Confused with STAX Records?

*Everyone's* catalog went to Atlantic - that's the point of this thread. The early stuff wasn't just distributed by Atlantic - it was *owned* by them. That doesn't mean the artists were signed to Atlantic, though.

As far as the posthumous material goes, it's pointed out elsewhere that Atlantic had the right to release previously unreleased material for a few years.

 

Correct. This is covered on pages 138-39 of Bowman's book. Stax's 1965 contract with Atlantic did have a "key man" clause, giving Stax the option to terminate within 180 days if Wexler ceased to be an Atlantic stockholder or employee. The deal was cancelled on May 6, 1968.

At that time, Stax gave Atlantic an option "for four years to release, distribute, and then retain the rights in perpetuity to any previously unreleased Otis Redding masters." According to Bowman, four LPs were released under this deal: The Immortal Otis Redding, In Person at the Whiskey au Go-Go, Love Man and Tell the Truth.

Bowman also writes that Jim Stewart explored the possibility of selling Stax to Atlantic or Warner Brothers, and that Estelle Axton recalls a $2 million offer from Atlantic, which wasn't worth the trouble.

Later in May 1968, Stax was sold to Gulf + Western, after talks with MCA, MGM and ABC. Estelle Axton left the company in 1969, and in July 1970 Stewart and Al Bell bought the label back from G&W. They were backed by a loan from Deutsche Grammophon, who became Stax's overseas distributor. Domestically, they handled their own distribution.

Bell bought Stewart out in October 1972, with money from CBS, who took over the US distribution at that time.

Fantasy acquired the post-Atlantic masters in 1977, from a liquidation company that bought the tapes at auction. There was a competing bid from Al Bennett, formerly of Liberty Records, but it was rejected because Nassi offered more money up front. IIRC, Bennett did acquire Hi Records, as well as the East publishing catalog, that year.

 

I should contact Bowman about this. I don't disagree, but it doesn't make much sense why such a deal would be made. Did Stax foolishly think further releases wouldn't sell?

 

The site of the original Stax studio is now a museum, but it isn't the original building. That building, a movie theatre before is was a recording studio, is long gone. It has been rebuilt to look the same.

A display in the museum says that the original building was sold at a tax auction to a church...for $10.

 

And the church let it rot,until it was finally torn down.They had many offfers for the building,but refused to sell it to "anyone that wanted it to commerate Stax Records". Thanks guys.Like the geniuses who remodeled the Fillmore East into a bank & condos........

 

Lots of good info here. The bottom line is that Stewart and Axton got pencil-whipped by Atlantic's lawyers. They slipped some standard carpetbagger language into the P&D contract and Stax' lawyers didn't catch it (assuming they even had legal representation). Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music weaves the story masterfully; essential reading.

 

Does anyone know how much the liquidation company, or Fantasy, paid for Stax? Probably not anywhere near what it was worth, I'd guess.

Kwad

 

This is what Rob had to say:

"The first few of those albums were released before the May 5, 1968
cessation of the Stax/Atlantic distribution agreement. Jim didn't
realise that he didn't have to let Atlantic have the last two of those
albums. That was only figured out by Fantasy in the early 1980s."

 

What two albums? Dock of the Bay would have been the only album released from November 1967 (excluding the hits collection "History Of") before May 1968 -- all of the others came later. Immortal in June 1968, Whisky-a-Go Go in October 1968, Love Man in November 1968, Tell the Truth in July 1970.

 

There must be more to Redding being retained by Atco/Atlantic than first appears. Not only were there the posthumous albums(IMMORTAL, WHISKY, LOVE MAN, TELL THE TRUTH), but albums previously on Volt became Atco Lp's(and later, in Canada, reissued on Atlantic)and were assigned Atco numbers. Probably read how that went down long, long ago, but don't remember the specifics now. But only DOCK OF THE BAY was issued before that 5/5/68 window, AFAIK. IMMORTAL debuted in the 7/20/68 issue of Billboard, and, given the weeks between release and tabulation(usually, for an album that sold well right away, three weeks to a month), was not likely released before the 5/5 date.

LOVE MAN was issued in June 1969, not November 1968.

 

For me, the question is - did Atlantic have a separate agreement with Redding above and beyond the Stax deal? Does Bowman address this? Guralnick references rumours of a deal, but that is all I am aware of.

You are correct. I have November 1968 for the release of Soul Christmas, with two Redding tracks.

 

Once again, Ed, that was the case for everything Atlantic distributed, as the Stax-Atlantic contract stipulated ownership, not just distribution. There's no mystery here.

 

Hopefully this clears it up:

"Re-reading my reply, I was not as clear as I could be. Jim thought that
according to the Stax/Atlantic distribution agreement, that he had to
let Atlantic have ALL Stax product recorded before May 1968 which, of
course, would include ALL Otis tracks. It was only in the early 1980s
that Fantasy pointed out that a close reading of the contract meant that
Atlantic only had rights in perpetuity for anything they had already
distributed, meaning that they had no rights to previously unreleased
material."

 

I agree. It's sweet soul reading. But get the first edition with the theater marquee on the cover. It sounds better.

 

I can tell you 1000% certainty (as I work for Universal) that the deal with Concord is a distribution deal.

 

Well, the Fillmore West is a Honda Dealership now...

 

On a really bizarre note - there was an article in the Houston chronicle
the other day about a new record by Sam Moore (the Sam half of Sam
& Dave) and it repeatedly (incorrectly) referred to Sam and Dave as
a MOTOWN act...

It was right there in the headline - and mentioned again a few times
in the body of the story.

I checked to see if they picked the story up from a wire service - but
it looked like it was written by a local Chronicle reporter.


It actually made me wonder if Sam and Dave - or Sam (alone) - or
Dave (alone) - ever recorded for Motown (maybe post 1975?)...
but I decided it was more likely to be a case of "idiot reporter
syndrome"... since they are clearly not part of the famous
Motown set of acts (The Temptations, The Supremes, The
Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, etc) and the writer
probably just made the assumption that all black artists
who recorded during the 1960s were on the Motown label.