W.O.A International Indie Label
Offers best of major backing with personal touch of an independent
© Danny Brown
Feb 6, 2008
W.O.A International Offers Complete Package for Independent Artists, Pioneers Indie Music Support in Asia
With the music industry in a state of flux and major labels releasing artists at a worrying rate, the time is right for W.O.A International to step in and offer calm amidst the gathering storm clouds. Combining W.O.A Records, W.O.A Studios, W.O.A Management/A&R, W.O.A Events and W.O.A Publications, it’s the type of global entertainment company that the independent music scene has been waiting for.
“W.O.A International was set up to ensure that some of the best talent in the industry isn’t ignored,” says Wanda Alvares, Executive Vice President / Head of Marketing. “The independent music scene is the only real innovator in music today, and we want to offer everything the indie artist needs, so that they can concentrate on doing what they do best – make great music.”
Indeed, with the various parts of the company offering the expertise and backing that only those in the industry can give, W.O.A International will provide a unique and invaluable solution for independent artists everywhere. Nowhere is this more evident than with W.O.A Records. Formed by respected world music artist Oliver Sean, W.O.A Records is the distribution and promotion arm of the company.
Complementing this is W.O.A Studios and Oliver Sean Productions, which houses some of the most renowned producers and engineers across the industry. Responsible for some of the biggest albums and commercial audio aurally and visually on the likes of MTV, VH-1 and more, the studios offer world-class facilities that many independent artists would normally never have the chance to benefit from.
As well as the recording and the label aspect of the company, W.O.A International also takes care of the management and touring side of the business. W.O.A Management/A&R looks after the promotion of artists, concerts and media appearances, while W.O.A Events organizes some of the largest tours ever to take place in India and the surrounding area. With international media coverage on the likes of MTV, Sky TV, Star and the like, it’s an excellent opportunity for independent artists to reach the largest audience possible.
With the recently launched W.O.A Publications offering a monthly magazine called The Independent Musician for fans of indie music to follow all the latest news, W.O.A International is showing the music business the way forward. With their pioneering approach, W.O.A International remains a one-of-a-kind company for both artists and fans alike.
Further details are available at the W.O.A. International website.
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Comments
May 1, 2008 10:34 AM
Danny Brown
:
Here is the response from Oliver Sean, President of W.O.A.:
*********
Hi Everyone,
This is Oliver Sean from W.O.A International.
This is in regards to some emails being sent out by 3 artists from our
roster that have been removed from the tour due to serious breach in
contract by them and they are now sending out emails showing W.O.A
International in a bad light.
The W.O.A Records India Tour is currently on and successfully being
conducted with 2 great shows which just finished getting us Front Page
coverage on various publications in the country, several pre reviews and articles of our artists have appeared on several newspapers including the Times of India, Navhind Times, The Herald, the Maharashtra Herald, Gomantak Times, Asian Age, Indian Express, Interviews and coverage on CNN IBN, HCN, Radio Indigo, Big FM and others.
Our artists are currently on road to Mumbai for a concert at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mumbai which is to be followed by a concert at the hard rock cafe in Pune. Yes, there were 2 shows that were cancelled due to the sudden elections that came up in the state of Karnataka which was a last minute development and we must also state that 'Def Leppard' had their show cancelled there in that state as well due to these sudden elections. W.O.A went out of their way and arranged additional shows for our artists in other regions at the last minute.
All our artists on tour have been promoted on the Zee network with
advertising spots as well as all their music videos on Vh1, Channel V, MTV and Zee Music in India - this is something unheard of in India where completely unknown artists have been portrayed directly on these major channels - all possible only due to the fact that they have been marketed and promoted by a company like W.O.A International. Also we would like to mention that W.O.A International has spent over 60,000 USD in promoting this tour with Ads on Television, Hoardings (Billboards) across the country, Radio Spots on major FM Stations and Newspaper ads. All this is over the free promotions we have managed to garner for our artists and this tour on some of India's biggest publications, news channels and radio stations.
These artists have signed legal tour contracts with us and have blatantly disregarded all the points in this contract and we will also state that W.O.A has not breached a single clause from this contract. W.O.A International has also gone a step forward and brought in a 4 star hotel for accommodation and a 30% discount on all additional room service that the artists order.
We are very proud of the services we offer and the fee that we charge is not a fraction of what we invest in all our artists. Our main aim has been to start a culture of Independent music in India and have used all our strong contacts in the music industry to help us open these markets for our independent artists - this is something no other company has even come close to doing for the independent musician in these regions.
We know of several great companies across the world that market and promote Independent musicians and charge fees that go way over what we charge and the only reason we don't charge these high fees is because we strongly believe once the artist is promoted the right way in a vast country like India we will recover all our investments and the artist will achieve his or her goals with the support system we offer them in breaking into this market.
We will be uploading all the press and media footage that we have garnered on completion of this tour. The tour officially ends on the 4th of May and we will have all the footage uploaded on our website
http://www.woarecords.com and on youtube for the world to see the amazing talent we have promoted here and how the Indian music loving people have accepted them with open arms and the media here has gone all out in supporting us on this tour.
We must also state that these artists who have been kicked off the tour have their music videos playing along with the other artists who are currently on tour on Vh1, Channel V, MTV and Zee Music - something any other company would have pulled off the air for the blatant disregard these artists have shown to our company, the disrespect they have shown to the executives working for us and the complete disregard to the legal contract signed by them for this tour.
If any of our artists or associates have any questions please feel free to call me directly on +91-989-033-7666 I will be available on this number.
Warm Regards,
Oliver Sean
President
W.O.A International
***********
My thanks go to Oliver Sean for responding in such a detailed fashion. At this juncture, I have to say that there seems to be grounds for what Sean is saying. This is added to by the "anonymous post" stature of the initial comment on this thread.
I'd be happy to open up discussion and response to this - all I ask is that the poster of the first comment (about the bad organisation of the our, etc) signs in with an actual name, for authenticity's sake.
Thanks, and look forward to any responses/comments.
Danny.
May 1, 2008 8:17 AM
Danny Brown
:
Hi again,
Just for yours and anyone else's info, here is my email to W.O.A.Records:
Hi,
I was contracted to write press releases for you - one of them has resulted in people raising some points that I would appreciate clarification on. Please find attached the points in question:
"W.O.A. International are not who they say they are. They are advertising themselves as a 'company' capable of connecting independent musician's with many opportunities (such as videos on VH1, MTV etc). The truth is, they don't have any of these connections. A word of warning to anyone considering signing up with this 'company'... we have been to India, and seen what they are about... and they do not deliver what they say they will. And as for the "India Tour 2008"... just ask the artist's themselves what that consisted of.
The answers you'll find will go a little something like this: "The day after we arrived in Goa we were told that the schedule for the tour had changed, and ended up just having ONE gig. There was no tour bus, and no major promotion. Promotion was all local, and very small scale. Articles for the tour were found deep within the pages of the local newspaper. What there was though, was an expensive ticket to India for a failed promotional tour that never really existed."
As far as offering artist management, the tour was managed extremely poorly, and when the artists questioned what was happening regarding the cancelled and 'postponed' gigs or the lack of a tour bus as advertised on their website and sonic bids - this was met with an acknowledgement that the wording in the contract and emails could have meant "the artists would be travelling on a public bus" as a group. It was pointed out at the time by various artists that they would not be happy to have thousands of dollars of equipment stored underneath with the general publics belongings where they would not be secured... and this was met with the attitude of... "So you don't want to do the gig then?". That is the kind of management they are offering.
When quizzed about the lack of gigs, and the possibility of making engagements at local club's in Goa - they were told that would be out of the question, as "their star's don't play small clubs and venues." Quite the paradigm considering the type of transport availed to "their stars". In a time when people are capable of being anyone they chose to be via the mask of the Internet - this 'company' is choosing to represent itself in a light and with a reputation that it doesn't actually have.
Now sir, I understand that you have more than likely been contracted to put this ad together - but I implore you to consider posting this comment in it's natural state. Each artist that this 'company' sign pays an upfront fee of $850USD, believing that W.O.A. International/Records are capable of promoting to this advertised standard (and that of their website which has a link shown here) - but the experiences of those who paid a lot of money to go on the "India 2008 Tour" will beg to differ. This site advertises itself as the 'genuine article' - please be wary of being associated with this company any further."
As you can see, these are pretty serious allegations, and certainly go against what you explained W.O.A. to be like when I was contracted to write the releases. I have an obligation to the artists and fans that I write for at Suite101 (7 million visitors every month), and I would certainly not want to be associated with a disreputable company.
I await your response.
Regards,
Danny.
May 1, 2008 8:09 AM
Danny Brown
:
Hi,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention - rest assured my best interests lie with the artists at all times (this is why I was Feature Writer for the indie section for a year). I will send your concerns and points to W.O.A. to see what response they offer, and I shall publish any response received here for you and others to read.
Thanks again,
Danny.
May 1, 2008 3:45 AM
Guest
:
W.O.A. International are not who they say they are. They are advertising themselves as a 'company' capable of connecting independent musician's with many opportunities (such as videos on VH1, MTV etc). The truth is, they don't have any of these connections. A word of warning to anyone considering signing up with this 'company'... we have been to India, and seen what they are about... and they do not deliver what they say they will. And as for the "India Tour 2008"... just ask the artist's themselves what that consisted of. The answers you'll find will go a little something like this: "The day after we arrived in Goa we were told that the schedule for the tour had changed, and ended up just having ONE gig. There was no tour bus, and no major promotion. Promotion was all local, and very small scale. Articles for the tour were found deep within the pages of the local newspaper. What there was though, was an expensive ticket to India for a failed promotional tour that never really existed." As far as offering artist management, the tour was managed extremely poorly, and when the artists questioned what was happening regarding the cancelled and 'postponed' gigs or the lack of a tour bus as advertised on their website and sonic bids - this was met with an acknowledgement that the wording in the contract and emails could have meant "the artists would be travelling on a public bus" as a group. It was pointed out at the time by various artists that they would not be happy to have thousands of dollars of equipment stored underneath with the general publics belongings where they would not be secured... and this was met with the attitude of... "So you don't want to do the gig then?". That is the kind of management they are offering. When quizzed about the lack of gigs, and the possibility of making engagements at local club's in Goa - they were told that would be out of the question, as "their star's don't play small clubs and venues." Quite the paradigm considering the type of transport availed to "their stars". In a time when people are capable of being anyone they chose to be via the mask of the internet - this 'company' is choosing to represent itself in a light and with a reputation that it doesn't actually have. Now sir, I understand that you have more than likely been contracted to put this ad together - but I implore you to consider posting this comment in it's natural state. Each artist that this 'company' sign pays an upfront fee of $850USD, believing that W.O.A. International/Records are capable of promoting to this advertised standard (and that of their website which has a link shown here) - but the experiences of those who paid a lot of money to go on the "India 2008 Tour" will beg to differ. This site advertises itself as the 'genuine article' - please be wary of being associated with this company any further.
