Music: Huge Death Metal Scene Update

Sony Now Owns A Metal Label

If you're not into death metal you can just tune out on the bands and label names in this update, just read it as an example of what's going on in the music business as if in a mainstream magazine but you've never heard of the bands before.

This is a huge Death Metal scene update, if this was on other pages like blabbermouth.net then they would be saying it was the "event of the century" or something because they always say Century Media is the biggest and top of metal. 

Well, they're dead now. 

Now that Century Media Records is dead it's leaving massive ramifications in the Death Metal music Community, thus making it a huge story.

Whilst continuing, in Death Metal without them.

The Death Of Century Media Records

Get you pens out bloggers because this is going into the history of metal right now. So if you want to get in on the history of metal happening then you need to follow this story, you need to connect your band to the Death Of Century Media Records right now.

Then you can say things like "Well after Century Media closed this left openings in the market which is where we got our start at." etc. You'll have to do that on your own though, but now's the time get on that if you want to get somewhere in metal for yourself off their business closure.

That's because your band could be in on the start of the next labels opening if you get going now, I'm assuming there will be a huge rush of bands swarming the carcass of Century Media Records to get their own piece of the hole they left in the scene. 

Hopefully new bands will be flooding the market in record numbers trying to make it in Death Metal.

Now in the Death Metal world we're entering what is now called the post Century Media Records days, an exciting time for all in metal.

Being from Corporate Business I already know what will happen when a big company like that closes, if fact I'm already getting ready to run down to the gas station to see if Sony has filled a cutout bin yet of their old titles for 0.99 cents each.

Hopefully these will be the days of the cutout bin after a big business closure, if Sony does a cutout bin you may be able to get all those old cds super cheap if they decide to do that. 

Don't count on it though, they may just sell off their old stock regular. Hopefully they'll be a big clearance sale. Then at home you can clean up on discounted metal albums from the Sony cutout bin.

Now this may or will be happening with Sony, based on my Corporate experience.

To add to metal's history I'll run down the facts and make assumptions on these issues.

First I'm assuming that if Century Media closed then Earache, Relapse and Nuclear Blast will follow or may have already been sold and they haven't told anyone yet. For now it's just Century Media.

What I am hearing is that this has to do with the "Venom - Assault" box set that recently came out and when you opened it it was a bootleg with an lp copies onto a disc in it stolen from BMG Rights Management.

Even though that was just recently released this might be an ongoing issue that is just breaking in the public now. So maybe they were aware of these issues a few years ago and I'm just catching up and seeing what's going on during their transition.

This could be coming from the accusations of plagiarism from fans for several years now about those death metal labels, now one has been bought by Sony.

I'm not going to look all this up right now so I'm just going from memory here about Century Media's back catalog etc. so these are just examples.

First, I'm not criticizing any band members here of those labels so whatever those band are doing that's their business, maybe the label led them into it I don't know. Bands will probably say the label led them into it anyway just to get out of it.

So I'm not criticizing band members here if their on that. However, people may have "personal" issues with bands if they got plagiarized which are private matters.

So if I say Exodus or Slayer whatever they are doing is their issue, I'm not criticizing them so whatever they're doing is up to them. 

That's because it's so widespread across those labels it's beyond one band, so whatever the bands are doing that's up to them. I'm not criticizing them unless it's a direct personal issue.

Everyone says that it's the labels that are doing it. So what, are they getting bands to do that? 

I'm talking about the labels not the band members because I still like their bands, the band members can say whatever they want and not my criticism.

Knowing band members, they'll probably blame the label.

The rumor is that the metal labels were going around saying they could use other people's material and copyrights and plagiarize everyone because they were heavy metal labels.

Then when they did it and put the records out everyone complained and now their getting closed.

Apparently they did this because they have been going for decades and never had a hit song. 

So they thought they were so small that no one would say anything to them for using other people's material then when they released it everyone flipped out and now Century Media is closed and owned by Sony.

From what I am hearing that is all through metal at that level but I don't have specific examples right now for all of it.

For example though, people are telling me that Exodus plagiarized Abba on their last record but I don't know for sure.

Now,  Exodus-Bonded by Blood their first record was reissued on Century Media and now it's owned by Sony.

Sony now owns the back catalog of Exodus from the Century Media Reissues (it it's still on it). So what? Exodus plagiarized Abba and now Sony owns their back catalog on a rights management company?

That's what people are saying but it's all rumor.

Let's say that they did plagiarize other artists at Century Media, now Sony owns their music catalog.

The sale of Century Media could have been a settlement for all we know.

Now for any label's who plagiarized big artists Sony and them will go out and take their catalogs and put them on a rights management company and own them.

Here are the crazy ramifications.

Right now Sony is transferring all the Century Media artists to a rights management company. Now will they take the Century Media logo off the titles? Probably.

Then what? The label is still running and putting out albums. After the rights are changed to the management company the Century Media name will probably be dropped if they do all that.

So after they do that are the current artists dropped from Sony?

Century Media is currently running at Sony, after they transfer the catalog to a rights management company are they all going to be dropped from the label?

The question here is Sony keeping the metal artists or dropping them when they transfer the catalog?

We will have to wait and see what happens.

So this is big for the Death Metal scene because all their artists are on Sony now.

Bands like Asphyx and Cryptopsy which are a couple of my favorite bands are now on Sony. That's the biggest record deal they ever got.

Then they're going to be moved to a rights management company.

Do they get any money for that or what?

With Sony selling that the bands might get no money at all. If Sony bought  100% of the rights to Century Media's back catalog then Cryptopsy or Asphyx might have lost the rights to them or they may get paid.

The point is, those bands may have lost their albums and now their on a Sony rights management company.

If that sale was a legal settlement then Cryptopsy or Asphyx may never get anything. Sony will say they have to sell the records to get their money back.

Then Cryptopsy and Asphyx will have to try and get a settlement for royalties and Sony will tell them to get in line until they get their money back first.

That's because if that was a plagiarism issue then Sony will sell Cryptopsy and Asphyx to get their money recovered.

Then the bands will get nothing. Sony in fact may own the records outright anyway now if they bought Century Media anyway or they may already have a deal in place to pay the artists.

No one knows.  

So what Cryptopsy from Montreal are finally on Sony on a rights management company but they don't own their record. 

So that's the biggest record deal they ever had but they might not own their records now and get nothing.

However, that might just be speculation and Sony already worked it out about the bands. We'll have to wait and see what Sony does with the catalog.

You could still make money off that deal though, if those bands on Century Media lose their albums to a Sony rights management company they could always buy them wholesale from Sony and sell them at shows.

They're all on this huge label now and might no get royalties or anything, that's how these things happen.

For all I know Century Media may have owned them outright anyway.

Let's say that this is all from plagiarism and bootlegging like that Venom lp rip box set.

Sony and them may take all those labels catalogs and put them in a rights management company and never give the bands anything because the labels owe them money.

Again though, they may work it out with them.

Classic albums like Carcass, Entombed, Dismember, Hypocrisy etc. may all end up on a Sony rights management company because of the plagiarism if that's all true.

Like the Slayer record with Paris Hilton's picture on it if that's true may mean Sony will take their catalog and sell it to get their money back and never give bands like Hypocrisy anything if that happens.

Then all those albums will be in a discount bin at Sony and reissued on a rights management company leaving the label and artists with nothing. Potentially, if that's from plagiarism and bootlegging.

Finally, and this is important.

In the 1980's when metal closed big labels like Sony and Polygram dropped all the bands and let them go.

Later, BMG bought Venom and Neat Records etc (Sanctuary Records) and put it on a a rights holding company BMG Rights Management.

So BMG rights management bought back a bunch of the 1980's catalog.

Then other bands like Exodus and Possessed were dropped completely and  then later reissued on Century Media.

Labels like Sony originally let those bands go and then their albums go passed around from label to label being reissued.

Then they ended up on Century Media and now Sony bought it.

So Sony bought back all the back catalog reissues of bands like Exodus and Possessed and put them on a rights management company.

Now like with BMG Rights Management Sony will probably just keep them out of circulation and off smaller labels for reissues.

Sony will probably not give them back if it's over plagiarism and just keep them on a rights management company.

If that happens as people are saying then labels catalogs like Earache, Relapse and Nuclear Blast will all end up on a Sony rights management company so they get their money back and they will never release them to be reissued on smaller labels like Century Media because of issues like plagiarism and bootlegging.

Now all those albums will probably just be held in a Sony vault on a rights management company and not let go to be reissued on small labels meaning the artists will never get them back to reissue them on smaller labels like Exodus and Possessed did on Century Media.

Now with Century Media Records dead, everyone will be down there from Death Metal carving up their hole in market place trying to get a piece of their rotting carcass in the void they left in heavy metal promotion.

I know I will be the first one down there to get a piece of their dead carcass to make a name for myself in Death Metal off their demise. I'm sure all new 'zines and labels will rise up to fill their void in music publishing.

When I'm there carving up their corpse in the death metal scene to make a name for myself and hopefully get a piece of the business void they left behind to get ahead in death metal for myself I'll be sure to blog about what's happening so other's can follow in my path to make a name for themselves off the Death of Century Media Records, and possibly also be part of the history of metal as it's happening today.

 -END-