February 17, 2011

Publication title: Vancouver Sun, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Vancouver
Writer: Francois Marchand

Sarah McLachlan on Nettwerk split: ‘It’s time for a change’

Vancouver-based label Nettwerk and longtime protege Sarah McLachlan have issued a statement concerning their management split.

After 23 years working hand-in-hand, McLachlan has decided to look for a new manager, severing professional ties with Nettwerk CEO and co-founder Terry McBride.

“I’d like to thank all the people at Nettwerk for their hard work, especially Terry McBride, Mark Jowett, Dan Fraser and Ric Arboit,” McLachlan said in the statement. “However, it’s time for a change, and I’m looking forward to exploring opportunities with new representation.”

McBride added, “Sarah and Nettwerk have had an amazing 23 years and a multitude of successes together. We wish her only the best as she moves forward in her career, and will continue to work with her and support her.”

According to a report published yesterday by CelebrityAccess senior writer Larry LeBlanc, McLachlan will, until further notice, remain a member of the label arm of Nettwerk’s massive international umbrella, a company that has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and Hamburg, Germany.

It’s something McLachlan confirmed in an e-mail sent to The Vancouver Sun Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s been a great ride, and it’s wonderful to have Nettwerk’s support as I move forward,” McLachlan wrote. “We remain the best of friends, and wish each other the best. My relationship with Sony Music and Nettwerk continues on the recorded music front and I am looking forward to my next release.”

Nonetheless, the split signals the end of an era for Nettwerk and McLachlan.

Under McBride’s guidance, McLachlan rose from budding singer-songwriter to international superstar, selling more than 40 million albums worldwide and becoming Nettwerk’s flagship artist.

The singer earned the label its place in the spotlight, garnering eight Juno Awards, three Grammys and widespread acclaim with landmark albums such as Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993) and Surfacing (1997).

McBride was also instrumental in helping McLachlan launch her highly celebrated Lilith Fair tour in 1998.

McLachlan’s latest album Laws of Illusion, released last year, has been nominated in three categories for the 2011 Juno Awards, where McLachlan is also set to perform live.

It also spurred McLachlan and McBride, alongside promoter Live Nation, to re-launch the Lilith tour last year, a festival that, unlike its original incarnation, suffered from poor ticket sales leading to cancelled dates. Revenue figures for the 2010 Lilith tour have not been revealed.

“It’s always a difficult situation when a long-term client splits from a manager they’ve worked with,” LeBlanc told The Vancouver Sun in a phone interview Wednesday. “This has to be particularly painful because it goes back two decades. If there’s anybody that can take credit for Sarah McLachlan’s success besides Sarah, it’s Terry McBride. What he did with her is practically unsurpassed in this country. Terry and his team have guided her each step of the way.

“Maybe this is something as simple as two people growing in different ways,” LeBlanc added. “It’s probably being looked at closely because Nettwerk’s management side has had some high-profile losses over the last couple of years. Eyebrows were raised when Coldplay left and Avril Lavigne left, but Avril was always seen as the uncontrollable ‘wild child’ and Terry was able to convincingly sidestep that and explain it away. With the Barenaked Ladies, we had a band that had had a very good run and a singer that had got caught in a very unfortunate situation [Steven Page being arrested for alleged cocaine possession in 2008] at the same time as having a kids’ album. Again, Terry got a pass.”

At this level and because of recent troubles including the Lilith imbroglio, LeBlanc said, people are probably asking themselves what is going on with Nettwerk.

However, he added, don’t ever get the idea that McBride is down on the mat and out.

“This guy is a survivor and he’s probably smarter than 95 per cent of the industry. Quite frankly, every manager goes through this. Years ago, David Geffen had Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne and a slew of different people of that ilk and he lost them. Everybody thought he was out and he ended up a billionaire’s billionaire.”

“Sometimes it’s not harmful for an act to bring in fresh ears and a fresh way of looking at things,” LeBlanc said. “And that’s true in any business.”