Speculation is growing that Courtney Love‘s group Hole may be in negotiations with ALAN McGEE‘s new record label, POPTONES after the two – who share the same views on music over the Internet – were spotted deep in discussion around LONDON.
Hole vocalist Love has been in the city for a number of days, and was spotted at Radio4, Alan McGee‘s new Poptones club night in Notting Hill, last Wednesday (August 2).
Last night (August 6) she was also sighted enjoying a meal with McGee at the high class The Salt House restaurant in the exclusive St John’s Wood area of the city.
According to reports from the Digital Hollywood conference earlier in the year, Love, disillusioned with being signed to a major label, was outspoken in her support for digital music via the Internet – an attitude McGee‘s label embraces. She said: “The present system keeps artists from finding an audience because it has too many artificial scarcities…the digital world has no scarcities. There are countless ways to reach an audience.
“We don’t have to work with major labels anymore, because the digital economy is creating new ways to distribute and market music. And the free ones amongst us aren’t going to. That means the slave class, which I represent, has to find ways to get out of our deals.
“I want to work with people who believe in music and art and passion. And I’m just the tip of the iceberg. I’m leaving the major label system and there are hundreds of artists who are going to follow me…
“I’m looking for people to help connect me to more fans, because I believe fans will leave a tip based on the enjoyment and service I provide. I’m not scared of them getting a preview. It really is going to be a global village where a billion people have access to one artist and a billion people can leave a tip if they want to. ”
Her comments almost directly mirror the views of McGee, who previously described his new label as “a merger of old school indie ethics and the Internet”. He continued: “We’re creating a new underground, I won’t be playing the game. There’s some fucking great ideas – downloads, webcasts and a load of things that haven’t been done before. I’ve got a lot of tricks up my sleeve.”
However, a spokesperson for Poptones said the two are merely of a like mind and could shed no light on whether Love was likely sign with the label, branding the pair “friends”. He continued: “She’s over in the UK for about a week and wanted to hang out with Alan. They went to see a film yesterday and then down to Portobello Road to buy some records. That’s about all really.”