Metric's new way

Canadian outfit Metric discuss gold sales after going it alone

20 May 2009 - New wave indie band Metric decided to self release their latest album, Fantasies, and have since been reaping the rewards.

"Amazingly, at a time when everyone is all doom and gloom in the record industry about declining record sales, we've somehow managed to have our record go gold in two and a half weeks in Canada," said frontwoman Emily Haines to 6 Music.

The band decided to go it alone after never really finding what they called a "home" with a record label.

They set up Metric Music International and built a studio to record in.

"You don't need the big giant company to get you where you want to go."
Jimmy Shaw

The band told us it felt like a risky venture, but the outcome has been encouraging.

"In the first month of the US, we've already shipped more copies of this record than we did of the previous record over four years," Haines added.

The singer had some strong words about the traditional relationship between band and label.

"I think the days of having the entire music industry built on a completely exploitative approach to the musician are over," said Haines. "Everyone's crying about it, but the times have changed and it's completely antiquated."

'Two people left'

Guitarist Jimmy Shaw sees the changes in the music industry as an opportunity for artists.

"Any musician thinking they're the ones in trouble is buying into the fact that all the business people know that they're on the way out," he explained. "The business man knows there's only two people left that matter, the singer and the listener.

"All that's left is that we play music and our fans listen. The internet dictated that we don't need middle men any more."

Fantasies is also number one in the College Music Journal charts, which he described as the Billboard of the college charts, in the US and Canada.

It is only the second time a self released album has made it into the top spot.

The guitarist said he hopes they can be held up as an example to other bands: "If something really positive came out of that, is would be that other bands can look at that chart and see you don't need the big giant company to get you where you want to go.

"Try and write good music and put love into what your doing, respect it and ideally the respect will come back."

Georgie Rogers