Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Touch & Go is calling it quits!

From CMJ today:

Touch & Gone
Feb 18, 2009
Story by: Lisa Hresko

Following online rumors, long-time indie mainstay Touch & Go has confirmed that it will cease releasing new albums and become a catalog only label. The Chicago label that that has produced seminal albums from Slint, the Jesus Lizard, Big Black, TV On The Radio, Shellac and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and later garnering fame for its losing copyright lawsuit over a "handshake" deal with the Butthole Surfers, has met its demise after nearly 30 years. The label, who's recent roster includes Ted Leo, the Uglysuit and All The Saints had seen financial trouble amidst a difficult economy and a decline in record sales.

Promotion for new acts such as Sholi and Mi Ami, who both released their debut albums today, will be kept up for a short time as not to leave the new bands without a paddle. The label is expected to go catalog-only, however, the distribution side has been shut down and the label will not produce new music. An unspecified number of layoffs will occur.

A press release confirming details is expected soon.

www.touchandgorecords.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

that's actually not true.

Touch and Go DISTRIBUTION (exclusive distributor of Kill Rock Stars, Jade Tree, Merge, etc) is closing, not Touch and Go Records.

just talked to my rep there an hour ago and she confirmed this..........

- Ken Dirtap

Dan 10Things said...

Sweet, that's good news indeed!