Tony Brummel Speaks

[Rohan Kohli]

From HitsDailyDouble.com (http://www.hitsdailydouble.com): Victory Records chief Tony Brummel is on the warpath regarding Apple and the company’s iTunes policies. Brummel tried to negotiate a deal with the service but was unhappy with the terms, particularly Apple’s refusal to approve a one-year term contract. Brummel fired off another of his infamous e-mails, this one to Apple’s Alex Luke. Some of the juicier excerpts follow: “The inflexibility on your side is mind boggling. This is art, if you have not forgotten. Do you think Michelangelo punched in and out when he painted the Sistine Chapel? Music consumers would look at your tactics as worse than those employed by the major record companies. I am surprised that Apple operates in such an authoritarian manner when its public image is that of a company run by creative types. This “take it or leave it” stance is anti-entrepreneurial, anti-creative and anti-American...My staff and my artists are asked every day why Victory’s content is not on iTunes. When the explanation is given, people understand why we are not in business together. In fact, it bothers them. The power of word of mouth is undeniable, especially in the age of the Internet. It may take awhile to resonate but when it does, people typically react accordingly...I passed an olive branch. Instead of embracing it, you whack me in the face with it. This is bad business and sets a very unfortunate precedent. iTunes is not providing the public the alternative that it claims to be.”

[Greg Thimmes]

Crazyness as usual

[Jason Tate]

So, anyone heard the new Hawthorne Heights yet?

[CHRISRIPPEDOUT]

i'm not sure if this guy is smart, or fucking insane?

[CHRISRIPPEDOUT]

So, anyone heard the new Hawthorne Heights yet?
nope, what's the good word?

[Greg Thimmes]

So, anyone heard the new Hawthorne Heights yet?

Nope, Can't Say That I have

[FASSWcore]

wow, big words...good for victory, someone needed to say something because music is art first and foremost to many people still

[xdrummerxdudex]

on the victory records website, they play a clip of some new stuff. i'll be seeing them next wednesday so they'll probably play some new stuff there.

[Greg Thimmes]

So, anyone heard the new Hawthorne Heights yet?

I think me and you tate are the only one(s) that get it.

[when 4ever ends]

im worried about you rohan. have you stabbed yourself in the ears yet?

[ghostyouare]

How did the guy that harbors Hawthrone heights even dare utter Michelangelo's name?

[ghostyouare]

I swear I better be thanked in their (Hh) booklet.

[thewebguy]

i must say, i like tony brummel. i don't know exactly why, maybe because he's such a crazy guy and isn't afraid to say what he thinks.

anyway, does anyone know why the fight is over a 1 year thing? what i mean is, does apple demand a longer contract, or shorter, or something else? i don't get it. i think it is unfortunate that they can't work something out. there is a lot of victory stuff i wish was on itunes (full collapse, byd, btbam, tell all your friends).

i think it might be counter productive for labels like victory to put thier cds on itunes. selling digital downloads doesn't cost them anything except a lost album sale. someone buying a cd on itunes means there is one more cd that sits in a warehouse (i guess).

who knows though.

[Drew Beringer]

Haha, don't like the guy, but I love his emails.

[cora_ann]

I think me and you tate are the only one(s) that get it.

I got it.

[Darren McLeod]

why does tony act as if hes in the mafia?
Probably because his name is Tony.

[icf4life]

So, anyone heard the new Hawthorne Heights yet?
i have. its decent

[aminorthreat55]

:appl:

One of the few times I completely agree with what Brummel has done.

[JIMMYateEARTH]

Probably because his name is Tony.

Ha, I was so gonna say that.

He has a point in a his own crazy little way

[Pat Marquez]

i like victory records and most of the albums they put out... who cares what tony writes in an e-mail...

come on... don't act like all of you don;t say anything "bad"

[tjv-fan]

i must say, i like tony brummel. i don't know exactly why, maybe because he's such a crazy guy and isn't afraid to say what he thinks.

anyway, does anyone know why the fight is over a 1 year thing? what i mean is, does apple demand a longer contract, or shorter, or something else? i don't get it. i think it is unfortunate that they can't work something out. there is a lot of victory stuff i wish was on itunes (full collapse, byd, btbam, tell all your friends).

i think it might be counter productive for labels like victory to put thier cds on itunes. selling digital downloads doesn't cost them anything except a lost album sale. someone buying a cd on itunes means there is one more cd that sits in a warehouse (i guess).

who knows though.

people who are going to buy the CD are going to buy the CD.......i tunes and other download services actually increase your likelyhood of selling an album because they offer listners the chance to hear the album first and even if they dont want to buy the album they can still buy just the tracks they like.....where as before they might not have even bought the album at all just because they might only enjoy one track. Im sure victory doesnt miss the missed income here too too much but all itunes is is another marketing tool and a few extra bucks in your pocket as a label.

[forumreader]

The real question is, how will people know which new Victory artists will be "their new favorite band" without the big sticker? What is the digital equivalent of the big sticker?

[Pat Marquez]

How did the guy that harbors Hawthrone heights even dare utter Michelangelo's name?
haha because tony is fucking smart as hell...


look at how well HH is doing dude.... now you can say you don't like the music but he signed a band that is making him quite a bit of money.

[sevencard43]

Is the new HH even out yet? I've got to watch myself. I find myself disliking bands because stupid people I know like them. Maybe I'll like this one..."Niki FM" wasn't a bad song...

[clevername]

I think what he said was valid, but I think that is a moot point considering all the shit he's tried pulling lately. I mean this is the dude who rereleases records after about two weeks... Not a fan here. then again there ar e afew Victory bands I would prefer to download like one song from and not get the rest...

[BeerNSluts]

So, anyone heard the new Hawthorne Heights yet?

Haha. Security #1

[Frank Giaramita]

Eh, at least he wasn't irrational with what he had to say.

[ghostyouare]

haha because tony is fucking smart as hell...


look at how well HH is doing dude.... now you can say you don't like the music but he signed a band that is making him quite a bit of money.
Don't get me wrong, I never said he isn't smart because honestly he is. He's done well in business and built himself up from the ground. But he was talking about art and that's where he shouldn't branch out and talk about. I mean come on, the only art his roster of bands has is their make up.

[Stubby0918]

Don't get me wrong, I never said he isn't smart because honestly he is. He's done well in business and built himself up from the ground. But he was talking about art and that's where he shouldn't branch out and talk about. I mean come on, the only art his roster of bands has is their make up.
Hahahaha

[Co and Ca]

AIDEN SUCKS. rantrantrant

[sweetmik]

This is email is actually well composed.

[timmysavedlatin]

i dont reallly have an opinion either way, but did snicker when he said "anti-american"

[DeathCabForCoon]

That guy is crazy like a pair of pants.

[sevencard43]

Don't get me wrong, I never said he isn't smart because honestly he is. He's done well in business and built himself up from the ground. But he was talking about art and that's where he shouldn't branch out and talk about. I mean come on, the only art his roster of bands has is their make up.

It's too bad he lost TBS. I don't know if Straylight Run is still on there either. But there are a few good ones here and there, in my opinion.

[ghostyouare]

It's too bad he lost TBS. I don't know if Straylight Run is still on there either. But there are a few good ones here and there, in my opinion.
He wouldn't have lost them if he wasn't such a dick.

[halifaxsb86]

i love silverstein

[CHRISRIPPEDOUT]

i just think he's a habitual bridge burner

[thewebguy]

I mean come on, the only art his roster of bands has is their make up.

i think you are making too big of an assumption based on victory ads on mtv. they have a pretty well rounded lineup.

anywayyy, does anyone know anything about why apple won't take a 1 year contract??

[Forsythe22]

So, anyone heard the new Hawthorne Heights yet?
Not funny if nobody's on the inside of the inside joke. "Daaahh I haven't heard it, when's it out?"



Anyway, I think Brummel was on the money with this one. Fuck Apple.

[IamTheINDUSTRY]

how dare he call anything close to hawthorne heights "art"....that makes his argument null and void.

[Rufio21]

i'm not sure if this guy is smart, or fucking insane?

hes crazy but he is one hell of a businessman and I respect him for that. He can be an asshole to bands sometimes just to make some extra cash.

[ghostyouare]

i think you are making too big of an assumption based on victory ads on mtv. they have a pretty well rounded lineup.

anywayyy, does anyone know anything about why apple won't take a 1 year contract??
I've been to their site a few times.

[acowardforyou]

f#$k Victory and a big F^%K YOU to tony shithead brummel

[ThriceBoy]

i must say, i like tony brummel. i don't know exactly why, maybe because he's such a crazy guy and isn't afraid to say what he thinks.

anyway, does anyone know why the fight is over a 1 year thing? what i mean is, does apple demand a longer contract, or shorter, or something else? i don't get it. i think it is unfortunate that they can't work something out. there is a lot of victory stuff i wish was on itunes (full collapse, byd, btbam, tell all your friends).

i think it might be counter productive for labels like victory to put thier cds on itunes. selling digital downloads doesn't cost them anything except a lost album sale. someone buying a cd on itunes means there is one more cd that sits in a warehouse (i guess).

who knows though.

Apple does not do contracts...Tony wants a contract.

[happyemoily]

"This is art, if you have not forgotten."

If Tony was so concerned about "art".. maybe he'd think about actually paying his artists.

[Tom Da Bomb]

i have to say, tony speaks the truth.

i highly dislike apples itunes for many reasons.

number 1 reason y... you can download WINMX and get music for free.

but.. that isnt stoppin me from buyin an I-Pod this xmas. Im one of the many who have gotton sucked into there top notch mp3 player. but fuck the vidieo ones, who needs that anyways?

there copywrite protection divises suck. and suck hard. if i ever buy a cd, and cant burn it or put it on a mp3 player. im going to be so pissed and never buy another album off that perticular lable again.

[gasTROboy]

The new hawthorne is surprinsingly good. Not a dull song.

[Indiepowell]

yeah.. as much as I've heard and read about tony brummel, he's one mofo I would not dare to touch.

[DanielSkies]

i'm not sure if this guy is smart, or fucking insane?

...a bit of both really. that's what makes him so much fun.

[Johnny Drama]

The real question is, how will people know which new Victory artists will be "their new favorite band" without the big sticker? What is the digital equivalent of the big sticker?

I found this amusing.

Once upon a time, i bought a glasseater cd because the sticker told me if I was into New found glory, Jimmy Eat World, and Taking Back Sunday that i needed to own this glasseater cd right away.

[Isolated]

number 1 reason y... you can download WINMX and get music for free.

Uh.. So iTunes are bad because they're doing something legal? WinMX is good because it's illegal and screws over the artists who need to sell CDs?
No, I don't see where you're coming from.
Tony uses the whole 'music is art' bullshit way too often, because we all know he probably doesn't give a shit about music being a form of art. He only ever seems to come across as a businessman who wants money. I mean, I could probably agree with the things he said in the e-mail but I'm sure what he said in that e-mail is simply a cover up of his real motive, which is to get more money.
I think the concept of iTunes is shit for the simple reason you pay pretty much the same as you would for a normal CD but you don't actually get any case or actual CD. iTunes, to me, is just there so people can't say 'I only download music illegally because there's no where I can download it legally'.

[Aileen]

i'd whack him in the face with a tree


no actually i just wanted to say that since no one had yet. homeboy needs to take a chill pill.

[van_morrison]

Victory Records is to music what Thomas Kinkade is to art


they're both destroying it


(and referring to Kinkade as an artist is very generous, as he emodies everything that art isn't)

[beenbrokenx]

i'd whack him in the face with a tree
no actually i just wanted to say that since no one had yet. homeboy needs to take a chill pill.

haha. oh aileen....

[radioodidty]

Most of the bands on Victory don't even have songs that are worth .99 so I don't understand what the issue is. If Mr. Brummel wanted to actually negotiate, (which he apparently "forgot the art of") he wouldn't burn bridges constantly. If Apple is not going to change their policies for a professional representative of a major label then why would they do it for someone who is flying off the handle and acting childish? Especially when he says "Music consumers would look at your tactics as worse than those employed by the major record companies." His label and other "indie" labels have dramatically raised prices over the past five years and the amount given to bands has remained almost the same. "This 'take it or leave it' stance is anti-entrepreneurial, anti-creative and anti-American", no, the ability not to engage in capitalism is Anti-American. Obviously, no one will work with you in any type of fashion if you cannot handle rejections without acting like a child.

:blah:

[hubbabubbal3ts]

i'd fight tony brummel.

[exidol]

haha because tony is fucking smart as hell...
look at how well HH is doing dude.... now you can say you don't like the music but he signed a band that is making him quite a bit of money.

Actually, I don't think HH has made Victory that much money yet. Do you know how much those Fuse and M2 commercials cost? And they have been running every day for as long as I can remember. Now granted, victory gives their labels shitty ass contracts that require them to pay for most of that stuff, so he might make it back someday. For sure the band has not made any money.

[ghostyouare]

Actually, I don't think HH has made Victory that much money yet. Do you know how much those Fuse and M2 commercials cost? And they have been running every day for as long as I can remember. Now granted, victory gives their labels shitty ass contracts that require them to pay for most of that stuff, so he might make it back someday. For sure the band has not made any money.
HH has sold over 500,000 albums (or was it 50,000?), they made him plenty of money

[exidol]

HH has sold over 500,000 albums (or was it 50,000?), they made him plenty of money

you're not too bright, are you?

[astarlighthreat]

"anti-entrepreneurial"---- what a dumbass. what they are doing is entrepreneurial. there is nothing wrong with what apple is doing, just capitalizing on demand. That Brummel dude on the other hand, he tries to be wayyy to eloquent for his own good and just ends up sounding like a dumbass in the end.

[robotsharkrodeo]

i'm not sure if this guy is smart, or fucking insane?

I'm gonna go ahead and say insane. He called one of the fastet growing companies in the world "anti-american". I'm sure that went over well.

To each his own I suppose. Just seems like the wrong way to negotiate a deal to me.

[davedesloover18]

How did the guy that harbors Hawthrone heights even dare utter Michelangelo's name?
yeah, what tony brummel is selling isnt art. it's tired bullshit. and michelangelo didnt slap stickers all over his works saying "FOR FANS OF DAVINCI, THIS PAINTING IS A MUST HAVE!!!"

[Sureshot182]

no one knows exactly where tony stands. he has worked for everything he has, and no one deserves to take that away.

[leafsacc]

Victory stuff isn't on Napster either, and they've released so many bland albums lately that i'm a lot less likley to buy their stuff if i can't hear it first. I'm a lot less likley to give a band like the audition or the junior varsity a chance, so i think he's just hurting his company and the artists.

[ghostyouare]

yeah, what tony brummel is selling isnt art. it's tired bullshit. and michelangelo didnt slap stickers all over his works saying "FOR FANS OF DAVINCI, THIS PAINTING IS A MUST HAVE!!!"
hahahahah

[ghostyouare]

you're not too bright, are you?
April 3, 1972 - Jeez man, do you have a kid that I could hang out with?

[duffe]

I swear I better be thanked in their (Hh) booklet.
Hhaha.

[matt_rawlings]

Tony is a mental

[ChadisTHEChad]

did he seriously just compare Victory Records' stuggle to get their songs on itunes to Michelangelo's work on the Sistine Chapel???

HAHAHAHAHA

ego.

[Don Trump]

Well i'm sure if they had Time clocks back then Michaelangelo would punch in and out. Becuase he was hired to do that.

[satanisanerd]

What I want to know is how did a personal email end up on Absolutepunk.net? Did Victory feed the story here?

[senortetas]

victory is relatively big in the underground scene..but not big at all in the entire music arena...i really dont think Apple cares if Victory plays along to their rules or not...everyone get over it and keep getting music however you get it, legal or not..

[exidol]

April 3, 1972 - Jeez man, do you have a kid that I could hang out with?

I dont know that I have ever plugged a real birthday in to one of those registration forms.

How is San Bernadino treating you? Can't afford to live in the nice part of Southern California huh? Tell your parent(s) to get a real job and move out of the shitty part of town. Hell, the valley would be a step up for your ass.

Talk to you later fatty.

[ghostyouare]

I dont know that I have ever plugged a real birthday in to one of those registration forms.

How is San Bernadino treating you? Can't afford to live in the nice part of Southern California huh? Tell your parent(s) to get a real job and move out of the shitty part of town. Hell, the valley would be a step up for your ass.

Talk to you later fatty.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA

[Forsythe22]

I dont know that I have ever plugged a real birthday in to one of those registration forms.

How is San Bernadino treating you? Can't afford to live in the nice part of Southern California huh? Tell your parent(s) to get a real job and move out of the shitty part of town. Hell, the valley would be a step up for your ass.

Talk to you later fatty.

Wow, I don't know either of you guys, but that was definitely below the belt, knocking on where somebody's from and what their parents do. If you were born in '72, you should be a hell of a lot more mature than that, and if you weren't, you shouldn't be that pissed off. Mellow out.

[TommyGunn]

Wow, I don't know either of you guys, but that was definitely below the belt, knocking on where somebody's from and what their parents do. If you were born in '72, you should be a hell of a lot more mature than that, and if you weren't, you shouldn't be that pissed off. Mellow out.

i thought it was funny

[Tmovielife16]

in the words of a great artist that used to reside within the victory walls:

you thought that you would break us, yo'll never beat us down,
as long as blood runs through these veins you'll never wear the crown
...
every time you take us back you fuck us once again
all the times we've suffered, the years and years of pain,
a contract we gave with our blood the wolf leads in the sheep
LIAR, a liar a fucking thief
...
all we ever wanted wanted was a fighting chance,
the the years and the love we gave you a band that you forgot
we will keep on fighting your greed can't wear us thin
our succcess is all you have to show a man who has no friends
you have no friends

[Ailite]

It' s hard to choose a side... I don't dislike, but definitely don't like Brummel, but he is got some good points.

[ghostyouare]

i thought it was funny
It's not funny :( My step dad puts in pacemakers and my mom is a pharmacist or something like that and she is in charge of all the drugs for a whole hospitol, I think we are doing just fine here in SB

[aminorthreat55]

It's not funny :( My step dad puts in pacemakers and my mom is a pharmacist or something like that and she is in charge of all the drugs for a whole hospitol, I think we are doing just fine here in SB
Hahahaah Trevor.

[atticusfinch]

Haha.

This guy is a walking bag of bullshit.