracts with major record companies, or who the record companies have given up on. I think there's a home for them at Mailboat,'' says Buffett, 56, who between business meetings is also performing the first of two sold-out shows at the Tweeter Center tomorrow night and Saturday.
Buffett's new album, ''Far Side of the World,'' came out on Mailboat and has sold 400,000 copies. His previous disk, ''Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,'' sold 600,000. These are impressive numbers by any standard, but they become more impressive when you realize that Mailboat offers a $5 royalty rate per album, versus $1 and $2 for most artists on major labels. In other words, you pocket a lot more money for selling the same number of units, while retaining more control over your music.
Mailboat's roster is growing and includes a diverse array of acts from the heavy-metal band Poison to pop-blues artist Boz Scaggs and country-rocker Maria McKee (of Lone Justice fame). Poison has already released music on Mailboat (which sells direct to retail), and the latter two acts will release their first Mailboat discs soon.
The only catch is that Mailboat does not spend money on radio promotion or other forms of promotion such as videos. It is set up more for veteran musicians who already have a following and can build from there.
''We don't chase hits,'' Buffett says, noting that a lot of major-label money goes in that direction and then is deducted from an artist's pay. ''If you're in the category where you can sell 50,000-plus albums, and you've got a following and you'll show up at your gigs and not bitch, then Mailboat works for you. Nobody is asking you to break records.
''At Mailboat,'' he says, ''it comes back to the artist to take responsibility for your own career. And that means going out and committing to the touring and promotional stuff on your own. But if you're willing to take that risk, you can make the kind of money that you deserve. It's not for everybody, so I don't see people flocking to Mailboat, but it's a formula that works for certain people.'' (Buffett is also talking to his friend, James Taylor, to gauge his interest at moving to the label.)
Apart from his label management, Buffett is keeping busy writing a new novel, ''A Salty Piece of Land,'' centering on the character, Tully Mars, who first appeared in his ''Tales From Margaritaville.'' He hopes to have the book done by October.
And, never fear, Buffett is still living a hedonistic lifestyle. He took seven weeks off this summer, part of which was spent fishing off the coasts of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. He also gave unannounced performances at the Rose & Crown in Nantucket (joining a band called Swing Dog) and at a club called the The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, N.Y., joining old friend Jerry Jeff Walker.
Buffett and his son, Cameron, also went out two nights on the Eagle, a Coast Guard tall ship out of Salem. ''We went to the Georges Bank, and I climbed all the way up in the rigging,'' he says. ''And I played a little show for the people on the ship.''
''Life in general is good. I hear the world is falling apart, and the music business [stinks], but I'm OK. I don't buy into the fear and doomsday stuff. I think you have to just keep plowing ahead.''
Artistic freedom, fun still float Buffett's boat
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 8/28/2002
Look again at Jimmy Buffett. Underneath his beach ballads lies the heart of a true businessman.
His fondness for owning eateries is well known - he has six Margaritaville restaurants and just opened his first Cheeseburger in Paradise, a new chain of beachy hangouts that he hopes will spread to Boston in the next year. The first opened last week in Indianapolis and became an immediate hit with his fans.
Yet, what seems to be exciting him the most these days is his new label, Mailboat Records. It is an independent label, Buffett's way of snubbing the major record companies he believes exploited him for most of his career.
''I'm looking at signing people who are at the end of contracts with major record companies, or who the record companies have given up on. I think there's a home for them at Mailboat,'' says Buffett, 56, who between business meetings is also performing the first of two sold-out shows at the Tweeter Center tomorrow night and Saturday.
Buffett's new album, ''Far Side of the World,'' came out on Mailboat and has sold 400,000 copies. His previous disk, ''Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,'' sold 600,000. These are impressive numbers by any standard, but they become more impressive when you realize that Mailboat offers a $5 royalty rate per album, versus $1 and $2 for most artists on major labels. In other words, you pocket a lot more money for selling the same number of units, while retaining more control over your music.
Mailboat's roster is growing and includes a diverse array of acts from the heavy-metal band Poison to pop-blues artist Boz Scaggs and country-rocker Maria McKee (of Lone Justice fame). Poison has already released music on Mailboat (which sells direct to retail), and the latter two acts will release their first Mailboat discs soon.
The only catch is that Mailboat does not spend money on radio promotion or other forms of promotion such as videos. It is set up more for veteran musicians who already have a following and can build from there.
''We don't chase hits,'' Buffett says, noting that a lot of major-label money goes in that direction and then is deducted from an artist's pay. ''If you're in the category where you can sell 50,000-plus albums, and you've got a following and you'll show up at your gigs and not bitch, then Mailboat works for you. Nobody is asking you to break records.
''At Mailboat,'' he says, ''it comes back to the artist to take responsibility for your own career. And that means going out and committing to the touring and promotional stuff on your own. But if you're willing to take that risk, you can make the kind of money that you deserve. It's not for everybody, so I don't see people flocking to Mailboat, but it's a formula that works for certain people.'' (Buffett is also talking to his friend, James Taylor, to gauge his interest at moving to the label.)
Apart from his label management, Buffett is keeping busy writing a new novel, ''A Salty Piece of Land,'' centering on the character, Tully Mars, who first appeared in his ''Tales From Margaritaville.'' He hopes to have the book done by October.
And, never fear, Buffett is still living a hedonistic lifestyle. He took seven weeks off this summer, part of which was spent fishing off the coasts of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. He also gave unannounced performances at the Rose & Crown in Nantucket (joining a band called Swing Dog) and at a club called the The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, N.Y., joining old friend Jerry Jeff Walker.
Buffett and his son, Cameron, also went out two nights on the Eagle, a Coast Guard tall ship out of Salem. ''We went to the Georges Bank, and I climbed all the way up in the rigging,'' he says. ''And I played a little show for the people on the ship.''
''Life in general is good. I hear the world is falling apart, and the music business [stinks], but I'm OK. I don't buy into the fear and doomsday stuff. I think you have to just keep plowing ahead.''