
The Story of Wanz, 51-Year-Old Breakout Singer on "Thrift Shop" - f055
http://popdust.com/2013/01/25/the-story-of-wanz-the-51-year-old-breakout-singer-on-macklemores-thrift-shop/
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mauvehaus
Just so I'm clear on this: The number 1 song on the US charts (EDIT: and a
bunch of others, according to wikipedia) isn't on a major label, is a white
guy rapping about going to the thrift store, and the hook is sung by a
software test engineer?

Somebody should call Alanis Morissette and explain the concept of irony,
because this is about as golden as opportunities get.

~~~
homosaur
Here's what's even better, possibly: the song just broke into the Billboard
Hip Hop charts which means this is getting played on actual rap radio.

~~~
res0nat0r
NPR talked about this the other week. It hasn't quite 100% independently
gotten to where it is without major label help. They hired a Warner Bros owned
marketing company to help with distribution once they were relatively big
enough in the Pacific NW, and then signed to a major to get them on the radio
to get where they are now.

So they've gotten further on their own than they would have in years past
which is a good thing.

~~~
smackfu
Which major label did they sign to? Their song "Jimmy Iovine" is a pretty
scathing indictment of major labels.

"We’ll give you a hundred thousand dollar. After your album comes out we’ll
need back that money that you borrowed. So it’s really like a loan, a loan?
Come on, no. We're a team, 360 degrees, we will reach your goals! We’ll get a
third of the merch that you sell out on the road. Along with a third of the
money you make when you’re out doing your shows. Manager gets 20, booking
agent gets 10, so shit, after taxes you and Ryan have 7% to split. That’s not
bad, I’ve seen a lot worse, No one will give you a better offer than us.

"I replied I appreciate the offer, thought that this is what I wanted. Rather
be a starving artist than succeed at getting fucked."

~~~
homosaur
Yeah, I can't find any evidence of this deal, I'm guessing it was publishing
only. The Heist debuted at #2 without any help from anyone. It's not like
Macklemore is totally unknown, he was in the XXL Freshman Class in 2012 and
had success on iTunes going back to 2011.

It goes to show you how desperate the industry is that they would do something
like this if they did sign a distro-only deal. It's happening more and more.
Tyler the Creator had a similar deal for Goblin, it was a one-album deal with
XL, almost no strings attached and a lot of conditionals for the label in
regards to their rights. I'm not sure if he's self publishing Wolf but what
need does he have for a major now? He has a freaking TV show and Williams
Street is going to pimp the hell out of it. I wouldn't be suprised if Williams
is putting it out, they put out Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music last year and that
album both sold pretty well and was almost universally considered one of the
top albums of last year.

There's plenty of indies out there who are willing to come to incredibly
favorable terms with artists and have just as much pull in 2013 as a major
does.

~~~
res0nat0r
Here is the transcript of the NPR report I heard the other week:
<http://m.npr.org/news/Business/171476473>

_The truth is that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis hired a company to help them get
their music into stores. That company, Alternative Distribution Alliance, is
an arm of Warner Music Group, one of the most major of the major labels._

 _To carry them across the finish line, get to top 40 radio, get the number
one song in the country, they went old school. They tapped Warner Music Group,
not some quasi-independent subsidiary but the real deal. Warner gets them on
the radio in exchange for a cut of the profits._

Those were the major points. They just used an arm of WMG to get bigger
exposure both on the radio and via distribution. I shouldn't have said
'signed' above when stating that is how they got to number one on the radio,
they just signed a deal for a major to take a cut of the profits for the
exposure and help that that brings to get them to #1.

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jbuzbee
Catchy song, lots of fun - On a side note, while I was in Australia last fall
they were playing Thrift Shop uncensored on the radio. We'll never hear that
in the states. How about the rest of the world? Does it get uncensored air
play in Europe, Asia, etc?

~~~
coldtea
> _Does it get uncensored air play in Europe, Asia, etc?_

Yes, in Europe we're mostly treated like adults.

~~~
jbuzbee
> Yes, in Europe we're mostly treated like adults.

Mostly. But in many European countries, instead of fines you'll face jail-time
if you broadcast words that have been deemed unacceptable by the government.
For example:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech#Germany>

While in the US, adults are expected to recognize and counter those obnoxious
and hurtful words with rejection, education and civil discourse.

~~~
coldtea
Well, for Germans it's ok to NOT be treated as adults, because last time they
played the grown ups they killed around 20+ million people.

I'd say, though, that there are far more words you cannot broadcast in the US,
free speech and all. If not because of law, then because either the networks
wont let you or because some people will "crucify" you.

I remember some years ago there was a huge brouhaha even because Janet Jackson
showed some tit on a live show...

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localhost
Girl Talk had a similar "dual life" experience at the start of his career
where he was working as a biomedical engineer during the days in a cube farm
and jetting off to Europe on the weekends to do gigs.

Here's an early interview:
<http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6415-girl-talk/>

~~~
pclark
Jim Eno, from Spoon, was a semiconductor chip designer up until Spoon released
Gimmie Fiction. They released four albums before Gimmie Fiction and had
multiple international tours.

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rickdale
I just downloaded this album about a week ago after finding another story
about it on HN. I was blown away. First album I have listened to on repeat
over and over again since Pink Floyds Animals. Its really brilliant writing
and just on point.

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kitcar
Site seems to be down for me; Here is the cached version:
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qZ_7OsB...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qZ_7OsBxnx4J:popdust.com/2013/01/25/the-
story-of-wanz-the-51-year-old-breakout-singer-on-macklemores-thrift-
shop/+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca)

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8ig8
Reminds me of MC Frontalot, nerdcore extroidaire.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Frontalot>

Zero Day (mp3):

[http://frontalot.com/media.php/10003/MC_Frontalot_-
_Zero_Day...](http://frontalot.com/media.php/10003/MC_Frontalot_-
_Zero_Day_-_01._Zero_Day.mp3)

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SteveGuttenberg
Great story

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Evbn
> the song's quickly viral music video parodying traditional hip-hop excess.

Suddenly realized the connection between Thrift Shop and Gangnam Style.

This is a great article about a great story. Did his coworkers know his
musical talent before Thrift Shop?

~~~
waterlesscloud
>> the song's quickly viral music video parodying traditional hip-hop excess.

>Suddenly realized the connection between Thrift Shop and Gangnam Style.

Hello, hit songs of the economic downturn!

