August 10th, 2007
Deathwish has merged with Malfunction Records.
Deathwish recently announced that they have merged with Malfunction Records. It isn’t often that you hear of indie labels merging so I followed up with Jacob about the merger:
IndieHQ: What inspired this merger? And without getting into specifics how exactly does a merger work on an independent level? Will the founders still be involved with the label?
DW: The founders Malfunction have been friends of ours for close to a decade now. At this point in time, they collectively decided to concentrate on other aspects of their lives other than the label. And to do that, they needed to put the label behind them. A move which is understandable considering how intense, stressful, and draining running a small business can be. They approached Deathwish with the option to own and operate the label and it made perfect sense.
The founders are/will no longer involved with the label, but remain close to us as friends. We will run both Malfunction and Deathwish together as one label. We have never been fans of the “A” team and “B” team trap that many label and sub-label fall into. Our goal is to run them as one entity with the same amount of attention paid to the entire catalog. Malfunction releases will still carry their logo, however future pressings could carry both labels in some capacity and adjusted label contact information. Aside from the Malfunction specific myspace page www.myspace.com/malfunctionrecords, the Deathwish website @ www.deathwishinc.com will be the internet home for both labels.
IndieHQ: Can we expect more labels to join the label family?
DW: With the merger we inherited six active bands that we didn’t have prior relationships with. With that said, our hands will be full for a bit while those relationships grow. I should also mention that Deathwish has an intense release schedule for the next year, so it’s just more sleepless nights and fun times for all here @ DWHQ. We are all excited about this.
You can read the press release by clicking read more.
Deathwish has merged with respected hardcore/punk label Malfunction Records.
Malfunction was founded by longtime friends Linas Garsys and Tru Pray. Under their direction since 1999, the label released quality music from many including: Internal Affairs, Ceremony, Cast Aside, Count Me Out, Bitter End, The Hope Conspiracy, Meltdown, XO Skeletons, Piece By Piece, Give Up The Ghost, and more.
Together, Deathwish and Malfunction are now one label family. Effective immediately, Deathwish will take over day to day operations of the label. We will continue to operate Malfunction with the same love and dedication that Linas and Tru gave to the label since it’s inception. As importantly, we show all Malfunction affiliated artists the same dedication and support that we provide to all things Deathwish.
Look for new releases from Bitter End, Trash Talk, and Reign Supreme beginning Fall 2007. Lastly, look for Malfunction releases and apparel in the DW Estore beginning next week.
In stores 9/11 from Malfunction:
Bitter End “Climate Of Fear” CD (LP on Six Feet Under)
In stores now from Malfunction:
Ceremony “Violence Violence” CD/LP
XO Skeletons “Asthmagasm” 7″EP
Internal Affairs “Deadly Visions” CDEP/7″EP
Meltdown “Demolition” CDEP
Written by Virgil Dickerson
Subscribe
View more articles about
On August 10th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Dan said:
hey, what’s up?
luv ur site, i always check the indie charts resume ; )
i’m currently running an R&B blog and i was wondering if u could give me total sales figures for Tamia’s Between Friends and Sunshine Anderson’s Sunshine At Midnight.
Thanks in advance!
Dan
On August 10th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Wren said:
Deathwish and Malfunction?…for a moment I thought you were talking about WMG and EMI but that merger didn’t go.
On August 10th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Howdy Doody said:
Are Linus and Tru going to be acting as A&R for the label still, or is that falling under Jake and Tre, as well?
On August 10th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Yo said:
“The founders are/will no longer involved with the label, but remain close to us as friends. We will run both Malfunction and Deathwish together as one label. We have never been fans of the “A” team and “B” team trap that many label and sub-label fall into. Our goal is to run them as one entity with the same amount of attention paid to the entire catalog. Malfunction releases will still carry their logo, however future pressings could carry both labels in some capacity and adjusted label contact information. Aside from the Malfunction specific myspace page www.myspace.com/malfunctionrecords, the Deathwish website @ www.deathwishinc.com will be the internet home for both labels.”
On August 11th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
jason said:
deathwish reigns
On August 11th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Howdy Doody said:
Thanks, Yo, I read that. I was clear on the operational aspect, just not sure without them doing A&R how it would differentiate in the future from Deathwish.
On September 8th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Late Night Wallflower » Deathwish Inc. Expands, Plans New Releases said:
[…] Juggernauts of the hardcore scene, Deathwish Inc., have announced their plans to merge with long running label, Malfunction Records. The move will combine Deathwish and Malfunction under the Deathwish, Inc. banner “effective immediately.” This leaves Deathwish running Malfunction, in a move that label head Jacob Bannon describes as, “No teams or sub-labels. Two labels, one crew running them.” IndieHQ.com interviewed Bannon about the unusual move of two independent record labels combining with one another and his thoughts on the matter can be found here. […]