Elliott Yamin
Elliott Yamin was the 2nd runner up on the 5th season of American Idol. After performing for an average of 30 million viewers every week during the show, 19 Entertainment and Clive Davis opted to pass on managing Elliott and releasing his music. Three Ring Projects, the management company that took him on, formed a partnership with Sony/ATV Publishing to record and release his debut album through Sony’s RED distribution.
CEG was approached 60 days before the release to create the infrastructure the of partnership’s label, Hickory Records, and release the album. CEG organized a Virtual Label team, created all of the assets (photo shoots, artwork, music video, TV commercials, print ads, etc.) and released Elliott Yamin on March 20, 2007. The album set a Billboard record as the highest debut by a new, independent artist in the history of the chart. The album sold 91,000 units in its first week, debuting at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, #2 on the Billboard R&B chart, and #1 on the Billboard Independent Album chart.
The first single, “Wait for You” received over 1 billion impressions at radio, peaked at #3 on the Top 40 chart, and stayed within the Top 5 on the Top 40 chart for over 2 months. Additionally, the video for “Wait for You” debuted at #1 on the VH1 Top 20 Countdown and stayed there for over a month. With the help of the Virtual Label, Elliott made numerous top-tier appearances on Regis & Kelly, MTV’s TRL, Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel, PBS’s A Capitol Fourth, American Idol, Larry King Live, Rachel Ray, and more. Major promotions were set up with the AT&T Blue Room, AOL, Napster, Yahoo, iTunes, Best Buy, and many more. “Wait For You” was also licensed to the high-profile NOW 25 compilation CD, which featured the song and Elliott’s video in the TV spots.
Elliott Yamin sold over 550,000 CDs domestically (RIAA certified gold), 1.2 million digital downloads, and 400,000 ringtones, netting profits between $4-5 million independently.
Collective Soul
In November 2004, Collective Soul’s Youth was the first Virtual Label release orchestrated by CEG. Managing at the time, Fred Croshal saw the band was in a financial position to release a record without the help of the major label system. Properly executed, the release could not only be profitable but could help reignite Collective Soul’s fan base and fuel their touring and merchandising business.
Croshal assembled a Virtual Label team and put the band out on the road to tour extensively in support of the record. The record spawned 3 singles that peaked in the Top 5 (Rock Radio), Top 10 (Hot AC) and Top 15 (Hot AC). Croshal Entertainment placed the single “Better Now” in a Leo Burnett advertising campaign for Special K cereal that earned the band $250K and garnered enormous TV impressions for the song. Consequently, the track moved up the radio charts, was licensed to UPN and NASCAR, and its music video was played in heavy rotation on VH1.
The band also made major appearances on Jay Leno, Charmed (starring Alissa Milano), and Los Angeles’ KTLA. Youth sold 27,000 CDs in its first week and ultimately moved 250,000 CDs domestically. The album release raised the band’s profile, reactivated their fan base, and increased their touring business exponentially. In total, the band did $6 million of record and touring business with the release of Youth.
Jackson Browne
Legendary recording artist Jackson Browne approached CEG to release a live acoustic album titled Solo Acoustic: Volume 1, attracted to the Virtual Label model by the artistic freedom it offered. Subsequently, CEG assembled a Virtual Label team and set to work and released the new music through Warner Music’s ADA distribution. A 1-hour radio special about Jackson was created and serviced to AAA radio along with the CD to be used as a promotional platform to activate fans. A massive online advertising campaign was also executed, and the album received major features on outlets like AOL and iTunes. A polarizing music video for the album track “Lives in the Balance” was created and garnered major media coverage. Jackson went on an extensive one-man national tour to support the album and surrounding promotion.
Solo Acoustic: Vol. 1 sold over 200,000 albums domestically, netting Jackson over $1 million before he licensed the album to territories around the world. The album received a Grammy nomination, and Jackson (once again with the help of CEG) released the follow up Solo Acoustic: Vol. 2 in March of 2008, debuting at #24 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in its first week with sales of over 21,000 units. Recently, utilizing the Virtual Label yet again, Jackson released his first studio album in over 6 years, Time The Conqueror, selling 25,000 units in its first week and debuting at #20 on the Billboard Top 200. The album has sold over 100,000 units to date.
Jerry Lee Lewis
In 2006, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a star-studded duets album, tapping artists like Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, and Eric Clapton among others. Croshal Entertainment Group was approached to release the album, titled Last Man Standing, through Warner Music’s ADA distribution.
CEG put together a Virtual Label team and oversaw the creation of assets (notably an animated “Pink Cadillac” music video) and the marketing rollout of Last Man Standing. A massive television and online advertising campaign was put together, launching over 600 TV spots and interactive banner ads on outlets like AMC, Biography, CMT, CNN, DirecTV, Fox News, VH1 Classics, Monday Night Football, Discovery Channel, TV Land, History, TNT, NASCAR, Yahoo, Rhapsody, LiveDaily, Clear Channel Online, All Music Guide, and Google.
Jerry Lee made appearances on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Farm Aid while the album received positive reviews in major publications like the New York Times, The New Yorker, and Billboard. Jerry Lee also did in-store performances in flagship music retailers in New York and Los Angeles. Last Man Standing sold 26,000 CDs in its first week and went on to sell more than 200,000 CDs overall domestically.