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Venture capital rocks

The Wall Street Journal reported two weeks ago that a British investment bank known as Ingenious Media PLC has entered the music business by “financing comeback albums.” According to the article, Ingenious has backed the recording, marketing, and distribution of new albums by bands whose tenure with major labels has come to an end. Most Ingenious acts are “heritage” artists, which is industry code for having members over age 40. However, relative youngsters Travis, who enjoyed platinum success in the late 90s, have also signed to Ingenious.

The Journal tells us that while heritage artists aren’t likely to make the next million-selling album, they are more likely than hyped-up unknowns to earn back Ingenious’ investment in them and turn a profit. For their part, artists like Ingenious because the company promotes their music without requiring long promotional tours and myriad appearances, which often fail to reach an aging audience anyway. Ingenious also doesn’t drop by the studio to inquire about recording progress. Unless I miss my guess, the artistic and commercial advantages of the Ingenious approach may have many artists touting the loyalty of their audience and the advancement of their age in the hopes of creating their next album under the auspices of such an arrangement.