We don't have tons of cash like the majority of "faux indies" that cherry-pick our bands do. Most of those labels got into so much debt with their parents, they had to close shop...all dead. Not one band that has gone on to what they believed would be "greener pastures" has fared any better or sold any more records than with Deep Elm, even with huge $35,000 studio budgets and backed with major label dollars, promotion and support. An album isnt about the money that's spent on it, it's about the songwriting, the passion, the essence of the recordings. Most lavish studio record kill all that. I have the original DATs from Nada Surf's original recording of High/Low...and let me tell you they are miles better than the versions produced by Ric Ocasek (right after he did Weezer's debut) at Electric Ladyland (Jimi Hendrick's studio) that Elektra spent $250,000 on. When Velour jumped to a division of WEA the label spent $300,000 plus on the album. they sold less copies than I sold 7-inches on my bike via consignment in NYC. And one band that did a big publishing deal...they got one license over the course of several years...one! I did 12 yesterday alone. Now they regret doing that as it's now gone forever.

And then there are albums that I simply did not feel were as good as the previous, so we passed on them. I passed on the second White Octave record because I didnt want Bob Weston to produce again, the demos were not very good, the title "Menergy" was silly and the cover artwork was homophobic (and when it was finally released by Initial, many stores would not stock it and pulled it off their shelves). Planes Mistaken For Stars always planned to release one record with many different labels to get access to different fanbases (you can read about this in interviews). Appleseed Cast didn't just move on from Deep Elm…they have been with 3 other labels since. I'm gonna stop there.

Look, while running a record label you have to walk a fine line between art and commerce. That's never easy…never. And there are always two sides to every story. But i can say that we have treated everyone more than fairly (our agreements are ridiculously in favor of the artists)…or we simply would not exist.

As for Benton Falls, the details of our agreements with all artists are confidential so that info cannot be disclosed. But if the band wanted to release a new record elsewhere, we would do everything we could to help them make that happen.

I would love to hear these "horror stories" in detail and would be happy to address each and every one in detail and fact. Of course, the label is always at fault for everything, it's never the band. So, do tell...

I should also mention that about 9 months later Justin asked for us to re-release the record properly on Deep Elm, and we declined. I'm not big on second chances. Every time I grant one, I get burned. In the words of The Who, I "won't get fooled again..."

you're quite welcome. you can't argue with fact and we would rather everyone know the indisputable truth. in the past, we preferred to keep off forums because they usually turn into immature nonsense, but so long as the board maintains some professionalism, we are an open book. we did a one-off deal with Moving Mtns so they were free to release the EP and do whatever they would like. in fact, they could have released andother full-length album with another label the very day after we released Pneuma. no strings here. we wish them well and much success with triple crown, albeit a major label affiliated label. we talk to greg weekly and im sure we will continue to work with him as a producer and mixer. he did a phenomenal job on the new ATHLETICS album. happy new year!