11/25/03
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KINDERCORE RECORDS FOUNDERS FILE SUIT AGAINST THE TELEGRAPH COMPANY,I.D.E.A. INC.
Kindercore Records founders Daniel Geller and Ryan Lewis today filed alawsuit against I.D.E.A. (International Development of EntertainmentAlliances), also known as The Telegraph Company, Kindercore General ManagerJerod Gunsberg and I.D.E.A. CEO Stanley Hartman for breach of contract,slander, libel, and a host of other infractions. (Supreme County of TheState of New York, County of New York Index No. 03603716)
A strategic partnership formed in 2001 between the Kindercore label andTelegraph was intended to strengthen the label's administration and furtherthe aesthetic and ideals that Geller and Lewis had established. Thepartnership quickly devolved over the 18 months that the relationshipexisted, culminating in the recent announcement that Kindercore was folding.
Geller states, "We were as surprised as anyone on November 12th to learnthat Kindercore would be closing. We were also surprised on November 14thto find out the label was not closed and would now be run by Stan Harman whohad previously stated to us that he wanted nothing to do with the creativeside of running a record label".
In the beginning, Geller and Lewis expected that their partnership withTelegraph would allow them to continue guiding the artistic direction ofKindercore while also allowing more time for them to work on their ownmusic. Geller and Lewis perform in bands on the Kindercore label - I Am TheWorld Trade Center and The Agenda respectively.
Lewis says, "We're artists at heart and have always been about the music.We saw this partnership as a chance to keep the label going in the sameartistic direction that we had established and to also uphold ourcommitments to our artists."
Instead, after the agreements were signed, Geller and Lewis began to seetheir roles at the label rapidly diminish, a situation that came to a headwhen Kindercore signed two bands that Geller and Lewis had passed on (in onecase) and had never even heard (in the other). Compounding this lack ofcontrol over their own company, Geller and Lewis' own bands were thendropped from the label, a curious move considering that I Am The World TradeCenter is the second biggest selling act on Kindercore.
"Since being in bands on the roster was essentially the last real connectionwe had with the label we started, we had no other choice but to awaitfurther news on the future of Kindercore", Geller says. "At this point, we're very concerned for the bands that are still associated with Kindercore."
Lewis elaborates, stating that he and Geller are doing "everything we can tobring a quick resolution to this situation. Bringing this legal action wasthe last thing we wanted to do, but we felt it was the only thing we coulddo to help the friends and artists who had faith in us when we entered intothis arrangement with Telegraph."
Quinn Heraty, of the law firm Heraty Hall, is representing the plaintiffs. Alegal fund has been established to help offset the costs associated withfurthering this action. Please visit www.heratyhall.com/kindercore for moreinformation on how to contribute.
Legal inquiries can be directed to Quinn Heraty at Heraty Hall.212-979-3728 | kindercore@heratyhall.com | www.heratyhall.com
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 18:25 (twenty-one years ago)
― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 18:28 (twenty-one years ago)
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 18:29 (twenty-one years ago)
― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 18:30 (twenty-one years ago)
― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 18:31 (twenty-one years ago)
― jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 18:33 (twenty-one years ago)
― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 18:43 (twenty-one years ago)
― Elyn (elynbeth), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:13 (twenty-one years ago)
― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:18 (twenty-one years ago)
lesson #3 - this is a sad story, but how naive can you be? you can not sell your company (or take on a partner) *and* maintain control (which is what i take them to mean when they say "continue guiding the artistic direction"). it doesn't work that way in any business in any field. the buyer gets control and the seller loses control. that is, in its entirety, what the buyer is buying. he may choose to exercise it passively or actively, but either way he gets it.
― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)
― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)
― jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)
― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)
― jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:26 (twenty-one years ago)
― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:29 (twenty-one years ago)
― Kate Silver (Kate Silver), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 20:24 (twenty-one years ago)
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 20:35 (twenty-one years ago)
*stamp* *stamp* *stamp* *stamp*
*pout*
― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)
― Xii (Xii), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 21:53 (twenty-one years ago)
― nate detritus (natedetritus), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 21:55 (twenty-one years ago)
this is true. i don't really think they released anything worthwhile at all til the last couple of years. i'm most upset for Melbourne band Gersey, who were hoping to relocate to the US on the back of their Kindercore deal.
― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 23:40 (twenty-one years ago)
― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:29 (twenty-one years ago)
― the surface noise (electricsound), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:39 (twenty-one years ago)
― phil-two (phil-two), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:56 (twenty-one years ago)
― mandinina (mandinina), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:20 (twenty-one years ago)
They're OK, I vastly prefer the other band Matt Davis is in: Gaslight Radio
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:22 (twenty-one years ago)
So, uh, ARE they closing down, or what? If so, what should I grab off of Emusic* while I still can?
*Yeah, even after all of my whining about the new management, I'm still a subscriber. I suck.
― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 02:33 (twenty-one years ago)
― Xii (Xii), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 02:36 (twenty-one years ago)
― scott m (mcd), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 02:56 (twenty-one years ago)
http://www.thetelegraphcompany.com/
(sorry lazy)
V
― Venus Glow (1411), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 03:46 (twenty-one years ago)
― keith m (keithmcl), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 04:06 (twenty-one years ago)
― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 10:15 (twenty-one years ago)
regardless of what one's own thoughts on the label or its output, its still terrible that good folks who're going it for all the right reasons get fucked over like this.
and, as for the 'Olivia Tremor Control gossip'... well, doesn't that sort of thing depend on which half of OTC you talk to?there's too many weird egomaniac freaks in that Elephant6 'community'. they act all indie-rock and "ooh, look at us, there's 14 of us in the band. we're a collective", then as soon as there's a sniff of some money it's all "well, actually, i'm the songwriter. you 13 guys never contributed anything".
― ian johno (ian johno), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 13:47 (twenty-one years ago)
If only.
― V (1411), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 16:36 (twenty-one years ago)
― keith m (keithmcl), Thursday, 27 November 2003 04:54 (twenty-one years ago)
so they're existing again...
Kindercore, the influential underground boutique record label has been reborn as an independent media label–its new roster expanded to include bands, comic book artists, analysts, premier t-shirt designers, and humorists from Athens, GA and beyond.
― Garrett Martin, Monday, 2 July 2007 21:34 (eighteen years ago)