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(return
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World Blues
Fred Litwin's Canadian label, NorthernBlues, has come a long
way in a short time. In its two years of operation, the label
has been nominated for five W.C. Handy Awards, three Canadian
Independent Music Awards, and two Juno Awards. Otis Taylor's
White African won the 2002 Handy for Best New Artist Debut,
and Harry Manx's Dog My Cat took home the 2002 Canadian
Indie for Blues Album of the Year.
"I've been lucky to a certain degree," Litwin says.
"Lucky to have found Otis: That gave me a great springboard
to launch the label and make a wave." Taylor and Manx, in
particular, currently are riding that wave with rave reviews
from critics and fans.
Litwin says he's looking for artists who are unique, whose music
doesn't fit the standard 12-bar, three-chord blues mold. "Finding
Harry Manx, who melds Indian melodies into blues, was fantastic.
I would love to find, in the next 10 years, a blues band in China
and have a whole series - Filipino, Chinese, Brazilian, whatever."
Finding an audience willing to make that leap is tricky, too.
Litwin describes NorthernBlues' listeners as "a standard
blues audience, but people who are interested in crossover or
something different. I've focused mostly on blues radio shows.
I'm not sure how to get significant AAA radio and it gets cost-prohibitive
to market that. In Canada, radio stations have to play a certain
amount of Canadian content. So when I send out Canadian CDs,
they're going to get airplay no matter what. And the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts nationwide, so I get some
national airplay, and that's fantastic. In the States, it's tougher
to get [National Public Radio] as opposed to CBC. I can get blues
shows, but it's harder to get significant national airplay in
the States."
But the reaction to NorthernBlues' output so far tells Litwin
the audience is there. He says listening posts in record stores
like Borders, despite the cost, are effective ways to reach new
fans. "You've got 340 listening posts across the [U.S.]
and you get prominence in the store. It's not easy to get, because
you have to apply for it and hope they pick your CD so you can
spend your money. I'm not sure of the exact criteria [Borders
uses to evaluate CDs]. Clearly, they look at what they think
people will buy. Having a track record helps, too. White African
sold last year, so it was an easy decision for them to accept
Respect the Dead [Taylor's latest album]. And I assume,
in the future, Otis will be pretty easy to get up on there."
Marketing blues that doesn't always sound "traditional"
is difficult. Record stores and the press often find it easier
to deal with music that can be easily categorized. "The
blues critics, I think, more easily accept a Corey Harris expanding
the blues with hip-hop and a variety of other genres than they
do with somebody like Harry Manx, who extends the blues with
Indian melodies. I'm not exactly sure why. I have a CD coming
out next year with Harry Manx and Kevin Breit, Cassandra Wilson's
guitarist. It's a blues CD, but they extend it with country and
jazz and, of course, Indian, and I worry whether people will
be as accepting of that as, say, Corey Harris' CD."
Outside the blues press, Litwin says lifestyle-oriented magazines
could be one avenue to explore. "I'd love to get Harry Manx
in food magazines that feature Indian cooking. Perhaps I should
start looking into advertising in places like National Geographic
or something, magazines that hit a certain age demographic. I
can't afford to spend much money on advertising and radio promotion.
Retail promotion eats up a huge part of my budget. It's a real
tough equation to get right."
For now, Litwin counts heavily on CD sales at festivals. He says
Manx sold a record-setting 739 CDs off the stage at an Australian
festival last year. His Canadian artists work folk and blues
festivals in Canada, and the label has distribution in Europe.
Litwin is now setting his sights on the Japanese market.
His artists also have been getting exposure
through film and television soundtracks. Taylor will have four
songs in a Billy Bob Thornton movie, The Badge, expected
to debut on the STARZ! network in the fall. Paul Reddick's music
has been used in a movie, and Rita Chiarelli's work has appeared
on a TV series.
"It's been a fantastic experience," says Litwin of
his adventures in owning a label. "I've been delighted with
the response. I wish the whole process was easier of getting
it in the stores and selling; we're just on the edge with NorthernBlues.
I feel great about [the music], but the financial side is always
nerve-wracking."
For more on NorthernBlues visit
the label's Web
site.
(continue
to part 3: "We're going to make blues music geared toward
youth")
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