Frenchkiss Records

Artist Experience

Multiple artists describe collaborative relationships emphasizing creative autonomy and professional support. Peter Silberman of The Antlers characterized the signing process: “They really understood what we were trying to do artistically, and just career-wise, and we all saw eye to eye.” Discussing production decisions, he noted alignment where both artist and label independently concluded remastering was necessary, stating they “were on the same wavelength.”

Michael Angelakos selected Frenchkiss among competing opportunities, explaining his decision factors as “their approach within the industry, their roster, and just their personalities in general.” He described early collaboration: “I really have nothing but good things to say about everyone I’ve been working with.”

Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav explained the structural advantage of founder-as-active-musician: “I don’t know many other labels where the guy who runs the company and is active with the label is also in an active band. So when I’m communicating or talking with another band, I totally get where they’re coming from.” This created empathy-based decision-making where label management understood touring schedules, recording pressures, and promotional demands from direct experience.

Artists describe hands-on A&R involvement, marketing campaign coordination, tour support assistance, and responsive communication on production and promotional decisions. The operational model provides backend infrastructure through The Orchard while maintaining close artist-label relationships characteristic of boutique independents.

Commercial Performance

The catalog achieved multiple platinum certifications validating the artist development model’s commercial viability. Passion Pit’s Manners reached Gold status with 500,000+ copies sold, peaking at #51 on Billboard 200. Their second album Gossamer achieved Gold certification, 500,000+ copies sold, and #4 peak on Billboard 200, with international chart success in Australia (#12), Canada (#17), New Zealand (#31), and UK (#56). Total Passion Pit career sales exceeded 1 million albums.

The Hold Steady’s debut Almost Killed Me received Metacritic score of 78/100 and ranking at #99 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Best Albums of the Decade.” The Antlers’ Hospice became a critically acclaimed concept album generating sustained touring and streaming success beyond initial release.

The label developed artists across genuinely distinct sonic approaches: electropop innovation (Passion Pit), post-punk art-rock (Les Savy Fav), narrative indie-rock (The Hold Steady), and acoustic folk (The Dodos). This genre diversity reflects selective signing based on artistic quality rather than commercial formula replication.

Distribution Infrastructure

The Orchard provides digital and physical distribution reaching Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, and 100+ platforms through Sony’s global network operating in 40+ territories. This infrastructure represents substantial capability compared to pre-2014 independent operations.

Frenchkiss Label Group operates as boutique distribution for independent labels, including Cavity Search Records, JAXART, Pendu Sound, White Iris, ATP Record, and Underwater Peoples. This creates dual functionality: record label for signed artists and distributor for indie label partners.

The Orchard store maintains dedicated Frenchkiss section with physical and digital catalog availability. Platform coverage includes comprehensive digital streaming services, international territories through Sony infrastructure, and physical distribution networks for vinyl and CD production.

Operational Structure

The label maintains curated roster of 12-15 actively releasing artists, continuing founder philosophy of selective signing over volume-based operations. Founder Syd Butler described scaling approach: “We budget all of our records on that number [5,000 copies], so if we can sell more than 5,000, it’s a huge success for all of us.” This establishes sustainable baseline expectations rather than blockbuster-dependent economics.

Paul Hanly assumed operational leadership as General Manager following Butler’s June 2024 departure after 25 years. Hanly served in general management and client relations roles since 2007, providing operational continuity through leadership transition. The shift represents institutional evolution rather than discontinuity.

The Orchard acquisition structure positions Frenchkiss as subsidiary with editorial independence for A&R decisions while leveraging parent infrastructure for distribution, marketing technology, and global reach. This hybrid model combines boutique artist relationships with major-adjacent distribution capability.

Artist Development Philosophy

The documented approach emphasizes artist publishing retention, creative control, and community relationships over transactional extraction. Butler explicitly advised artists: “My best advice would be to be signed to a really strong Indie and try to own your own publishing ‘cause money is in publishing for an artist.” He explained mechanics: “If you own your own publishing then you wrote the song you spent the time to write the song you deserve to own that creativity to give that away is a crime.”

This distinguishes the contract model from 360 deals where labels capture percentages across all revenue streams. The emphasis suggests traditional recording contracts with separated master ownership (label) and composition ownership (artist).

Selection criteria prioritize artistic merit and interpersonal compatibility. Butler stated: “We only have two rules: we have to love and believe in the music, and we have to love and believe in the people. One is not sufficient.” This explains genre diversity—the label signs quality artists regardless of whether they fit established house sound.

Development trajectory examples demonstrate long-term commitment: Passion Pit evolved “from playing shows in front of friends at small clubs to filling 2,000 seat venues and selling more than 20,000 records in 2 weeks” through sustained label support rather than quick hits followed by abandonment.

Demo Submission & Fraud Alert

The label explicitly states it never charges fees for demo submissions. An official warning addresses impersonators using fake email addresses soliciting payments from aspiring artists. The Facebook post clarifies: “There is someone posing as Syd. We do not charge for demo submissions. If you received an email from French Kiss Label @gmail - it’s FRAUD!”

This pattern reflects broader music industry scam tactics where fraudsters impersonate legitimate A&R representatives to extract payments for guaranteed placement, mixing services, or expedited consideration. The warning demonstrates sufficient cultural prominence to attract fraudulent exploitation while clarifying the label’s actual policies prohibit upfront artist fees.

Official demo submission operates through website form at frenchkissrecords.com/demo-submission/ with explicit policy against charging submission fees, consultation fees, or pay-to-play arrangements characteristic of exploitative operations.