More than nine months after its originally scheduled release via Columbia, Nellie McKay's sophomore album, "Pretty Little Head," will finally arrive Oct. 31 on her own Hungry Mouse label. The 23-track, two-disc set, which will include a 44-page color booklet, will be marketed and manufactured by spinART Records, with distribution by Ryko.
As previously reported, McKay voluntarily left Columbia in late December, reportedly after both parties reached an impasse over the length of the project. McKay insisted the label release her 23-song, 65-minute version, while Columbia sent out promotional copies of a 16-song, 48-minute album, which was reviewed by several music magazines.
spinART co-founder Jeff Price tells Billboard.com he has been courting McKay since early this year and began hashing out a plan to work with the artist after they met at a PETA Awards ceremony in New York. "We were eventually able to create an arrangement that would satiate [Columbia parent] Sony BMG, Nellie McKay and spinART," he says. "It took nine months to sort it out."
spinART, he says, "now provides all the services of a record label but does it through a simple distribution deal. It's very simple and artist friendly. We've previously done a great job with artists of her ilk, like Richard Thompson, Ron Sexsmith and Clem Snide, who are extraordinarily talented individuals with a wit and lyricism that many others don't possess."
McKay, who spent the spring starring in a Broadway revival of "The Threepenny Opera," has three shows on her schedule in the next week. She will play Thursday (Sept. 28) in San Francisco and again in the city two days later as part of World Vegetarian Day. Also on tap is an Oct. 4 animal rescue benefit in New York alongside the Beastie Boys' Adrock.
As previously reported, McKay voluntarily left Columbia in late December, reportedly after both parties reached an impasse over the length of the project. McKay insisted the label release her 23-song, 65-minute version, while Columbia sent out promotional copies of a 16-song, 48-minute album, which was reviewed by several music magazines.
spinART co-founder Jeff Price tells Billboard.com he has been courting McKay since early this year and began hashing out a plan to work with the artist after they met at a PETA Awards ceremony in New York. "We were eventually able to create an arrangement that would satiate [Columbia parent] Sony BMG, Nellie McKay and spinART," he says. "It took nine months to sort it out."
spinART, he says, "now provides all the services of a record label but does it through a simple distribution deal. It's very simple and artist friendly. We've previously done a great job with artists of her ilk, like Richard Thompson, Ron Sexsmith and Clem Snide, who are extraordinarily talented individuals with a wit and lyricism that many others don't possess."
McKay, who spent the spring starring in a Broadway revival of "The Threepenny Opera," has three shows on her schedule in the next week. She will play Thursday (Sept. 28) in San Francisco and again in the city two days later as part of World Vegetarian Day. Also on tap is an Oct. 4 animal rescue benefit in New York alongside the Beastie Boys' Adrock.
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