Do Verve have a record contract?

twentysixdollars · Post by **twentysixdollars** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 12:44 am

Anybody know? I wonder. Since the 2004 'hits' compilation was presumably intended to satisfy their Hut/Virgin contract, the thought occurs to me that they have to get signed somewhere before they can release anything. Unless they intend to put it out internet-wise or something.

McCabe says the "tunes are sounding great" - easily the most confident pronouncement he's ever made about any Verve music. Simon Jones also has a webpage, by the way - he's lost his boyish looks, as it turns out!

It would be nice if a big enough deal were to be made of this - singles, &c. Apparently Simon Tong is not involved. Although he's a good musician, who contributed significantly to Urban Hymns, I take his absence to be a good sign, an indication that a concerted effort is made to return to the original intensely sympathetic full-group interplay. Tong is nothing but a sideman. That said, I realize the main reason he's absent is that other band he's in.

Let me add, by the way, that Verve reforming to tour and record is, to me, the most important news in the music industry since Brian Wilson 'finished' Smile. And frankly I think this is better news.

burningwheel · Post by **burningwheel** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:43 am

NO. at least according to their myspace site...

twentysixdollars · Post by **twentysixdollars** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:07 am

burningwheel wrote:NO. at least according to their myspace site...

That's what got me wondering. Although it may be a default that no-one ever bothered to fill out.

Many (most?) major-label pop contracts in the 90s were six-album deals. My guess as to how Verve shook this out was as such:

1. The Verve EP
2. A Storm In Heaven
3. No Come Down
4. A Northern Soul
5. Urban Hymns
6. This Is Music: The Singles

The thing is, EPs don't usually count, and either or both of No Come Down and The Verve EP may have to be excluded from the tally.

I just assumed a b-sides compilation was in the offing.

jadams501 · Post by **jadams501** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:02 am

Yeah I've been wondering this myself, though as the band behind "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and "Drugs Don't Work" I'm sure they'll have zero trouble getting a deal with international distribution. Plus even Ashcroft without the band scored a couple of hits in Britain over the course of his solo career and was able to headline some pretty big concerts for the Keys To The World tour.

I paid a visit to Virgin Records' U.S. headquarters in Manhattan a few months back and there was a framed Richard Ashcroft LP on the wall as well as lots of Ashcroft and Verve merch and memorabilia about... I asked about it and the rep told me that the general opinion was that Ashcroft/Verve were an important property for the company. I imagine Virgin will fight to keep the band (especially since they re-signed Ashcroft even after poor sales for "Human Conditions") but that other labels will step in if necessary.

Stuart X.Hunter · Post by **Stuart X.Hunter** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 8:44 am

I have a hunch it'l be parlophone/EMI that they are on which is Virgin USA

twentysixdollars · Post by **twentysixdollars** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:05 pm

jadams501 wrote: I paid a visit to Virgin Records' U.S. headquarters in Manhattan a few months back and there was a framed Richard Ashcroft LP on the wall as well as lots of Ashcroft and Verve merch and memorabilia about... I asked about it and the rep told me that the general opinion was that Ashcroft/Verve were an important property for the company

That surprises me, since they were never really huge in the US outside of one song. I guess This Is Music must have sold better than I thought - and the three albums (and Verve EP) must be selling fairly reliably, since they've never gone out of print (except ANS briefly).

Anyway, my worry is not so much that the Verve will have trouble finding a record contract, but rather, that it'll take time, and negotiations will hold up the release of the album and maybe even the international tour.

burningwheel · Post by **burningwheel** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:14 pm

you're probably right, they didn't fill it out. however, if their contract was fulfilled, i suspect they'll re-sign with Hut/Virgin

twentysixdollars · Post by **twentysixdollars** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:22 pm

If all goes well, I'm assuming a mid-November to early December release for the album to coincide with some of the gigging. It could be later though.

The music player on their webpage features "A New Decade", "Lucky Man", "Sonnet", and "Slide Away". Only one of those wasn't a single, but as singles go, they're pretty randomly selected - so maybe this gives us some insight into the sort of music they're aiming for on the new one.

radioshack · Post by **radioshack** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:59 pm

I'm pretty sure I saw the Parlophone logo hovering about on one of the Verve's new sites. Isn't Ashcroft signed to them now solo?

burningwheel · Post by **burningwheel** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:17 pm

Domain name:
theverve.co.uk

Registrant:
EMI Records Limited

Registrant type:
UK Limited Company, (Company number: 61872)

Registrant's address:
EMI GROUP PLC
27 WRIGHTS LANE
LONDON
W8 5SW
GB

Registrar:
EMI Records Limited t/a EMI Records Ltd [Tag = EMI]
URL: http://www.raft.vmg.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 12-Jan-1998
Renewal date: 12-Jan-2008
Last updated: 28-Jun-2007

Registration status:
Registered until renewal date.

Name servers:
ns.serversure.net
ns2.serversure.net

WHOIS lookup made at 17:25:09 04-Jul-2007

burningwheel · Post by **burningwheel** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:18 pm

http://raft.vmg.co.uk/theverve/

Stuart X.Hunter · Post by **Stuart X.Hunter** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:06 pm

And to top it off they have got Jazz Summer' lot (Big Life) for management....that went well the last time!

It seems quite well engineered; i'm still waiting to hear that its a fuckin hoax.

ash · Post by **ash** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:09 am

eleKtroniK:musiK wrote:It seems quite well engineered; i'm still waiting to hear that its a fuckin hoax.

What are Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty up to these days...?