BMG has acquired Vagrant Records, folks, making 2014 the REAL year that punk broke!

BMG has acquired Vagrant Records, folks, making 2014 the REAL year that punk broke!

OMG! Say it ain’t so! According to this rather lengthy post by FMQB, Vagrant Records — you know: THE GET UP KIDS’ LABEL — just got straight-up BOUGHT the fuck OUT by the MAN… er, “the man” in this case being… wait, BMG Records? They still exist??? Wait, let me double-check that… huh. They still exist.

In fact, Vagrant’s co-founder Jon Cohen is set to become “EVP Recorded Music at BMG Chrysalis US” and will therefore sorta kinda be responsible “both for Vagrant and for records released in the US through BMG’s ground-breaking Artist Services model.” Ah. I see. Wait. No, I don’t see.

Either way: “It is impossible not to be impressed by what BMG has achieved in the US since it opened in the US just five short years ago,” Cohen remarked. “By putting service to artists at the center of its offering, BMG is committed to offering a genuine alternative to traditional label deals. Together with the rest of the Vagrant team, I look forward to further growing BMG’s presence in the recordings business.” Wait, huh? Seriously. Am I on drugs? Is any of this making any sense to any of you guys??

Meanwhile, Laurent Hubert, the President of Marketing & Creative at BMG Chrysalis North America, called the label’s acquisition of Vagrant “another milestone for BMG in the US as we build scale and capabilities in the recordings business just as we have in music publishing. Jon Cohen has built an impressive team at Vagrant, and with the support of BMG and its international infrastructure, we believe they will offer an unbeatable service both to Vagrant artists and to BMG’s Artist Services signings.” Okay. Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, I do want to make sure my favorite Get Up Kids records get into as many hands as possible. So… in the end, I’m fine with all this.

• Vagrant: http://www.vagrant.com
• BMG: http://www.bmg.com

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