The Godfather of Lo-Fi Goes Digital (Global and Mobile) – Daniel Johnston’s Rare Early Recordings To Be Made Available Online
New York, NY —March 31, 2005—The Orchard, the leading distributor of independent music in the world, announced today that it would digitally distribute the early work of Daniel Johnston, known to many as the godfather of the lo-fi music movement and one of America’s most revered outsider artists.
A dozen of Johnston’s albums will be made available on over 100 popular online music services on May 31, 2005. Digital retailers iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, and Napster will each launch with different exclusive Daniel Johnston albums today, and then dozens of other digital stores will follow with more classic albums on June 7. Additionally, select tracks will be made available through several major cell-phone ringtone providers. [See Marketing Information for details.]
In true indie spirit, long before "indie" was a commonly used term, Johnston recorded his music onto a cheap ghetto blaster and dubbed countless tapes one by one, giving them away like business cards to strangers on the streets of his hometown, Austin, Texas. These modern-day field recordings, recorded straight to a $59 boom box, comprise the bulk of Johnston’s massive period of artistic creativity in the early-to-mid-1980s, plus live recordings from the early 1990s. These tapes established Johnston as the musician's cult musician, whose art is appreciated for its utter lack of artifice and the undeniable simple brilliance of its melodic structure.
The Orchard’s comprehensive reissue project will cap an incredible year for the singer. In the last twelve months:
• Gammon Records issued the tribute compilation "The Late Great Daniel Johnston" in late 2004; it features tracks from established artists like Tom Waits and Beck, plus music from newcomers like Death Cab For Cutie and Bright Eyes. Mainstream press coverage has included features in the New York Times and on National Public Radio, among many others.
• Director Jeff Feuerzeig’s documentary on Johnston’s life, "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," won the Documentary Best Director award at Sundance 2005, and won the Audience Award, Best Documentary at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival 2005. It will be distributed theatrically in North America in early 2006.
• Johnston just finished a new full-length album called "Lost and Found." With new music on the horizon, now is the time to discover Johnston’s origins, through the groundbreaking digital release of his seminal work.
"This project demonstrates what is great about the future of music: the entire early repertoire of a profoundly influential artist and cult hero can be distributed globally, through download and mobile services worldwide, by an independent company without any major label affiliation," said Greg Scholl, the chief executive of The Orchard and also a managing director of Dimensional Associates, the company that owns The Orchard, eMusic, and Dimensional Music Publishing (formerly Dreamworks Music Publishing).
These rare full-length albums, all of them previously only available on cassette, through mailorder, include:
Continued Story/Hi How Are You (1985)
Don’t Be Scared (1982)
Frankenstein Love (1992)
Live at SXSW (1990)
The Lost Recordings (1983)
The Lost Recordings II (1983)
More Songs of Pain (1982)
Respect (1985)
Retired Boxer (1984)
Songs of Pain (1981)
The What of Whom (1982)
Yip/Jump Music (1983)
About Daniel Johnston:
Over the years, famous fans like Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Beck, Tom Waits, Sonic Youth and Simpsons creator Matt Groening have proclaimed 42-year-old Daniel Johnston one of rock's best-known secrets. He is the subject of the award-winning documentary film "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," soon to be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. A tribute album "The Late Great Daniel Johnston," featuring Tom Waits, Beck, Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie and more, is now available from Gammon Records. Johnston currently lives with his parents in Waller, Texas.
About The Orchard:
The Orchard (www.theorchard.com) is the leading distributor and marketer of digital music in the world, representing thousands of labels spanning 72 countries and every music genre. The Orchard supplies its catalogue of over half a million tracks to all of the leading legal digital music stores and services throughout the world. Headquartered in New York, The Orchard maintains operations in London, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong and Melbourne.
About Dimensional Associates, Inc.:
Dimensional Associates, Inc., is the New York-based private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. Its portfolio companies include eMusic, The Orchard and Dimensional Music Publishing (formerly DreamWorks Music Publishing).
Marketing Information:
MUSIC [May 31 onward]
Availability: All major digital music services, including eMusic, iTunes, MSN, Musicmatch, AOL, Virgin Digital, Napster, Real/Rhapsody and more:
Titles: "Live at SXSW," "The Lost Recordings," "The Lost Recordings II," "More Songs of Pain" May 31 onward.
**
Availability: iTunes Exclusive
Titles: "Continued Story/Hi How Are You," "Frankenstein Love," "Respect," "The What of Whom," "Yip/Jump Music"
Promotions: Artist feature page dedicated to Johnston, plus placements on the iTunes Music Store homepage, Rock page and in the iTunes New Music Tuesdays newsletter. Launching May 31.
**
Availability: Real/Rhapsody Exclusive
Titles: "Songs of Pain"
Promotions: For the week of May 31st, Real will run a doublealbum spotlight on the Real Music Store home page, featuring "Songs of Pain" and "The Late Great Daniel Johnston" compilation. This feature will run in Alternative section of Real/Rhapsody. A featured playlist containing tracks from Johnston and others will run on the "Lo-fi" home page.
**
Availability: Napster Limited Exclusive
Titles: "Don’t Be Scared"
Promotions: For the week of May 31st, Daniel will be a featured as "Artist of the Week."
**
Availability: eMusic Exclusive
Titles: "Retired Boxer"
Promotions: eMusic will create Daniel Johnston download cards featuring Johnston’s artwork of Jeremiah the Frog. They will be available at Johnston gigs and included with each purchase made at his online store [www.rejectedunknown.com], while supplies last.. The cards will offer free downloads of music from "Retired Boxer," "The Lost Recordings I & II," "Live at SXSW," and "More Songs of Pain."
RINGTONES:
The Orchard will develop cell-phone ringtones for a handful of Johnston tunes and make them available to Sprint, Zingy, Dwango, HiFi and more. These songs include "Casper The Friendly Ghost" (from "Yip/Jump Music"), "Walking the Cow" (from "Hi, How Are You"), "Funeral Home" (from "Continued Story/Hi How Are You"), "True Love Will Find You In The End" (from "Retired Boxer"), "My Yoke Is Heavy" (from "Don’t Be Scared") and "Like A Monkey In A Zoo" (from "Songs Of Pain").
The Orchard has also developed cell-phone ringtones for the cover versions of Johnston’s tracks, performed by Beck, Bright Eyes, Tom Waits, Death Cab for Cutie and others.
Online Information:
www.theorchard.com | www.rejectedunknown.com | www.fanaticpromotion.com
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