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Jars of Clay exits label to launch new imprint
06/16/2007 3:49 AM, Reuters
Deborah Evans Price
After 12 years on Essential
Records, Jars of Clay is exiting to launch a new imprint, Gray
Matters, under the Nettwerk Music Group umbrella.
"Having our own imprint will give us the opportunity to be
more spontaneous and more prolific in how much music we kick
out," Jars of Clay's Stephen Mason said.
The first Gray Matters release will be a Christmas
collection, due October 17, which Jars will support via a
Christmas tour with Third Day. Mason said the band also plans
to record a soundtrack for a documentary a friend is making
about the African village of Lwala.
Mason and bandmates Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark and Charlie
Lowell rose to prominence in the mid-'90s in the Christian
market and gained mainstream success with the multiformat hit
"Flood." They have continued to appeal to both markets. Last
fall, they released "Good Monsters," which has scanned 134,000
units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Jars' former label, Essential, is part of Provident Music
Group, Sony BMG's Christian music arm. Provident will
distribute Gray Matters product to Christian retailers, and
Sony BMG will take releases to the mainstream market.
"We're excited there's so much more we can involve
ourselves in," Mason said of the opportunity, under the new
deal, to exert more control over the band's career. "Things
that most people are happy to turn over to someone else, we
love that minutiae."
Reuters/Billboard
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