Epic screws Fuel too!, New Album Falters on the Charts Options

[SJN1279]

Fuel's latest album will debut at #45 on the Billboard Charts this week with just over 14,000 copies sold. It seems Epic non-promotional machine was at work again. I purchased the CD and thought it was pretty good, particuarly the first 5 songs on the album. I liked the first single Wasted Time quite a bit, but Epic didn't put any money behind the song and it quickly fell from the charts.

I see a lot of similarities of Epic's handling of "Angels and Devils" and their dismissive attitude of "Songs from Black Mountain." It just sucks to know that huge labels totally control what gets played and what bands will gain success. It is really sad.

[Heather]

No things aren't much better for Indie bands as far as huge record sales and mass airplay go but at least bands on Indie labels get to keep all of the money they make and they also get to keep their musical integrity if they wish to. I think a band like CS is a good example of what can be done on an Indie label, they have gotten airplay for their singles without the help of a major label. These days a lot of bands have no choice but to go Indie because they are being ignored by major labels anyway. What choice do they have really? To either quit making music or give half of the money they make to a label like Epic while getting zero promotion? Seems like an easy choice to me. Bands like Live and Fuel aren't selling any records on a major label so why not try doing it on their own, they might get better results if they hire the right marketing team. At least they would be the ones in control of things.