Arts & Crafts Productions is a music-focused media and artist services company that offers information as an independent record label, management firm, merchandiser, and publisher worldwide. It has earned 21 Juno Awards. Arts & Crafts has been called one of Canada's most important record labels.[1]
History
Founding
Arts & Crafts (also referred to as "A&C") was launched as a music company in 2003 by friends Jeffrey Remedios & Daniel Cutler both former Virgin Records executives as well as Kevin Drew, who co-founded flagship group Broken Social Scene (BSS) with Brendan Canning. The partnership was originally intended as a vehicle for self-release and artist management of Broken Social Scene's breakthrough album You Forgot It in People, and the structure quickly formed as a platform to release albums and manage the careers of artists directly affiliated with members of Broken Social Scene. In addition to BSS albums the labels first releases were by Stars, Jason Collett, Feist, Apostle of Hustle and Valley of the Giants.
Growth
In 2005 The Most Serene Republic was the first band unrelated to Broken Social Scene to sign to Arts & Crafts[2] and officially marked a shift of scope broader than the projects related to Broken Social Scene.
A&C began its foray into the digital music business with the launch of GalleryAC.com, a boutique web store that offered digital downloads and Arts & Crafts related merchandise, in 2005. They were one of the first labels to launch a digital download store.
In 2004, Remedios expanded the operation into Montreal basing himself out of the offices of DKD who later partnered to form Arts & Crafts International, releasing the gold selling album Set Yourself on Fire[3] by Montreal-based group, Stars.
Arts & Crafts were among the first labels to offer a strategy for combating advance music leaks by offering Stars follow-up album In Our Bedroom After the War for sale before promotional copies were ever manufactured and distributed by issuing wide release as a digital download only 3 days following album completion.[4]
In 2009 Rolling Stone cited Remedios as a key insider reshaping the future of the music biz.[5]
On 5 April 2017,[6] Caroline Distribution became the US distributor for the Arts & Crafts label in the US. The label was previously distributed by RED Distribution in the US. EMI Music Canada previously distributed the label in Canada, when, in 2013, EMI Music Canada was merged into Universal Music Canada.
Recent history
Arts & Crafts Music (also known as GalleryAC Music) controls or administers the publishing rights to much of the music released by the Arts & Crafts label.
On 14 January 2013, Arts & Crafts announced it would be holding the Field Trip Arts & Crafts Music Festival to commemorate their ten-year anniversary. Signed on to headline are Arts & Crafts labelmates Broken Social Scene, Feist, and Stars.[7] Along with the festival celebration, Arts & Crafts released a rarities compilation titled, Arts & Crafts: 2003–2013. The compilation was released as a double album or four LPs and included selected rarities from across the Arts & Crafts catalog.[8] A second compilation album, Arts & Crafts: X, was released in May and featured newly recorded collaborations between A&C artists.[9]
The "Toronto Music Scene"
The 2009 release of This Book Is Broken (House of Anansi Press) documented the rise of Toronto indie bands, focusing especially on Broken Social Scene and the Arts & Crafts roster.
The Arts & Crafts Aesthetic
A design house, Arts & Crafts is well known for a consistent look and quality to all releases. Design and art are important to the company, and are taken as another medium of artistic expression that the label supports.
A&C has been nominated for five JUNO Awards for Album Artwork of the year. In 2006 for Broken Social Scene: Broken Social Scene (Louise Upperton (Director/Designer); Christopher Mills, Kevin Drew, Justin Peroff (Illustrators)), in 2009 for Constantines: Kensington Heights (Dallas Wherle, Robyn Kotyk and Alex Vs. Alex). In 2011, Kotyk, Peroff, Charles Spearin, Joe McKay, Jimmy Collins and Elisabeth Chicoine were awarded the Recording Package of the Year Juno for Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record box set and in 2012 for Timber Timbre's Creep on Creepin' On and Feist's Metals both earned nominations in the category.
In 2014, Arts & Crafts designers Kotyk, Peroff, and Petra Cuschieri won another Recording Package of the Year Juno Award for "Arts & Crafts: 2003–2013" 4x LP compilation album.
The Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards happen every March in Toronto as part of Canadian Music Week.[14]
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result
2008
Arts & Crafts
Independent Label of the Year
Won
2009
Arts & Crafts
Independent Label of the Year
Won
2011
Arts & Crafts
Independent Label of the Year
Won
2012
Arts & Crafts
Independent Label of the Year
Won
2013
Arts & Crafts
Management Company of the Year
Won
2014
Arts & Crafts
Management Company of the Year
Won
Other ventures
In 2008 Arts & Crafts opened Arts & Crafts México[15] and are recognized as the first independent music company to focus on the independent music market in Mexico, releasing albums by the A&C North American roster as well as being the Mexican home to a number of other successful artists such as Sonic Youth, Bright Eyes, M. Ward, Metric, and The Dears.
^Jennings, Nicholas (Spring 2006). "We are Family: Arts & Crafts". Words & Music. SOCAN. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2009. Article about the label's beginnings and its different approach to the music business.
