Touch and Go ends support functions
MUSIC | Chicago label not folding, but record industry loses key manufacturer
In a move certain to have a wide-ranging negative impact on the independent music scene, Chicago-based Touch and Go Records said Wednesday it will eliminate the part of its operation that provides manufacturing and distribution services to dozens of smaller record labels across the country.
"As much as we love all of these labels," co-founder and owner Corey Rusk said in a statement, "the current state of the economy has reached the point where we can no longer afford to continue this lesser-known yet important part of Touch and Go's operations."
(Sun-Times file)
Labels distributed by Touch and Go will need to find a new company to manufacture their CDs and assure their distribution to retailers, by far one of the most daunting challenges in the indie music world.
Rusk said Touch and Go currently distributes about 20 other record labels, though many of those have smaller sub-labels associated with them. The list includes some of the biggest most adventurous companies in the American rock underground, among them Jade Tree, Kill Rock Stars, All Natural, Atavistic, Drag City and Trance Syndicate.
"It's a sad day for music, independent music and punk rock in particular, and the music business as we know it in the real world," said Mac McCaughan of Merge Records, which used to be distributed by Touch & Go.
Rumors that the Chicago company would cease all operations were circulating this week, but Rusk said that the stories that "Touch and Go is gone are not true."