Jim Carroll: Acts may be getting younger, but problems they encounter with labels are age-old ones

The music industry eats babies for fun. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a couple of new examples which demonstrate that young musicians and the pop business may often not be the best of bed-fellows.

Exhibit A, your man Zayn Malik. He’s the former member of One Directon who left the band to be “a normal 22 year old” and most of you heartless bastards have already forgotten all about him.

Exhibit B, Unlocking the Truth, the New York teen metalheads are seeking to quit their label after a $1.8 million record deal soured. They just want to skate with no-one tut-tutting at them about possible broken limbs.

Exhibit C, young Irish tearaways The Strypes, who demonstrated some potentially fiesty label/band tension in the Julien Temple-directed documentary Best Thing Since Cavan.

Of course, there are plenty of older acts who would also be able to talk the talk about problems with the business as this disconnect is not something solely confined to youths.

Yet in recent times, the flurry of young acts getting courted, seduced and signed by major labels has been striking in the extreme. Rejuvenated and cash-rich A&R departments seem to be on a mission to sign as many kids as possible and turn them into stars. They’ve succeeded with the former, but the latter is proving to be as difficult as ever.

Of course, you could argue that the acts don’t actually need the labels as was once the case. The ability of musicians to use everything from YouTube to Soundcloud to build a following means you can easily bypass the traditional gatekeeper-controlled distribution and promotional channels. Indeed, if acts stick to their own guns and do the bulk of the heavy lifting themelves, any success which happens is very much under their own terms and conditions.

You can understand, though, why labels are attractive to many new and young acts. Here’s an entity who are happy to hand you a big wad of cash and do all the hard work for you. The contracts may be daunting and full of legalese like “WE NOW OWN YOUR SOUL”, but you trust your smooth-talking managers and advisors, don’t you?

Naturally, the fact that the label will then do their utmost to recoup that cash by all means necessary - including turning you into a novelty act and sending you to meet regional radio DJs - is never signalled at the signing stage.

As Malik and One Direction showed, success and a share of a 100 million euro fortune is no indication that all is well in the camp. Malik grew tired of being only associated with 1D in the public eye and all the hassle, pressure and stress that came with it so he decided to go for something else. Many might reckon that all that cash would be a salve for all that ailed him, but money doesn’t cure all ills.

You can expect more young acts to kick up a public fuss over the deals they’ve signed in the coming years. The acts may be getting younger, but the problems they encounter with labels are sadly age-old ones.

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The fine weather this week is a reminder that the festival season is on the way. One new entrant to the melee is Canalphonic, a festival which went by another name until legal notions intervened, and it takes place around the Grand Canal in Dublin 6 on May 8 and 9. For those who can’t wait that long, check out the festival launch Saturday night (April 11) at Dublin’s Sugar Club.

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