Royalty, Etc. Turns One
Big Anniversary Party at Minneapolis’ Big V’s on Sat., Feb. 24
In an April 2006 interview with Ty Morse, the head of the Royalty, Etc. label, we talked with the businessman and singer/songwriter about his love of the Twin Cities music scene and how nobody else was signing his favorite local bands.
In the year since, Royalty, Etc. has launched the careers of Middlepicker, Space Camp, Seymore Saves the World and ZibraZibra, who recently won a Minnesota Music Award, earning the group — and label — regional acclaim.
Morse is now off on a new adventure in New York City. Working for a major label but spending his free time at the new Royalty, Etc. New York office, Morse is poised to act as a conduit for Minneapolis-based groups to pipeline their tunage directly into the heart of the hub.
Help the label celebrate at the One Year Anniversary Party at Big V’s on Saturday, February 24th, including:
- ZibraZibra
- The False Guilt
- Collapsticator
- Parts for All Makes
- Middlepicker
A few weeks ago, we sat down with Morse to talk about the beginning of the label, groups on the roster and the big One Year Anniversary Party.
How did the Royalty, Etc. label get started?
The Label got started at the end of 2005 to try to keep a few of the local bands we loved going a little bit longer. There was so much amazing music in the Twin Cities. We really wanted to make something happen with all of it. We figured we’d do our best to get a few more albums recorded and see what happens along the way–try to get somewhat of a handle on how to use the web and future technology for this kind of business. A few of these bands just needed a little bit of help so we started the label to gather up the group. From there it was just a year of punching at the air and trying to figure out exactly how each segment of the music industry was collapsing and how to avoid the same fate.
What’s been the single greatest achievement of the past year?
Signing Seymore Saves the World and ZibraZibra. That allowed us to fill out our roster to the point where we felt like we weren’t looking for any new artists and we would be comfortable trying our ideas out on the set of groups that we had. Basically we’ve been working on a creating what we beleive is the record label of the future. We are testing our business model on our current roster, and then are going to build from there if it’s successful.
What’s the one thing you’re hoping will happen in the next year?
Massive proliferation of music downloading to mobile phones. We also hope someone makes a fantastic movie about smart rappers who have to defeat the Predator in a South American jungle.
What’s the one thing you’re hoping WON’T happen in the next year?
Economic collapse
Tell us about the NY office. Will you be signing NYC bands, now?
The NY office is simply an expansion of the office in the Twin Cities. Now we have two bases from which to work from. Having an office in NY allows us access to a greater quantity of opportunities as well as networking. In regards to other bands, we are not looking to expand the roster any further at this point. However, if something came up that we simply couldn’t pass up we’d bring them on board.
What about Minneapolis? Will you forget about us lonely Midwesterners?
Only the miserable ones!
Tell us about the anniversary party on Saturday.
It will be the culmination of one year of rock and roll. Bring the leftover mistletoe and champagne. New projects from the folks in Middlepicker and Space Camp. Hot off the press Royalty, Etc. 2007 samplers to all who attend. Tantalizing hints of the 2007 release schedule. Shots and cold beer.
Recent Comments