Ben Lee and Butch Walker have signed with Dangerbird Records for their next releases, marking the first time the independent Los Angeles label will issue albums from established acts.
Walker’s album is being eyed for August or September, and Lee’s disc should arrive on either September or October. Lee’s forthcoming album will be his eighth full-length release since his 1995 debut; New West issued the artist’s last three albums. A documentary on Lee, an Australian, “Catch My Disease,” will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival later this year.
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Walker, known for producing Pink, Fall Out Boy, Katy Perry and Panic at the Disco, has released five albums in his nine-year career.
“To me, (this) is a great example of our progress,” Dangerbird CEO Jeff Castelaz tells Billboard.biz. “Minus the Bear, we brought in after they had made four records. They had a huge touring business and had sold 75,000 albums. We’re the next step in their evolution. All of the other bands were brand new so (after signing Minus the Bear), we became a label where people knew they could take the next step. Everyone who comes in here takes notice of that.”
Walker produced the Eulogies album for Dangerbird, which is best known for albums by Silversun Pickups and Fitz & the Tantrums. Castelaz said Walker “kind of gave us a big compliment — he said ‘I just finished and I’ve seen what you do and I want you guys do that for me.'”
Besides being a label, Dangerbird is a management company, publisher and studio. Lee will continue to be managed by Danny Goldberg. Jonathan Daniel at Crush Management manages Walker.
See this week’s issue of Billboard for a Q&A with Dangerbird CEO Jeff Castelaz, where he discusses the importance of licensing, his company’s management division, and strategy for the future.