Adult Swim, the home of shows “Assy McGee” and “Lucy Daughter of the Devil” on Turner’s Cartoon Network, will begin offering a free full length album download featuring artists from independent Ghostly International on Monday.
Titled “Ghostly Swim” the 19 track album will be promoted by bumpers shown during Adult Swim programming and at local events in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Sponsored by Toyota’s Matrix the car’s logo will appear on the page where the music can be downloaded from adultswim.com/ghostlyswim.
The music, a sampling of artists on Ghostly International such as Michna and The Chap, will be available exclusively on Adult Swim’s site for two months. Following that period Ghostly International is likely to issue a CD.
In addition Adult Swim commissioned a three-minute short featuring characters from a cartoon found on Ghostly’s Web site, BoyCatBird, that is scored with two tracks from the album which will be seen online. Adult Swim paid for the production, recording and compensated the artists. Ghostly retains the masters and publishing. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We have our standards. Adult Swim is for adults but we try not to push it too far. By the time I’m approaching them [Ghostly International] I know what I want,” said Atlanta based Jason DeMarco, associate creative director, Adult Swim. “Our only stipulation to them is that they have to be brand new tracks or tracks that are hard to find.”
Adult Swim has released several free downloadable albums before, notably with Stones Throw and Defintive Jux. This is Ghostly International’s first time working with the Adult Swim brand. The two companies have been collaborating for the past year and a half as they tried to come up with a project that both sides could agree on.
“Adult Swim has a strong enough brand that they give labels complete control,” said Sam Valenti, founder and A&R, Ghostly International, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “They let us call the shots with the direction and tone.”
Several 15-second spots will air throughout the summer promoting the album although the final number has not been finalized. The tracks will be prominently featured on the Adult Swim homepage as well as an embeddable player that plays three tracks from album. Past album have averaged between 60,000 and 80,000 downloads, said DeMarco.
“We don’t worry too much about it because the most important thing is that it’s cool, free and well regarded by us and by others,” said DeMarco. “As long as it good quality work, we’re happy.”
