Rhino gutted

Warners is laying-off pretty much everybody at Rhino right now. Bummer.
Those guys acquired the Ugano's tape, no?

Message to Easy Action:
Might be worth taking another shot at acquiring the tape.

That's bad news (especially if you've lost your job) - Rhino was one of the only record labels with any understanding of the value of archive recordings.
Richard

Yeah, I know. I own dozens of their releases beyond the Funhouse box. One of the few companies left where I could tell music-lovers had some clout, not just the bean counters.

I'm just hoping a few leaner & meaner companies like EA can step in and acquire some of the recordings before they disappear into a vault or the rights get tied up in court.

Sign of the times. Some a-hole personally makes 3.7 billion dollars off of that frickin' sub-prime pyramid scheme and Rhino goes under. Whoo Hooo! GOOD TIMES!

The only hopeful thing about "this here recession/depression they got on" is that some good art and music might result from it. The idiots in charge of record companies are just that, idiots. They just can understand that they may make their quick bucks on their Hanna Montana's and Jonas Brothers marketing scheme based musical acts, but they will never have people buying these "artists" crap twenty years from now. The record industry only cares about quick, short term returns. Not steady, long term returns.
This very forum proves that steady long term returns are possible if you concentrate on talented artists. Over thirty years after a band that had little success in their own time, we are here chatting in this forum about that very band. And moreover, we are purchasing every little scrap of musice ever produced by this band. Just think of all the money Elektra could have made if they had had a little faith in the Stooges and had properly supported them from the beginning. More over just think of all the more quality music that could have been created. Hell, just a couple of professionally recorded live gigs would have been nice.

That's terrible news. They have produced fantastic stuff.Along with EA, they are one of the very few that do it for the love of the music, rather than just going for mega-sales.
Let's hope it's a short term measure and they get it going again once the recession recovery happens.

Rob Gallucci wrote:

Let's hope it's a short term measure and they get it going again once the recession recovery happens.

Rich people by nature aren't usually interested in obscure musical artifacts. That is unless they can make a profit off of it somehow. For the most part they are the only people who aren't in this recession/depression. A situation that won't be seeing any sort of real recovery for working folks for a long time. Said working folks are the people who are usually most interested in obscure musical artifacts.

ElRoi wrote:

Just think of all the money Elektra could have made if they had had a little faith in the Stooges and had properly supported them from the beginning. .

now there is a thought. but then they wouldn't quite have been the same Stooges we all know and love so much. The same incredible story.

more info here http://blurt-online.com/news/view/2826/

Nadja wrote:

ElRoi wrote:

Just think of all the money Elektra could have made if they had had a little faith in the Stooges and had properly supported them from the beginning. .

now there is a thought. but then they wouldn't quite have been the same Stooges we all know and love so much. The same incredible story.

You're probably right.

dynamite boogie wrote:

more info here http://blurt-online.com/news/view/2826/

thanks for that info

Is everyone else tormented by the thought that Warner's have already paid out for the Ungano's tape and... , now that Rhino appears to be defunct, may never release it?!

Anyone know of a way to contact the right department in Warner's to find out their intentions? I started talking about petitioning Columbia for a RP remix with audible bass/drums some time ago, and there was not much interest. That's fine, but... Ungano's? Surely it might be worth (collectively) trying something?!

i can tell you first hand by working with warner, that they completely suck ass. now, i don't want to say this will DEFINITELY happen...again, things could change...but warner is the type of label (like most major ones) that it comes down to...

1. will the artist sell enough to cover their expenses or more?
2. will this appeal to the mass worldwide (aka: a shit load of sales)

i used to work closely with them via their message board/behind the scenes for the finnish band HIM. back in 2004, HIM signed a deal with sire records + their first full-length via sire was dark light. it hit gold with a shit load of promotion.. yadda-yadda-yadda.. time for their release of their 2nd album through sire venus doom and a live album.

barely any promo. sales never surpassed dark light barely any radio play.

I don't doubt this Shakes, but they must have thought Ungano's was enough of a viable "product" to buy the tape in the first place? Unless they only bought it for the potential re-sale value of the tape to someone who seriously wants to release it? (is that the sort of thing a company like Warner's would do?)

Rob Gallucci wrote:

Is everyone else tormented by the thought that Warner's have already paid out for the Ungano's tape and... , now that Rhino appears to be defunct, may never release it?!

Anyone know of a way to contact the right department in Warner's to find out their intentions? I started talking about petitioning Columbia for a RP remix with audible bass/drums some time ago, and there was not much interest. That's fine, but... Ungano's? Surely it might be worth (collectively) trying something?!

I hope you're wrong about the possibility of the Ungano tapes not being released. Surely to god they would sell them to someone else before they just let them rot. BOMP and Easy Action should pool their resources and buy the damn things before they disappear into some vault never to be heard again.

Well, technically Warners didn't buy it, Rhino did. A small difference, but a difference.

I think the most likely place to release that is through Rhino Handmade. The proper Rhino label is apparently going to more downloadable product because the box sets that they are known for don't sell as well as they did. There are very few places to actually sell them. Rhino Handmade, on the other hand is for those limited appeal items that collectors want - CDs, booklets, pictures, essays - the whole package.

Rhino Handmade's website features a Suggestion Box where folks can send them a message with ideas of what to release. They ask that you tell them what project and why you think that there would be a market for it.

With Ron's recent passing, James rejoining the band, a new tour fast approaching, Robert Matheu's new book, Easy Action's release of much Stooges archive material and the media attention that all of this is generating / going to generate and the fact that they were able to completely sell out a very large and expensive Funhouse box; it would seem to me a perfect time to "cash in" on the current market and put out a deluxe Rhino Handmade set of The Stooges Live at Ungano's .

The link for that is -

http://rhinohandmade.com/suggestions.lasso

If a campaign were started this would seem to be a likely place to begin.

this is really bad news, like everyone i really did like Rhino, its strange to like a label, well i suppose its not really (motown, elektra etc) but of the current labels, rhino and EA were favourites

unlike most labels they seemed to care about the music as much as we did

larry fine wrote:

Well, technically Warners didn't buy it, Rhino did. A small difference, but a difference.

I think the most likely place to release that is through Rhino Handmade. The proper Rhino label is apparently going to more downloadable product because the box sets that they are known for don't sell as well as they did. There are very few places to actually sell them. Rhino Handmade, on the other hand is for those limited appeal items that collectors want - CDs, booklets, pictures, essays - the whole package.

Rhino Handmade's website features a Suggestion Box where folks can send them a message with ideas of what to release. They ask that you tell them what project and why you think that there would be a market for it.

With Ron's recent passing, James rejoining the band, a new tour fast approaching, Robert Matheu's new book, Easy Action's release of much Stooges archive material and the media attention that all of this is generating / going to generate and the fact that they were able to completely sell out a very large and expensive Funhouse box; it would seem to me a perfect time to "cash in" on the current market and put out a deluxe Rhino Handmade set of The Stooges Live at Ungano's .

The link for that is -

http://rhinohandmade.com/suggestions.lasso

If a campaign were started this would seem to be a likely place to begin.

Done.

Here's what I wrote:

The Stooges - Live at Ungano's. From what I understand Rhino has this material. Ask anyone, after 30 years apart upon reforming as the Stooges (not Iggy &, but the Stooges) in 2003 the band were having some of the most exuberant and wide spread success of their career. Unfortunately, this exuberance would be short lived when the sudden and tragic death of the beloved Ron Asheton shocked us all. A devastating blow that would have in all likelihood derailed this glorious reunion if suffered by lesser bands. However, we are not talking about weaklings, we are talking about "a most powerful band, the Stooges." With a fortuitous move almost no Stooge fan saw coming Iggy invited James "the Skull" Williamson to rejoining the band. The man that had helped to reshape the Stooges sound for the Raw Power album would be returning and the dream that so many Stooges fans had seen at last fulfilled in 2003 would not die with Ron. With the Stooges recent nomination for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the announcement of dates for 2009's ATP and a 2010 tour being planned along with recent releases of both Robert Matheu's book titled "the Stooges: An Authorized and Illustrated Story" and Easy Action Record's exquisite "You Don't Want My Name...You Want My Action" box set there seems to be quit a large buzz not only on the web, but also in the mainstream media. The very fact that Rhino Handmade were able to completely sell out a very large and expensive Fun House box set should be reason enough for you to seriously consider anything you have or can get by the Stooges. It would seem to me that now would be a perfect time to "cash in" on the current market by putting not only a deluxe Rhino Handmade set of The Stooges Live at Ungano's, but possibly a definitive Stooges Anthology. Don't take my word for it, just take a Google around the interweb and see how much interest there is in the Stooges at this time. Anyway, the Stooges are hot right now and Rhino Handmade should seriously consider releasing anything of reasonable quality that you can obtain the rights to by the Stooges.

I plagiarized larry a little bit there, but if everyone on this forum will do the same we might actually get something done. Maybe.

I have also sent the "Ungano's" suggestion.

Let's hope they listen to us!

StoogesFan wrote:

I have also sent the "Ungano's" suggestion.

Let's hope they listen to us!

Also make the suggestion of a definitive Stooges Anthology box set. Everything remastered including the best of all the various live recordings. They could have a online vote for fans to pick the top 10 or so live recordings and have them all remastered to the best quality technically and humanly possible.

larry fine wrote:

Rhino Handmade's website features a Suggestion Box where folks can send them a message with ideas of what to release. They ask that you tell them what project and why you think that there would be a market for it.

With Ron's recent passing, James rejoining the band, a new tour fast approaching, Robert Matheu's new book, Easy Action's release of much Stooges archive material and the media attention that all of this is generating / going to generate and the fact that they were able to completely sell out a very large and expensive Funhouse box; it would seem to me a perfect time to "cash in" on the current market and put out a deluxe Rhino Handmade set of The Stooges Live at Ungano's .

The link for that is -

http://rhinohandmade.com/suggestions.lasso

If a campaign were started this would seem to be a likely place to begin.

Cheers Larry. I have added my request there also. I hope everyone who wants to hear Ungano's (or whatever else Rhino may have) does so too. It might fail, or it might just succeed! Thanks again for the link!

Rhino did buy the Unganos recording and have been sitting on that as well as some other first album outtakes that they didn't use on the Deluxe Edition in 2005. I approached them with Unganos in the Spring of 2008 and they passed on it, I was going to buy it myself from the guy who got it from Danny Fields, then Rhino snapped it up when they got wind that someone else was interested. I met with them again this past Spring as we were finishing the book as I wanted to partner up and maybe issue a 45rpm to include in the book, they said they had plans to release a 40th anniversary edition of The Stooges on Handmade this fall, but that has never panned out, as I would have been consulting on it for the band. I told them to hold off on Unganos until next year, on it's 40, that and the band has to be involved. Rhino's reluctance to partner up on the book, lead to our Raw Power Legacy Edition that has just gotten the green light for an April release. More on that as details emerge, but there is a good Detroit Metro Times interview with Iggy & James that just went online tonight.

Raw Power Legacy Edition??
Yes!!!!
More details please...
Cheers,
Richard

A dam good initiative ElRoi!
After You Want My Action the Ugano´s show is simply a wet dream, and hopefully it will become true!

I will follow your example. If a lot of the Stooges forum users do the same I guess the recordings will see the light of the day.

Cato

exciting news!

thanks for the great news (and slightly disappointing news - stooges 40th anniversary? that wouldve been cool, didnt know they had more outtakes too)

and the raw power legacy edition? is this the boxset we heard about?

i'll have to find that metro times article!

edit:

cathy posted it


"here is also a deluxe version of Raw Power due next April from Sony Legacy, featuring David Bowie's original mix (which, interestingly, has been out of print since Iggy's last remix in the 1990s), as well as a book (executive producer Matheu says he envisions something like the recent Miles Davis Kind of Blue set) and a board tape of a May 1973 show from an Atlanta club."

hopefully they'll fix the bowie one a little, im sure they will, and make it sound like the definitive version of raw power, somewhere between the visceral razor edged 'in the red' Iggy mix, which shows the power of the band, but with the nuance of the Bowie mix and let us hear the full band, Ron and Scott

should be good, and a book? sounds great, i'll have to have a look at the new kind of blue, i have a crappy 'eco package' version which is basically the CD in a weird hard foam/recycle thing -hopefully its not that one! lol

and thanks to Ron for the Atlanta show

they say its a 'board tape' - as in soundboard? how does that compare to say, somethig from the heavy liquid set? ive read soundboards are better quality is that true? have you heard the tape Robert?