Q&A With Vincent Clery-Melin, Music Director of Co-Op Music

posted in: Exclusive Interviews • Features

Europe’s Cooperative Music (Co-Op)”the London-based independent label group”will soon be launching in the US market in partnership with Downtown Music in New York and distribution handled by Fontana. Cooperative Music USA, based in downtown’s New York headquarters, will begin operations in January 2011 with releases from Edwyn Collins and Yelle in March, followed by French indie rock duo Jamaica in April.  Operating in Europe since 2005, initially as an independent label part of V2 Music Group”and since 2007 as a division of Universal Music Group International”Co-Op is currently active in fourteen territories around the world with access to distribution in every territory outside of North America.  In Europe the group includes labels such as Downtown Music, Wichita Recordings, Bella Union, V2, Kitsune, Heavenly Recordings, DFA Records, Lex Records and Moshi Moshi, and has released records by artists such as Phoenix, Bloc Party, Fleet Foxes, Mumford and Sons, Two Door Cinema Club, Interpol, The Knife and many more.

We caught up with Co Op’s Music Director, Vincent Clery-Melin to hear all about the leap from across the pond.

OS: What made you decide to bring Co-Op Music to the US?

VCM: I guess its been cooking for quite some time, ever since we started Cooperative Music in 2005, most of our European label partners and artists have been keen to work with us in the US in the same spirit as we work with them in Europe: small, dedicated teams of like-minded people in every market who work hard and are passionate about the music. What really tipped it is that only recently have we been able to put together the structure and the team of people in the US which we wanted to work with for a long time and who share the same values and passion for music as we do. We wouldn’t have opened the US office for the sake of having a US representation we really wanted to do right by our independent label partners and artists.

OS: What kind of artists are you hoping to work with in this new venture?

VCM: I think the idea initially is to be able to offer US releases to our European indie label partners, if they’re interested. We will of course think in terms of individual artists and its great that the initial response from amazing indie artists like Yelle, Edwyn Collins and Jamaica has been so good but we’re mainly hoping that our European label partners such as V2, Heavenly, Kitsune, etc. will join into the venture and start signing more artists for the US.

OS: What are some important things for new artists to keep in mind when trying to be signed to a label like Co-Op?

VCM: Most of the acts we work with have been signed by one of our partner labels, like Yelle to V2 or Edwyn to Heavenly. The one common point between all our label partners is they all have impeccable taste in music which we trust 100%, and they sign bands that they love as opposed to any kind of market research or whether they think the artists music fits any particular trend or media format. Our most successful artist in Europe has been Fleet Foxes through Bella Union, and they clearly didn’t fit any ready made “format” for success, [who’ve] become successful on their own terms without any compromise to play the mainstream game… So in the end it would be a bit pretentious for us to give tips to artists of things to keep in mind to be signed to one of our partner labels other than to be true to what they do really.

OS: What releases are you most excited for?

VCM: All of them ! Yelle is particularly exciting to me as they did so well on their last record in the US considering they are French language music… We hope to be able to continue and expand on this. The record is incredibly good! Edwyn is as well as we’ve done really well with his album in the UK and Europe, and the story behind his record is amazing and needs to be told. How Edwyn recovered from a near fatal stroke by learning to play and compose music again, his album was borne out of the darkest place and is so positive and full of life!

OS: What is it like to work with artists from around the world?

VCM: Its exciting! What is even more fascinating is that now, with music fans connecting online all around the world with artists you can now see great talent from any genre crossing cultural barriers in unprecedented ways, and encouraging diversity. Its interesting to see for a UK-based label that our first releases in US are an electronic pop act from France, a French new indie rock act and an indie legend from Scotland… Over here we work with artists from the US, Canada, Finland, France, UK, Italy, Australia, Sweden and many more places and almost always have more success with them abroad than at home!

OS: How has working at Co-Op affected your own music tastes?

VCM: I am blessed to work with great creative music people such as Wichita, Heavenly, Kitsune, Bella Union and their music taste and appetite for new music means I always get to listen to great music before everyone else !