NEWS: Independently Wealthy: Brett Gurewitz and Epitaph Records

MUSIC: Independently Wealthy: Brett Gurewitz and Epitaph Records

With a new album on the way from his band Bad Religion and the responsibility of overseeing a roster of active bands selling tens of thousands of records, guitarist and Epitaph Records honcho Brett Gurewitz is ready for another busy year.

Billboard caught up with Gurewitz to talk about this 26-year-old label, which began in a bedroom in his parents' house and now boasts a staff of over 50 employees in North American and overseas offices. That's what happens when you release huge sellers from the likes of punk bands like The Offspring, NOFX and Rancid and allow your business to grow organically.

Over the years, Epitaph went from being a localized Southern California punk label to signing artists like Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, Neko Case and Blackalicious to its Anti- imprint. The fact is that unlike many of its comteporaries, Epitaph has been eager to adapt and vary its focus in order to remain relevant.

Rather than taking the typical party-line about digital downloads, Gurewitz is ready to embrace the industry shift to digital retail and the falling sales of CD's and other forms of media; a change that he claims will be simple for Epitaph ease into.

Gurewitz is also eager to implement new ways of tracking what an artist sells and maintaining personal data collections. Gurewitz envisions a virtual "data bank" which can "house" every individual's MP3 collection and keep an accurate account of who has purchased what.

The most inspiring part of Gurewitz's success has been his refusal to panic and his eagerness to branch out and try new things, all while maintaining an indie ethos. Though the label has its fair share of critics, it cannot be denied that Epitaph has been able to carve a niche for itself while refusing to be pigeonholed as a traditional "punk" label. Other indies can afford to take a cue from Gurewitz's open-minded approach if they expect to last in an ever-changing world where indies and majors are routinely aiming to sign the same bands. Good luck in '07, Brett.

Meh...At least he was smart enough to start HellCat too and not completely turn Epitaph around without first keeping his punk fanbase close. If he did that he would (in my eyes) completely lose the punk fan base. Smart business move...

Epitaph is also doing a really cool record deal contest for student musicians.

Here

I was very sad when Epitaph joined the RIAA in 2005.

badass.

Epitaph is not a member of the RIAA no matter what they may say. Epitaph is an upstanding member of A2IM or the American Association of Independent Music. Check them out here http://www.a2im.org/

Hypocrite. Shitty band. Next.

What amazes me is that a label like Punk Core (home of The Casualties fer chrissakes!) has joined the RIAA as well. We're not talking multi-platinum, million dollar Epitaph here.

*le sigh*

Yeah, Epitaph is basically the raddest label ever.

yes/no...great/it sucks!

typical...have to take the good with the bad [religion...]

smells like capitalism...

Yeah, it's hard to tell. One thing that's troubling is that I can't find Gurewitz or any Epitaph reps saying they AREN'T in the RIAA, unlike the guys at Matador (who are included on the members page, despite not being members). Curious.

From what I can tell is that the RIAA will include you as a member even if you do business with an RIAA member company. For example, Epitaph is distributed by Sony. Sony is an RIAA member company and is the reason why Epitaph were able to garner all of those RIAA certified gold and platinum albums for The Offspring, Rancid and others. They are members by proxy and certainly benefit from that relationship. They get SoundScan sales tracking, better distribution, awards, etc. They may not necessarily be dues paying members but they are certainly suckling at that teat.

I am Brett Gurewitz and I'm telling you now (as I did above but without identifying myself) that Epitaph is not a member of the RIAA. In fact we are one of the founding members of the A2IM in the U.S. and IMPALA in Europe. I'm also active in a new organization called MERLIN which hopes to represent and protect indies interests comercially where necessary.

This is Brett and we haven't been distributed by Sony for a very long time. We moved from Sony to KOCH (who were an independent) and then from KOCH to ADA. In all cases the distributors influence was next to nil. The RIAA will certify any album gold or platinum simply by receiving some form of verification from a label whether they are a member or not. Epitaph is not. We are a member of the A2IM http://www.a2im.org/ And we've never gotten soundscan numbers from our distributor.

That's really great to know. I have the bad habit of checking the RIAA lists to see what labels I should think twice about supporting, given the RIAA's recent "sue the shit out of our customers" legal tactics, and seeing Epitaph go on there a few years back was a real blow.

Now, you should sue the RIAA for putting Epitaph on their list fradulently for the past few years.

Thanks for that info. I absolutely retract everything that I said. You certainly would know better than I the status of your label. As Shalome mentioned I would definitely address the fact that they list you, along with many other indie labels, as being members. Listing here. It definitely makes me wonder about whether labels like BYO, Punk Core, and Fat are really members as well. Inclusion on a list like this certainly impacts credibility with many fans.

Thanks for the reply and making us 'out' you like that. You have recaptured the heart of a long time (and I mean LONG time) fan.

Listen. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter. All that matters is that its 2007 and the new Sage Francis records come out in April (ish) and Epitaph is probably going to make it a record that cracks the six figure mark for the first time ever for him.

That is a beautiful thought and 'Personal Journals' is one of the most beautiful records ever made.

The End

Wow, Mr. Brett isn't a skinny little crackhead guitarist anymore. Looks like he's been hitting the gym-clean and sober! Good for him. It was only a matter of time. People have to realize that "punk" is now what rock was when punk came out. We're old, people, and our trouble-making musical tastes are the mainstream, no matter how brash.

I'm glad Brett's back in the band, too-the music is so much better.

Respect? Yes, for sure. And while the idea of the MP3 "locker" is great in concept, we're being tracked and watched online far too much already. It's a constant battle at this point to maintain any amount of privacy online. A permanent record of your music purcases, while it sounds great, would be a MAJOR tool for marketing music to online consumers (and a major money maker for whoever was selling your buying habbits).

Good I hope he makes a trillion dollars. Punks have kids to "support" too. I hope every good band makes good money. Without the money usually you can't go on making records. I'm sorry I have been over this "selling out" shit for a long long time. Either you like the record or don't buy it or not...as long as no dolphins were harmed in its creation,