On Tour and in Person: HANSON

Here's the deal: if you sit down around some cappucinos and couches and try to talk music business with the brothers Hanson, you won't get many words in edgeways. I sit in a St. Kilda hotel with the trio and watch their intersecting ideas and conversation tangents shoot this way and that like Space Invaders. By now, you've probably heard that Taylor, Isaac and Zac are "all grown up"; they've gone independent, founded their own record company (3CG Records) and released an awesomely good album in Underneath. Yes, the MMMBop days are over and don't we know it. But if there's one thing they like to do, it's talk. About music and its business. A lot. With a passion that would be infectious if I could open my mouth to let it in for a second. So sit back, get ready to take notes, and enjoy a masterclass in 'the biz' with Hanson -- you'll probably learn a lot more than you think you will.

So how are things going these days? I'd say 'long time no see' but I know you've been very busy...

Taylor: "What we've done is, we've started our own record company and put this [record] out independently. We're working with different independent affiliates all over the world, and because of that we're really trying to lay the ground work and make conncections so that we can really be a part of it and be there for the record in different parts of the world. So, once we've done that and the next record comes along, we will have already done all [the work] -- not only with our fans, but with everyone else."

Isaac: "And also establishing the right relationships with the right people; there's always plenty of options, but the question is, 'who are the right options? Who are the right people to work with? We feel like we've found some really great people who understand where we're going and who we are."

T: "A small group of passionate people can do a lot of damage."

And I imagine that when you're not directly involved in picking and choosing which people to work with, you can get lost in a sea of faces pretty quickly....

Zac: "It's like, if you're on Universal in the States and then you end up on Universal's affiliates in Australia, maybe the person in Australia doesn't really like the music, but they have to work [with] it anyway."

I: "The other thing is that we wanted to structure these deals in a way that was a very positive thing for the music. What happens is, if you structure your deals individually you allow those people to have more of an interest -- and an incentive -- in helping you in the long-run. They don't have to go through all these layers -- they've got direct access to you."

T: It makes our job a little harder in one way, because we communicate with six record companies around the world, but it makes their job easier".

Which makes it easier for you....

Z: "It doesn't make it easier, it makes it better!"

What was the catalyst that led to all this?

Z: "I think, when you look back to the beginning, there definitely has always been that idea of being in control in that way. But truthfully, it was because of the existing relationship that we had with our record label."

T: "We were signed by a company called Mercury, after our first record, that company got dissolved, so we were then with a company called Island Def Jam, which was already a merger of a few labels. When you're working with people who probably would've never signed you -- but they think you could be successful -- so they want to not let you go, it's just not a good situation. Instead of everybody going and knowing what needs to be done, you have this thing of tugging the rope along.... It's more that they're afraid to let you go, not that they're really passionate about you."

Did they try to nurture 'Hanson' as a business rather than musically?

I: "I wouldn't say they were nurturing... [laughs]"

T: "But this is not about being against major labels. You need someone that loves music but is also entrepreneurial; you can't just have a bunch of flaky artists going around, smoking pot, and saying, 'okay we're gonna write a song'. You have to say, 'how are we going to market this to people? How are we going to put it in tours and sell it?" The thing is, how do we be able to make you keep smoking pot, but making and selling records as well. Nobody has any incentive apart from to cover their own ass. And that doesn't work with music and it doesn't work with art, and the only way to work a record company is to say, 'what is it we're selling?' We're selling a connection with an audience -- great music."

I: "We want to be like IRS or Sub Pop; these record companies that actually build an identity by the consistency and quality of their procuct. But integrity doesn't matter if it's not good music."

Z: "You wanna be the first person to do it. You wanna be the guy out there, pushing the leading edge -- you need to say, "I'm only gonna sell records on the internet', or 'I'm gonna do this' -- whatever the new model is.

You've said the key to success is to be prolific, to remain in people's consciousnesses -- but can you be prolific without necessarily releasing CDs all the time? I mean, Underneath is 'only' your fourth album proper. Can you be prolific through touring?

T: "Yeah. Being prolific and putting out crap is worth crap."

I: "It's just a whole load of ****"

Z" "It's a truckload of **** rather than just a scoopful. But what we're saying is having a relationship with a fanbase where they trust what we do and are involved in what we're doing. You've got to fuel that by putting out great music all the time and by trusting them."

You guys have definitely realised the power of the Internet -- in terms of distributing music, as well as promoting and doing business -- do you think the major labels have failed to embrace its possibilities?

Z: "The internet is there, it's only growing -- everyone has to find a way to work out how the internet is going to work for them. It's the same thing as Wal-Marts; the company Wal-Mart employs more people than the US Government. Well, they've talked about not even selling records anymore. So you want to put yourself in a position where -- if that ever happens -- you don't have to rely on Wal-Mart to know who your fans are. These record companies, these lumbering giants -- they can't figure out how to sell a record in stores, let alone on the internet! If you're not looking around you, you're gonna be left behind. The truth is, the music industry is a hard business, selling entertainment is a hard business. These companies would be much better off going and selling something like slate."

Hanson are on a national tour of Australia throughout May and June. Check our gig guide for details.

You can also score tickets and merchandise packs in our freebies section!