Pitchfork: Financiers Pull Plug On Kindercore Records

Financiers Pull Plug On Kindercore Records
Elaborate memorial to be built on former site of I Am The World Trade Center

[Posted Thursday, November 13th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Rod Waterman and Will Bryant report:
Kindercore, erstwhile and present home to bands like Dressy Bessy, Palomar, Maserati, Of Montreal, Masters of the Hemisphere, The Essex Green, Call and Response, I Am The World Trade Center and Japancakes, is calling it a day. Along with its sibling label The Telegraph Company, Kindercore will be closing its New York offices with just about immediate effect. The Telegraph distribution operation will continue "unabated," as Kindercore representatives tell us, but all Kindercore and Telegraph releases slated for 2004 have been shelved, with both labels on immediate and indefinite hiatus.

Jerod Gunsberg, label manager for both outfits, explains: "Kindercore and Telegraph's parent company, IDEA, was under pressure from Central National Bank (its primary creditor) to cut overhead and consolidate operations... record labels are high-risk ventures that require a good deal of capital spent, and take a long time for it to return, so the bank's decision was an easy one to make: get rid of the New York office, no new label releases, focus on the distribution arm."

Gunsburg explains that the Kindercore artists currently on tour will be able to ride their commitments out with the full backing of the Kindercore distribution/publicity machine. The closing of the label's office "has no impact on artists currently on tour," Gunsburg reports. "All tours are going to continue as planned. Kindercore artists are way too dedicated to let something like this stop them."

However, the artists whose records were planned for a 2004 release will be forced to find new homes for their upcoming albums. Among the projects the label had in the pipeline were new releases from I Am The World Trade Center and Japancakes as well as albums from new signings Gersey and Palomar. In a statement on the label's official message board Wednesday, Gunsburg elaborated: "There're great bands out there that need labels: Dressy Bessy, Paper Lions, Maserati, Jet By Day, Neal Pollack, Sasha Bell, Palomar (with a finished and incredible record ready to go), Japancakes, I Am The World Trade Center and Gersey. We were so looking forward to working the upcoming records. These are innovative, talented, dedicated artists that any label would be really lucky to have."

Kindercore entered into their financial relationship with IDEA in 2001 when the fledgling indie was already "on life support," according to Gunsburg. An ambitious Kindercore singles club that was to feature exclusive seven-inchers from Elephant 6-affiliated artists including The Apples In Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and others petered out less than a year after being announced. Many of the later singles never materialized, leaving subscribers empty-handed. A final compilation, The Great Singles Club Swindle, was announced in May of this year, to feature unreleased music from The Sunshine Fix, Essex Green, Call and Response and Ashley Park alongside highlights from the ill-fated singles club. As of September, the compilation was still being mastered and had yet to be mailed to subscribers some two years after the singles club folded.

During the label's relationship with IDEA, Kindercore attempted to change their business model by producing DVD content to accompany their album releases and entering into digital distribution agreements. But in a business climate where even major players like Dreamworks are throwing in the towel, neither move was bold enough to generate renewed interest in the label and its artists.

Outside of the aforementioned post, Kindercore's website currently gives no indication that anything is amiss, and we understand that it will continue to function-- with the only change being that it won't have any new releases to promote. Otherwise, "the Kindercore catalog will remain in print and going through all the distribution channels," Gunsburg told Pitchfork. "The website will remain active and orders will be filled."