What a week. Modest Mouse debuts at #1 on the Billboard Charts with 128k records. And music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, the brains – well, ears – behind the Death Cab-heavy soundtracks to The O.C. and Grey's Anatomy announces she’ll be setting up shop at Atlantic Records. With her own imprint, Chop Shop Records, Patsavas told the Underwire, she'll develop a "focused roster" and work closely with the types of bands she’s been championing (ex; Modest Mouse's "The World At Large" on The O.C.)
Bottom line: the venture makes sense. Last summer we dubbed her the “hottest talent scout in the business.” This isn't exactly a new trend, but major labels would be smart to keep bringing in tastemakers and give ‘em their own little niches.
Set the bar lower. Keep the budgets even lower. Nurture artists that resonate with a core audience.
While the particulars for her label (i.e. sales expectations) are still being worked out, Patsavas told the Underwire she’ll be hiring a small staff, including A&R (and yes, it takes more than cruising MySpace to sign a good band).
Let’s back up for a second, though. What if this whole indie thing is just a flash in the plan? After all, grunge came and went in about five years (1991 – 1996). Let's say indie blew up around 2004. Does that mean the genre’s days could be numbered?
“I think grunge had a much more defined sound. It was a definite time and place in a way that ‘indie’ really isn’t,” explained Patsavas, “There’s a lot of great bands coming out of Montreal and Sweden and Iceland, not just the United States, and they all sound so different. Music really is better than ever now.”
Indeed.
*knock on wood*
