>One other thing, why the hell are the Connells still on TVT?
>Obviously, TVT doesn't have the distribution or promotional power of WEA,
>BMG, Sony, etc.  I find it hard to believe that the Connells haven't been
>approached by some of the bigger record companies.  Didn't TVT and Connells
>get into a legal dispute at some point?  I'm not saying that the Connells
>necessarily should hop over to one of the biggies, I'm just wondering out
>loud that perhaps TVT hasn't served the Connells' best interests.  If
>anyone has any information about this, I'd love to hear it.
 
I asked Mike Connell about TVT and their dispute a few years back, but he
gave me sort of a half answer - very typical for him.
 
My understanding is that they are signed on for eight albums.  This kind of
deal happens when you career has just started and the record company holds
all the chips.  They probably have no way out of their contract unless TVT
either fails to renew the contract option for another album or releases them
totally (i.e. another company buys out the contract).
 
What I have gathered from converstaions with the band is that they were
very, very unhappy with the whole _One Simple Word_ recording project
because TVT and the producer took most of the creative control.  Soonafter,
a lawsuit was brought by the band against TVT concerning royalties that
hadn't been paid.  They amounted to a considerable sum, but I think they
eventually settled.
 
At the same time, there was some major label interest, but the contract was
holding them to TVT.  I speculate that the royalty issue may have been an
atempt to slip out of the contract and sign with someone else.
 
After all this unhappiness and legal wrangling, they must have come to some
compromise (i.e. Hey, you guys can take more creative control and we'll do
more to promote the new albums if you drop your lawsuit) because no
recording was made for nearly two years, so no significant money was being
made by either party.  Apparently, the _Ring_ sessions were much better
because they were quite happy with the results.  TVT did manage a little
more of a promotion effort - or maybe whoever handled the European release
did anyway.
 
Of course, not only is the band chained to TVT, but so are all the
individual members (case in point, _Brain Junk_).
 
You're definitely not the first person I've heard put down TVT and probably
won't be the last.  I hope this long message sheds some light on your
question. I'll be the first to admit that alot of this is my own personal
speculation mixed in with known facts, but I I think it's a pretty accurate
analysis of the situation.  If anyone has further info, share it, because
I'd love to know.
 
John Haramis
Member of the Blacksburg, VA based band Midway and
National Science Fellow
Virginia Tech Department of Civil Engineering
Structures and Materials Lab
105 Plantation Road
Blacksburg, VA  24061-0357