Music Video Distributors Interview
continued…
6) The major labels have had home video titles for a long
time, like the Sony Video 45 series before Sony ever bought Columbia
Records. Stereo was eventually added to
VHS & Beta, but was still making a comeback in film and video production in
general. How important did you think
that was to the market at the time?
I am not sure that stereo VHS was ever that important; I
don't think audiophiles were ever really entranced by the VHS market. The Music DVD market was, and to a large
degree still is dominated by collectors – not audiophiles.
7) How did your company land up in Oaks, PA?
Well that could be a real long story, but the short story
is very simple - cheap rent.
8) Ha! Who were
the first big artists that helped your company?
Our first VHS titles way back were Sex Pistols
titles. But on DVD our big breakthrough
was Sublime. We had done exceptionally
well with the VHS of Stories Tales Lies & Exaggerations, charting for a
good while on Billboard. Our
relationship with the filmmaker was exceptional, and we convinced him to do DVD
with us...it was our first DVD and still our best seller.
9) I remember that one; a very big hit. What were your breakthrough titles?
Sublime STLE
Rockers
GG Allin Hated
Iggy & Stooges Live in Detroit
NY Dolls
Public Enemy
10) It seems the majors still do not totally know what to
do with Punk, post-Punk or many kinds of Rock.
The genre makes money, even if Hip Hop is a bit hotter. How has MVD taken advantage of this?
I don't agree that majors don't know what to do with
these genres really - they have created and acquired independent distributors
(like RED, Caroline, ADA) to handle these kinds of genres and these companies
do a damn good job.
11) However, the industry has shied away from the more
overtly political works, but MVD has done an exceptional job with them. When did the company realize that DVD was
going to be big?
Right away. DVD was a far superior format than VHS for
the random access to songs alone. We jumped at the opportunity to get in that
game.
12) What about the early quality problems with the format,
including a few bugs (like discs not playing in all machines) that will never
get resolved?
Every new format has bugs - for the most part these
worked out.
13) Reviewing them all the time, we still find problems
here and there. What about DVD-Audio,
Super Audio CD and Dual Disc? What do
you think of their respective quality and future?
Generally they are confusing to the consumer in my opinion.
The music business still doesn't understand these formats, so it is hard for
consumers to get it. It's a shame, I think DualDisc makes lots of sense but it
is a challenge for consumers to understand it.
14) The menus on DVD-Audio have been a nightmare for some,
while DualDisc has not worked out in all cases, but your DEVO title we reviewed
was just fine. Because of your name,
did people initially think you were only involved in Music Videos?
Yes - and people still think that and are confused by
what we are. Some think we service video clips to MTV.
15) Why have long-form video programs and concerts not
caught on like they could have?
Tough question - one theory is that longform video
requires higher level of fan - you need to watch & listen compared to just
listening. Another theory is selection,
shelf space, and dedication to format by the industry. I think it is a combination of both.
16) Have the major labels abandoned too many of their key
artists since the 1980s and if so, has that helped out MVD?
The majors have a biz model that works for them I think -
they are geared to sell big units and once they can't do that they have to
bail. Yes, it definitely helps us when
artists are free from their restrictive deals!
17) Ha! For
feature films, besides the cult titles that have come out so far, what else is
Eclectic looking to find for release?
It either needs to be completely bizarre and a no
brainer, or a strong music business tie for it to make sense for us.
18) Butterfly Ball is among many independently made
gems that have been lost until you issued them. How much research goes into picking and choosing what to try to
find and get the rights to release?
Honestly a lot comes to us because of our reputation and
because of our networking in the industry.
Butterfly Ball was brought to us by a reliable source, and we
licensed from them. Other titles
require loads of research and clearances.
19) Why does it seem that so many good music DVD titles
get produced overseas and never make it here, unless a company like MVD gets
involved?
2 reasons. First,
the publishing for music DVDs is completely stupid in the US, very time
consuming and cumbersome. Short story,
there is no administrative body to handle publishing for synch rights, like Harry
Fox does for mechanical. It is
different around the world - and better.
The other reason, Music DVD is our business. So we look for opportunities to say "Yes", whereas a
lot of our competition looks for reasons to say "No".
20) Might MVD start its own music TV series that it would
later issue on DVD?
That sounds like fun - know anyone who would like to
launch this?
21) We will let you know if we hear anything. You said audiophiles have yet to be
impressed or inspired by DVD, even with a format like DTS out there? Since stereo and older Dolby Pro Logic
surround for video playback to 5.1 mixes today, do you see such sound as still
being too gimmicky and not taken seriously enough with video?
No - I said audiophiles were unimpressed by VHS, and that
the primary market for Music DVD is probably rock collectors. I think audiophiles are very impressed by
the DVDs with excellent audio, which is a small percentage of all DVDs
released.
22) Fair enough. Though the HD formats are still having
delay troubles, when they come out, what do you see as MVD's position in HD?
We will be very active in this area. HD is amazing and opens up loads of
opportunity for us. We have filmed our
first concert in HD – the Sublime Tribute Concert: Look At All the Love We
Found: Live. And so much of our catalog
can be bumped up to HD - it is very exciting!
We are also looking forward to covering all kinds of HD
software, including anything and everything MVD intends to issue. We thank him for his time. Be sure to be on the lookout for more MVD
reviews and events at FulvueDrive-in.com.
Nicholas Sheffo conducted this interview.
