MARCUS WOSGIEN - NUCLEAR BLAST EUROPE

\r\n At the dawn of 2006 www.metalzone.gr got the chance to get an\r\ninsiders look in this years new releases in Nuclear Blast Records from\r\nHead Of Promotion in Nuclear Blast Markus Wosgien. Markus tells us all\r\nthe releases we should expect from the new year, the biggest selling\r\nalbums in the last ten years, the failures, the way the metal music\r\nindustry is today and the what Nuclear Blast seeks in new artists in\r\norder to sign them. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone:\r\nTonight we have the honor of having with us Markus Wosgien of Nuclear\r\nBlast Records. Hello Markus, this is Metalzone calling how are you?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: Hello Helena I am fine I just want to correct you, I am not the owner, I am just the Promoter. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: No of course not but you are the one closest to what we know of Nuclear Blast.
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: Ok that might be true.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Tell me a few things about how things are at the moment with Nuclear Blast and what are we expecting for the year 2006?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nThings are really going well. We had another great year 2005 in the\r\ncompany. We are already working on the first releases we have for 2006.\r\nThe year starts on January with the new studio album of Edguy, We’ve\r\ngot the new studio album of EdGuy Rocket Ride coming up (January 20),\r\nwhich will be out at the 20th of January, followed by Deathstars\r\n(Termination Bliss January 26), a new band from Sweden, we already did\r\ntheir first album,we expect a lot from them. We will have a live DVD of\r\nEktomorf(January 6) this comes by shortly enough because Ektomorf will\r\nbe the support of Children Of Bodom in Europe. Then It goes on in\r\nFebruary with the new album of In Flames(Febrouary 3), Come Clarity,\r\nthe new Amorphis record (Eclipse), which are finally back to Nuclear\r\nBlast after a break, and again in February we’ll have a release of\r\nKataklysm, new studio album called In The Arms Of Devastation these are\r\nthe first plans. Then, our major release in 2006 will be the Blind\r\nGuardian album which will be out the first week of May. We expect a lot\r\nof Blind Guardian, it will be their first release on Nuclear Blast, and\r\nwe are really really happy. A band like Blind Guardian is very popular\r\nin Greece.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: It is everywhere you look you’ll see a Blind Guardian T Shirt. We hope you can bring them here so we can see them live.
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: That will be great. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: How easy is it for you to represent such important bands?
\r\nMakrus Wosgien:\r\nWell, I am actually not the only one who is working at the promotion\r\noffice. I have three more colleagues, and we divide all the bands\r\nbetween us four. It’s often awfully lot of work to do. Not only\r\ninterviews that have to be arranged, but also, promotional trips,\r\nlistening sessions, you promote a band, all through the year because\r\nthey go on tour, all that stuff.. it’s really a lot to do. We get help\r\nfrom the promoters we get in each country. Everything is quite well\r\norganized, we are the central here in Germany, and we are working with\r\npromoters in each country, like in Greece we just found a new promoter,\r\nwho started working for us the beginning of December, who is Ophreus of\r\nMetal Temple, he is coordinating the work in Greece.We always prefer to\r\nhave someone in the country who knows the media, who knows the country,\r\nwhat the people are into.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Where do you feel the music business stands today in terms of sales. Given the circumstances, mp3 swapping etc.
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nThings became more difficult that’s for sure, because people are able\r\nto download records before even being released. This definitely costs\r\nsales, to everybody, not only the metal scene for sure. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: What damages have you suffered?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nYou can’t really count them but sometimes you have an act, you expect a\r\nseveral amount of sales, maybe sometimes you are disappointed or you\r\nkeep them band on the same level you do more promotion, more marketing,\r\nput more money in that, you keep the level.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Is it even more difficult for you, that you are representing metal bands?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nNo because this is what we are into we wouldn’t want to do anything\r\nelse, besides heavy metal bands. And all these stuff, mp3s, illegal\r\ndownloading they don’t affect metal fans much because they stay true to\r\ntheir music and buy the records in the shops. They don’t want to have a\r\nburned cd version of the cd, they want the booklet they want the cover,\r\nthey identify with the bands and what they are listening to.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone:\r\nThere is an important group of people, artists included, who feel that\r\nthe illegal downloading can be dealt with if record companies lower the\r\nprices of the cds. Do you agree?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nIt’s a thing which is often said, we would be very happy if the price\r\nwould be a bit more lower but we have to think about who is earning on\r\nthe cd actually, it’s not only the label. We have to pay, our\r\nemployees, the production, you pay several amount of money to the band\r\nin advance, you have your promotion cost, the marketing cost. This is\r\nall paid from our part. The band earns part of the money, the\r\ndistributor gets money, then the shops, and all this together makes the\r\nfinal price. Many people are involved to the price of one cd. But I\r\nagree to your opinion that it would definitely help if the cd would\r\ncost less. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: And there are those who say that record labels should be more selective to what they release. How do you feel about that?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nThis is definitely true because if you see the average is above eighty\r\nI would say a hundred releases a month for all kinds of heavy metal and\r\na fan is able to buy three or four cds each month and it’s far too much\r\nreleases that’s for sure. Record labels should be more selective. We\r\ntry that too but still yeah. Really too many releases. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: On what criteria do you choose the groups you sign in the company?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nMainly originality. That’s what we always have been looking for.\r\nOriginality, the band should have own visions, they should not copy\r\nanother band, they have to have their own sound, an own identification.\r\nFor example when we discovered Hammerfall, which was in a time where\r\nheavy metal was almost dead because of the grange stuff that was going\r\non. We got the album of Hammerfall and we decided ow this is great this\r\nis for sure like in the 80s bands with bands like Accept, it was the\r\nsame with Dimmu Borgir, when we discovered them. There was no other\r\nthey could be compared with. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Would a Greek metal band have any chances of signing if it were to send a demo to Nuclear Blast?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nDefinitely. Doesn’t matter where a band comes from. We have signed\r\nbands from all over the world. For example we have a band contest which\r\nwe announce in whole Europe. Even today we also had a band from Greece\r\nwe were listening to which is one of the last 25 bands we have. So\r\nevery band definitely has a chance. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: So a Greek band listening to this interview now, what should they do to get their demo to you, Nuclear Blast?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nMake sure that the sound of the material they send us is good. Because\r\nas I mentioned we get hell of a lot of demos everyday and if the\r\nproduction of the sound is of a bad quality, you don’t listen to it the\r\nway you listen one of good quality. They should also send a picture, a\r\nbiography, a personal letter for sure, just so we have a presentation\r\nof the band. But many bands send us stuff too early. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: You mean before they have grown as a band?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: Right exactly. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: And who should they address it to?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: They can address it to the normal Nuclear Blast address. When a demo comes it always comes to our department. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: How many years have you been in the music business?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nFor Nuclear Blast I am working for three and a half years now, and in\r\nthe music business since I am fourteen, thirteen years when I started,\r\ndoing my own fanzines, for many many years, always doing something in\r\nthe metal scene. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Do you listen to metal as well?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nYeah for sure. I couldn’t work for a metal label or represent it if I\r\ndidn’t listen to the sound. I grew up with heavy metal. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: What kind of metal do you listen to?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nWell when I was younger the first band which brought me to the heavy\r\nmetal was Accept. When I heard the song Metal Hearted I was gone and\r\nit’s pretty much stayed the same for nowadays. I am very much into hard\r\nrock, power metal, traditional heavy metal, gothic metal stuff. I am\r\npretty open minded. I also like some death and some black metal stuff.\r\nIt always depends on the band. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: In all those years in the metal scene what is the funniest story you can remember, or the worst?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nWell actually there are always funny stories. Even today for example I\r\nsent out interviews for EdGuy, but I copied the wrong number and\r\nactually was calling Tony of Sonata Artica. But this can always happen.\r\nEspecially if you have bands over here you work with them, later hang\r\nout in the evening. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Are artists difficult to deal with?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: Rarely.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: They don’t have any strange tastes or wanting exotic fruits in their dressing rooms or such stuff.?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: Oh they always want such stuff but that’s quite common. Many musicians are crazy people but we are quite used to that. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone:\r\nI feel that the metal scene is in a rising course, do you think so too,\r\nbeing an insider in the business? Where do you see the metal scene at\r\nthe moment?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: The\r\nmetal scene has always been very strong. The only thing we see is that\r\nthere are not many young newcomer bands who are playing the traditional\r\nmetal styles like hard rock power metal thrash metal, such stuff. Many\r\nof the young bands change to crossover, modern metal, new metal, metal\r\ncore and this stuff. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: So you see the scene ongoing towards new metal and so.
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: Yeah many new bands come up with this kind of music. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Why do you feel it is that?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nThat’s really hard to say I can’t answer this. I think it depends on\r\nthe idols maybe. Cause if look older and popular, really big heavy\r\nmetal bands . all of them are quite old, like Iron Maiden, Saxon,\r\nMotorhead, and there are not many younger bands on the scene of the\r\nsame level. People who grow up and are between sixteen or eighteen\r\nyears, they identify more with people of the same age or more which are\r\ntwenty five or thirty.
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\r\n Metalzone: Which country does the biggest sales?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien
:\r\nThere are many, Germany is definitely one of the biggest markets for\r\nus. But still Europe is a very big market. Countries like Spain, France\r\nEngland is very much growing in the heavy metal, Greece is still a big\r\nmarket, many and besides there are many European countries I forget\r\nabout Scandinavia, besides the American scene is still very strong, the\r\nJapanese market also, China might be one of the next really big\r\nmarkets. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Which album has been the best that’s been released over the last decade and which the worst?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: In Nuclear Blast? Our most successful album is the current Nightwish album Once,\r\nwhich sold Platinum in Germany, that’s the first time for us, we even\r\ngot a gold record in Greece, this is definitely the best selling album\r\nwe ever had. Besides that, we had very good sales with Manowar, with\r\nHammerfall, each Hammerfall album, each Dimmu Borgir record, and we\r\nhave very good sales also with In Flames Soilwork . many bands to be\r\nmentioned. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: And the worse?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nThat’s the difficult part. There are bands when we signed we had big\r\nexpectations and we still love their music but for any reason the sales\r\nwere not that good as we expected. Bands like Primesth for example but\r\nthese are mostly bands which are not playing a typical heavy metal\r\nstyle, it’s difficult to get the people to listen to it if they are not\r\nin Metal Hammer or Rock Hard magazine they are watching any heavy metal\r\nprogram on tv.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Do you think that the media have a lot to do with the success or failure of each album?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nIt’s definitely part of the influence, if you get bad reviews all over\r\nfor an album, this will be also very bad for the sales. Because there\r\nare so many releases so many bands are also coming on tour so people\r\nhave to select. Back in the 80s bands could play live and convince the\r\npeople live at the show which is impossible nowadays because young\r\nbands don’t play in crowded places for sure except when they are\r\nsupporting a good band. So media definitely has an effect. For example\r\nif you see the American market which is still very dominated by mtv,\r\nthey actually create a trend and people go after that. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: From the upcoming releases, which one is your favorite. Which one do you think we should hold our breaths for?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nDefinitely the Blind Guardian album, I only heard a single we will\r\nrelease of it, but Blind Guardian was always one o f my favorite bands,\r\nit’s still one of my favorite bands and I am really happy and proud to\r\nwork for them. Besides Blind Guardian, I love the new EdGuy and the new\r\nIn Flames album, those two great records, I expect a lot of it and by\r\nthe end of 2006 we will have a new album of Hammerfall, Grave digger,\r\nGraveworm, and also Therion. Which is one of my favorite bands.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: What is going on with Gravedigger, the webmaster quite the official website of the band. ?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: With the band everything is going fine, we just released a live DVD and live album.\r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: How is it going?
\r\nMakrus Wosgien:\r\nIt’s going very well with Gravedigger, they have a lot of fans all over\r\nthe world, and the band is celebrating their 25th anniversary right\r\nnow, they already started writing new material, everything is going\r\njust fine. We will do another great Gravedigger album September next\r\nyear (2006). \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Are they going on tour till then?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien: So far they haven’t announced new dates. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Would you like to send out a message to the Greek metal Fans?
\r\nMarkus Wosgien:\r\nFirst of all thanks to all of your listeners, thanks to the metal scene\r\nin Greece, I am very happy that people believe in Heavy Metal. I wish\r\nyou all the best and I hope you all discover many great releases in\r\nNuclear Blast, in 2006 and the years to come. \r\n

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\r\nΕλένη "Blackie" Μιχαηλίδου\r\n

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