New Label Wants To Get More N.B. Music Featured In Movies And Netflix
SAINT JOHN — A new boutique record label out of Saint John wants to help get more New Brunswick music on movies, TV and Netflix shows.
428 Entertainment Group, named after New Brunswick’s second area code, is run by music industry veterans Paul Milner and Jeff Liberty.
Milner is a renowned recording engineer who’s worked with the likes of Keith Richards, Queensryche, Eddy Grant, I Mother Earth, The Headstones, among many others. Liberty is an entertainment entrepreneur who’s worked as a promoter and manager for over 30 years and has worked with acts like Matt Anderson, Mike Bigger, the Northern Pikes.
The idea for the label first came about nine years ago, when Milner, who was living in P.E.I. was working on a Matt Anderson album.
“When Jeff was managing Matt Anderson and I was lining up to do his record, that’s when I met Jeff. After the album,” said Milner. “We started talking about doing something like this, and here we are nine years later.”
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Headquartered at Millner’s Trillium House Studios, 428 Entertainment Group will both record, develop and manage artists, with a strong focus on music publishing, which means getting their artists’ music featured on things like movies, TV, Netflix series, etc.
“That’s really our main interest, which is the publishing and working that music to opportunities, whether that be television, film, whatever they may be,” says Liberty. “We’re getting right into working with different music supervisors in Canada and the U.S.”
Milner says music publishing is something that’s largely overlooked, but these days, especially with a global pandemic preventing large gatherings, it’s how many artists make money.
“It’s the unsexy part of the music business. It’s not playing in front of huge crowds and it’s not about being a celebrity, it’s the quiet unspoken bit behind the scenes that actually make the most money,” he said. “It’s probably the area of the business that takes the most work. You got to have a lot of years into it. You got to have contacts.”
Outside of music publishing, many artists hope to get features on things like Spotify playlists to help break out. That sometimes happens, but unfortunately, streaming doesn’t make much money.
“Especially today, it’s great to make Spotify playlists and get the attention, but that doesn’t really pay. Most music now you can get for free,” said Liberty. “This is an actual revenue stream for the artists and even for us as a business, because we’d basically be the ones working television and film.”
Besides publishing, 428 Entertainment Group will also be doing pay-per-view live-streamed shows for their artists. It will have a similar vibe to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts and feature a small in-person audience. Though this is a way to offer live performances a pandemic, Milner said the plan is to continue them after it.
“Hopefully we can have these kinds of boutique shows and keep them going after, but the idea is to keep things going during this time and maybe build on it,” he said.
Right now, the label is working on building its roster and is looking for artists from all genres.
“Because television and film needs all kinds of different music so we just want to find some good, original music no matter what genre,” said Liberty
They’re currently working with Mirimichi-based artists James Lingley and Saint John’s Brent Mason, with whom they signed an exclusive publishing deal. They are also working to sign some international acts.
“The idea is if we marry an international roster with a local roster, then we’re going to draw more attention to the area and the great artists that are available here,” said Milner.
Ultimately, Milner and Liberty hope their label will help expose New Brunswick talent who otherwise wouldn’t be.
“We want artists to reach out to us. That’s a big thing,” said Liberty. “We want to hear every type of music. Anybody that’s just doing stuff in their basement.”