04.24.2008
Nashville Business Journal
Growing Atlanta indy label sets up shop in Music City
Nashville Business Journal - by Linda Bryant Nashville Business Journal
An Atlanta indy record label has set up shop in Nashville and launched a round of equity financing to raise $10 million.
The label was started by Atlanta entrepreneur Terry Johnson in 2004 and is a throwback to a time when record companies focused on long-term artist development.
Johnson, the former president of Johnson Industries, has mostly backed the company with his own money. The Atlanta-based automotive company he sold in 2004 was the largest General Motors and Ford auto parts distributor in the United States.
One of the reasons for his label's move to a downtown Nashville office in the Stahlman Building is to support 26-year-old, up-and-coming Nashville artist Rissi Palmer, who has been with the label three years.
Palmer has appeared on stage at the Grand Ole Opry and received national media attention in print and on television.
The 1720 label works with five artists out of Atlanta but its Nashville presence is growing.
Earlier this month Nashville vocalist and songwriter Jamie O'Neal signed with 1720. Grammy-nominated O'Neal was named "Female Vocalist of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music in 2002. She was previously with a big label - Capital Records.
The company's business plan includes an expansion of its music publishing arm, 1720 Music.
Johnson says he hopes to wrap up the equity financing in 90 days.
"We've been exceptionally well-capitalized to this point," he says. "I want to seize an even greater opportunity."
When Palmer was introduced to Johnson three years ago, she says she was drawn to his supportive, hands-on approach. She signed on for the long haul, understanding widespread recognition wouldn't come instantly.
"I see the music industry going back to where it was in the 1970s," Palmer says. "It's when the small labels were the ones making all the noise."
Johnson says he looks for "extreme commitment" before taking on the career demands of artists and cites Palmer as an example.
"We aren't just about one song," he says. "We're about the overall career of an artist."
Johnson's business model isn't just about using traditional ways to promote songs. He uses alternative marketing strategies and is heavily focused on digital/mobile platforms.
"All of our eggs aren't in the radio basket," Johnson says.
Partnerships with bigger labels are also in the mix at 1720.
In March the label entered a joint venture with Universal Republic Records to market, promote and distribute Atlanta-based hip-hop trio C-SIDE.
The trio has a hit single, "Boyfriend/Girlfriend," with Grammy-nominated singer Keyshia Cole.