Judie Tzuke Takes Flight With 'Angels'
Songstress Has New Set on own Big Moon Label...
From Billboard magazine 23rd November 1996
by John Ferguson.
The career of British
singer/songwriter Judie Tzuke is about
to take flight again, this time under the
artist's own power.
After an absence of four years,
Tzuke has returned with a new album,
"Under The Angels," and her own
record label to boot. Unhappy with the
deals offered by record companies,
Tzuke and longtime collaborators Mike
Paxman and Paul Muggleton have
decided to set up their own label, Big
Moon Records, to release the new set
and other projects.
And in the U.K., at least, they have
decided to bypass traditional distribution arrangements:
Tzuke's 10-track
album is available only by ordering it
directly from the company either by
telephone, fax, or through a newly
established Internet World Wide Web
site (http://www.tzuke.com).
"It's very exciting," says Tzuke, "and
having been in the business as long as
I have, and having been disappointed
as many times as I have, this is a lot
more satisfying.
It is a brave route to take, but one
that has been endorsed by her fans in
the industry. Says David Shoesmith, a
partner in Scottish-based independent
distributor CDS Distribution, "I think
it makes sense for them to do what
they are doing from the outset--I
think more and more artists are going
to be doing this in the future. I think a
lot of them feel that they can promote
their material better themselves.
Labels often can't give them the same
support."
Tzuke's do-it-yourself move comes
on the heels of that of another well respected female singer/songwriter,
Jane Silberry, who recently eschewed
the majors to launch her own label,
Sheeba Records. It also is using the
Internet, among other avenues such as
direct mail, to get
its releases into the
hands of fans (Billboard, June 1).
Tzuke's rocket-
to-the-moon journey began in 1979. Her
debut album ("Stay With Me Till
Dawn"; U.K. title, "Welcome To The
Cruise") for Elton John's Rocket label
produced a hit single of the same title
in the U.K. (reaching No. 13), and her
first four albums in her home country
charted in the top 20. Stints on a variety
of major and independent labels
(including Essential/Castle Communications
for 1992's acclaimed 'Wonderland') have not
always been happy experiences,she says.
Tzuke explains: "[Record companies] seem
to give [albums] a bit of promotion, then they give up, and then you
find it has been deleted. It is very disappointing,
because when I make a
record, I don't just chuck an album
together...it is a real big emotional
thing."
For "Under The Angels," Tzuke
therefore decided to go it alone uith Big
Moon. And she has no regrets. "It's not
selling as fast as it would if it had been
released it in the usual way, but with
everything we sell, I know where they
are going. I have got (buyers) addresses
and can let them know in the
future what we will be doing. It's much
more real--I have packed up most of
the CDs!"
According to Muggleton, the album's
promotional activity in its first three
weeks of release, has been helped
saleswise by ads in specialist music
publications such as Q and Mojo.
However, the direct approach
doesn't mean that Tzuke is withdrawing
completely from traditional music
channels. She says she may well look
at a U.K. retail release for "Under The
Angels" in the future.
And, adds her Big Moon Partner
Muggleton (who, along with Paxman,
also plays on the album), "We are looking
for licensing deals everywhere in
the world, apart from the U.K. Because
here, what she is doing is basically getting in
touch with her fan base."
Retail awareness in the U.K. may
not be high yet, but Muggleton is confident
that if the album were released
to the trade, it would he snapped up by
the bigger chains. There are also some
encouraging signs that the independent
sector is eager to get the set.
While Marek Norvid, owner of Newcastle
indie retailer RPM Music,
believes the direct approach makes
sense, he adds, "I do hope we can get
it into the shops soon.
"She is a quality artist," Norvid continues.
"She was just unlucky in that
she didn't manage to catch on to the
CD boom when it happened."
CDS Distribution, which specializes
in handling small labels and has a distribution
agreement with national distributer Pinnacle,
is another supporter
of Tzuke. Shoesmith says, "I am a
big fan, and I just think it is totally
disgusting that people like her can't get a
major deal. Now is not the best time of
the year to release an album, but I
think there will be a fair audience out
there by the New Year.
Bob Harris, a presenter on London-based BBC
local radio station GLR, has been playing tracks
from "Under The Angels" on his show and recorded
Tzuke in a live session.He, too, believes that the DIY approach Tzuke has chosen
to take may pay dividends.
" Judie has had a succession of different labels throughout the years.
Now she has made an album she really wants to make and is
putting it out," he
says. "Bearing in mind how good
communications are these days,
if she does it properly, it could
do quite well."
He also believes that the current
vogue for female singer/songwriters
makes it perfect timing. "It is a really
good album," Harris says. "It's very
characteristic Judie Tzuke music. Her
halcyon days as far as her popularity is
concerned were the late '70s/ early '80s,
and the sound of this album is similar to
the sound we heard from her then. But
the interesting thing about this is that
there is now, particularly in America,
a range of new singer/songwriters who
are using a lot of the sounds and
instrumentations that were popular then. So
in a funny sort of way, although the
new one sounds very much like what
she was doing in the past, it actually
sounds very contemporary."
For her part, Tzuke is a fan of the
new breed of singer/songwriters such
as Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow.
"I think they are brilliant, and I am
glad they are getting as much attention
as they deserve," she says."there have
always been good woman singers, but
they haven't really been promoted
properly in the past. When I started, it
was all very much down to the way you
looked, which I always found really
frustrating."
Similarly, Tzuke is equally enthusiastic
about the dance route Tracey
Thorn has taken with Everything But
The Girl, she says she loves the
combination of melody and dance beats and
adds that friends of hers in that sector
of the market have spoken to her about
remixing some of her own songs.
Along that same vein, Big Moon has
set up a sister label, Antidote, which
currently is recording its first act,
Farcahwii Tribe. Muggleton is looking
to get the release into specialist dance
stores, he says, and is in talks with a
number of potential distributors.
Big Moon itself will not be devoted
just to Tzuke and has already signed
two new U.K. acts: a young singer/
songwriter named Lucie Silverman
and a rock band, Dennis Heaven.
For Tzuke, the next step will be a 22 date tour of the UK., in conjunction with promoter CMP, in January and February, with a new backing band. At the same time Big Moon will be looking to line uo some radio support for Tzuke, although she is skeptical about whether national Radio station BBC Radio 1 will be getting behind the album.
"I am thinking of setting up my own radio station", she jokes. "I am already covering every other angle!"
© 1996 Billboard.
by John Ferguson,Billboard magazine,23rd November 1996.
Reproduced with permission of the publisher.
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