 | SELLER PROFILE #2 DREW MILLER of OMNIUM RECORDS In the very first issue of Gemmzine we interviewed long-time Gemm retailer and label owner Bob Richert of Gulcher Records. We will be providing our readers of both our seller news, the Gemmletter, and our official mag, Gemmzine.com, more interviews with indy label owners and Gemm retailers in the very near future. |
INTERVIEW WITH DREW MILLER, GEMM SELLER Direct link to this article here: http://tinyurl.com/omniumdrewmiller
GEMMZINE: When did you create Omnidrew Rare Recordings? on Gemm? In 2002 my fulltime job as Operations manager for the ESD & NorthSide labels came to a close. Having had the best job in the world for the past 5 years (running a record label fulltime), I decided to go freelance, doing CD manufacturing and technology consulting. With encouragement & help from my friend John Kass (a.k.a. http://gojohnnygo.com ) I got going on GEMM to help support my various addictions. It's really added to my enjoyment of every single garage sale I've been to since that time. I tend to seek out obscure music, so GEMM is much better than Ebay for my selling -- find 'em, price 'em, file 'em, wait for the buyer to find 'em, pack 'em, ship 'em. GEMM is also my first-click resource for pricing... it's made all those record collector price guide books completely obsolete.
GEMMZINE: When did you start Omnium Recordings ?
Drew Miller: Omnium started in 1991. Back then, my partners and I saw a niche to license music from our friends in Europe for release in the US. We started with release #1 from my own band Boiled In Lead (reissuing the 1st 2 LPs on CD) and licenses from UK labels Ace (3 Mustaphas 3) and Cooking Vinyl (The Ukrainians).
|  |
 | GEMMZINE: Are the artists from your area, Minnesota in the U.S.A., or from around the world?
Drew Miller: Both. Our initial strategy brought us bands from Sweden (Garmarna), Italy (Fiamma Fumana), UK (Oysterband, Horace X), Indonesia (Sabah Habas Mustapha & The Jugala AllStars). We also put out an international compilation in the late 1990s to benefit Doctors Without Borders that has raised well over $25,000. The two Shite'n'Onions Celtic Punk compilations were in partnership with a Boston-based website, and the tamburitza band Sviraj live in Pennsylvania. Locally, we've worked with Ruth MacKenzie's Kalevala project and done 3 releases from Madison's Reptile Palace Orchestra.
|
GEMMZINE: tell us your plans for 2009/2010
Drew Miller: I think we've survived as a label by staying small and focused, putting out music made by people that we trust to do exciting work on their own. Going forward, I hope that I'll hear a project where all these boxes get checked... but the role of the label has declined so much now, as have everyone's sales. The band itself has to do most of the work, getting themselves out there with or without the help of a booking agent. For Omnium to get involved with a new project now, 1) the music has to rip the top of my head off, 2) make sense with the rest of our catalog, and 3) the band have to be committed to get out on the road to support it.
That said, we're getting two of my own projects ready for full-length releases on Omnium:
-- Felonious Bosch (http://fnbosch.com) is finishing up "Toybox" for release late this year. You can hear some tracks streamed at the website.
-- I'm now playing Nordic music in a duo with singer Kari Tauring (http://karitauring.com). She and I live about 10 blocks apart in South Minneapolis. Kari will be on a Norwegian TV show in winter 2009 / spring 2010, so we will have a new release ready in time for that exposure. |  |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment