Sunset Continues to Develop Music Through Its Digital Record Label

Sunset has just launched a digital record label this month, finding, signing and developing music artists with the overall objective of breaking them through its distribution system, licensing network, radio promotion, press and media departments along with its live download company and radio network.

New York, NY, January 16, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Sunset Connect is the now the backbone for the Sunset Records digital division and moreover, this is one of their best ways for the label to find new music. The label will function as a newly created division at the Sunset record label based in New York City. The label started this month by releasing full length albums by D’Cyple, Obka, Ric Laue, Kan’Nal, Starr Cullars, Cryout, a Cracker / David Lowery type of songwriter from England named Clayton Road; and many compilations that feature popular music artists (The Crystal Method, Fatboy Slim, Sneaker Pimps, Gavin Friday, Eve Gallagher, Boy George), and will now begin to sign more music every month during this first year.

Don Lichterman, the head of Sunset Records, will run the digital only label during the key launch stages in the first few months, finding new talent and implementing the A&R and lead time administration. The Sunset Connect digital label is set up to develop bands working everything to major radio, press, retail and for licensing opportunities in film, TV and commercials in an automated way. Lichterman’s Sunset Live download company will be run through the Sunset Connect distribution system although it will be a standalone company run by its own staff. The live concert download company has just released a very special live concert by the world famous comedian, Roz (Last Comic Standing, Laff House Live).

Lichterman said about the digital label that it is a convergence of many factors with regard to the landscape of distribution and working music today -- including promotional mailings and mailings for music-licensing opportunities, and today, every aspect of a record label can be distributed to radio, retail, press and licensing companies all digitally -- made it the perfect climate to start Sunset Connect. The label will provide the ability to purchase physical CDs for placement at Amazon, Target and its own CD / DVD Store, through its On-Demand system powered by Amazon’s Create Space.

"We have every aspect of what a record label does for its music artists at Sunset Connect, and working music this way is cost effective for artists that it will no doubt be the standard model for record labels," Lichterman said in a press release with Billboard Media Wire. "We are poising Sunset for that time by starting the label today and at the same time, this label pays its artist 70/30 splits on net sales, which will keep everyone recouped making money every pay period." Sunset Connect will look to hire a label head and other staff members for A&R acquisitions with the label feeding off the Sunset Records divisions for its promotion, licensing, marketing and administration.

While Sunset Records has made great progress in the last year with its new music – the Federal Moguls (QBall from Bloodhound Gang and Troy Walsh (MTV.com) new project and platinum recording artist Gina Thompson’s new project as run through the main label (Sunset Records and Sunset Urban accordingly) -- the Sunset Connect record label will be committed to developing new talent and up-and-coming music artists. Each of the artists on the label has already released indie albums and Sunset Connect distributes the entire catalogs of these artists. "We have great lee way now to develop new music without getting them thousands of dollars in the unrecouped column, and we can take on so many more projects today," Lichterman said.

Sunset Connects business plan has taken the same shape as the rest of the Sunset labels. There is a perfect mix of brand new talent in with established artist signings that are legends in the industry. Of the new bands, Kan’Nal’s “Gypsy” was the number one song played on the Radio Italia Network last year for a few weeks and D’Cyple’s two songs “My Life” and “Don’t Wanna Be” have broken the top 50 on the Indy Record Pool charts last year and is still being featured in clubs charting every month. Clayton Road also now has two songs in Pure Play’s Music Network and every artist is featured at Pandora. Sunset Connect has digital deals with every top online retailer including iTunes, Real/Rhapsody, eMusic, Amazon MP3, Napster, Shockhound and over 40 outlets. The digital only label does make physical product via Amazon’s On-Demand system making CDs available at Amazon, target and the Sunset Store, however, it will not carry any stock inventory.

Top industry people at major labels and at Indy labels admit there is no set formula for a digital only record label. Lichterman says that he has “found the perfect way to make everyone money and work this music at Sunset Connect as close to what you would do for an artist that has a traditional record deal.” He also was quick to say that the idea of doing this now is almost “overdue, but for us at Sunset, this the perfect time for this type of label considering our label wide rosters at this time. Our traditional label is working like a machine and our artists and staff producer (Rod Millwood) were named on the Grammy Nomination Ballot 68 times leading up to December 5th. We now have the formula to make sure this label works like a cost effective machine and ironically speaking, I could see this label being the one that is the main label as the industry phases out physical DVDs and CDs."

Sunset is a privately owned Don Lichterman Company.

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Sunset Recordings, Inc.
Don Lichterman
856.267.5092
www.SunsetConnect.com
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