Shock horror, but nowadays it’s just not as fashionable simply to blame the labels for not “getting the internet”. So, as part of a series of regular features Music Ally will over the next few issues spotlight some leading North American managers to get their views on how the labels are learning to deal with the challenges of digital.This week we spoke to Bertis Downs, manager of REM; Scott Welch, who has represented Alanis Morrissette, LeAnn Rimes, and Collective Soul among others; Terry McBride, ubiquitous manager of Barenaked Ladies, Avril Lavigne, and Sarah McLachlan.Bertis Downs is very positive about his longstanding relationship with Warner. “They have a great team led by Ethan Kaplan. He's very young – under 30 – and very much a techie. Warner realize their entire company – not just the new media department – but the whole company now has to embrace this.”In July 2007 REM played a five night residency in Dublin as part of its working rehearsal for the 2008 album Accelerate. The residency formed the hub of most of the pre-release digital activity for the band. “I'd been reading an article in the New Yorker, and it gave us the idea to do [...]
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