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Twenty-three labels are listed under Touch and Go’s distribution arm. Some are inactive and for years some have used only Touch and Go’s distro service, not its manufacturing operation; several others just recently entered the fold. For some of these labels the deal was perfect; Touch and Go could be a one-stop shop. How were they going to survive this shocking change of course?
None of the four labels I spoke with had any inkling that this was afoot. But the same terrible circumstances that doubtless led Touch and Go to make this decision have been felt across the sector–Drag City, All Natural, Flameshovel, and Kill Rock Stars were already expending energy and creativity to find new ways to do business, even before Rusk notified them. “We’ve been sitting around here looking at various doomsday options for the better part of the last year, and we’re going to continue to do so,” says Drag City sales manager Rian Murphy.
Portland’s Kill Rock Stars has an exclusive production and distribution deal with Touch and Go, but the label seems to adapting quickly and smoothly to Rusk’s announcement. Label president Portia Sabin says KRS is already close to signing a new P & D deal. Under the terms of this deal, the label’s physical distribution (in North America and Europe) and digital distribution will remain in the hands of just one company, though KRS will have to start paying manufacturing costs up front. “We’re lucky because when I took over Kill Rock Stars a couple of years ago, I severely curtailed the number of releases we put out,” Sabin says. “And this spring we had really cleared out the schedule because we’re doing the new Thermals record and we wanted to give it a lot of attention.” The Thermals album will be manufactured through Touch and Go in April, but it will soon be transferred to the new distributor.
