Inertia (Independent Record Company)

infobox record label
name = Inertia


image_bg =
type = Private
parent = | founded = 2000
founder =
genre = Various
country = Australia
location = Surry Hills, New South Wales
url = [http://www.inertia-music.com// Inertia]

Inertia is an independent record company based in Sydney, Australia. It was established in March 2000 by Ashley Sellers. Inertia releases exclusively the music from many of the world’s most prominent independent labels. Inertia services include marketing, promotion, sales, distribution, product management, production, digital, publishing, third party, rights administration, and merchandising. Inertia is also the parent company for Civil Society, Inertia’s touring division, as well as in-house labels Inertia Recordings, Rogue Records, Pod, Provenance and Pattern, each of which license releases from select local and international acts.

Inertia has released albums from many popular artists including Ben Lee, Santogold, Alex Lloyd, UNKLE, The Dandy Warhols, The Herd, Radiohead, Battles, Maxïmo Park, TV On The Radio, Midnight Juggernauts, The White Stripes, Sigur Rós, and Jamie Lidell. New albums from Eagles Of Death Metal, Ice Cube, Cut Off Your Hands, Brett Dennen, The Zutons and Kid Sister are due late 2008.

Promotion and Distribution

Inertia’s roster of labels and partners is one of the biggest in Australia, taking in many of the world’s most prominent independent labels, from many styles and genres. The most well-known of these include Warp Records, Downtown, !K7, XL Recordings, Fat Cat, Matador, Soul Jazz, Ninja Tune, Fabric, Full Time Hobby, Drag City, Beggars Banquet, Light In The Attic, 4AD, Sonar Kollectiv, Kill Rock Stars, Definitive Jux, BBE, Rawkus, Compost, Secretly Canadian, Thrill Jockey, Get Physical, and Finger Lickin' Records.

Australian labels represented by Inertia include Remote Control, Elefant Traks, Speak N Spell, Dot Dash, Infidelity, Low Transit Industries, Invada, Nervous Jerk, Wicked Beat and Unstable Ape.

Inertia also has an exclusive distribution partnership with Australian music merchandisers Love Police, whose catalogue includes apparel from over a 100 artists such The Vines, Wolfmother, Jet, The White Stripes, The Cure, The Black Keys, Bloc Party, Klaxons, Grinspoon, You Am I, The Strokes and Midnight Oil.

In-House Labels and Companies

Beginning it’s licensing operation in 2002, Inertia has since gone on to become home to a number of specialist in-house labels.

Inertia Recordings was founded in 2002 as the vehicle for Australian and New Zealand signings. Artists released on this label have included Ben Lee, The Cops, Shapeshifter, N’Fa, Concord Dawn and Gersey. The label has also been home to international releases from the likes of Pink Martini, Pop Levi and Pony Up!

Founded in 2003, Rogue Records is Inertia's destination for a broad spectrum of music styles, including indie, folk, and alt. country. Rogue Records has licenced and released albums from the likes of Bon Iver, El Perro Del Mar, CocoRosie, Mouse On Mars, Vashti Bunyan, The Cassettes, The Black Hollies, Alela Diane, By The Fireside, Bunny Rabbit, Califone, Pinback, Lambchop, The Hold Steady, and Pedro.

Commencing operations in 2006, Civil Society is Inertia’s in-house touring company. Working with a artists of a variety of styles, Civil Society has gone on to work with nearly all the major festivals in Australia. To date, Civil Society have organised tours for the likes of The National, Brett Dennen, The Dandy Warhols, Pink Martini, James Lavelle (UNKLE), Spank Rock, !!!, Ladytron, Hadouken!, Pendulum, CocoRosie, Tunng, Barry Adamson, Prefuse 73, Mr Lif, Cage, and Andrew Weatherall.

In 2007, Inertia established two additional in-house labels, Pattern and Pod. Geared towards electronic and dance releases, Pattern has since released albums from Shapeshifter, DJ Friction and Husky Rescue. Focusing on international indie and electronic acquisitions, Pod has gone onto release albums from UNKLE, The Faint, Micah P. Hinson, Malcolm Middleton, Frightened Rabbit, Tunng, Viva Voce, The Accidental, Plants & Animals and Múm.

In 2008 Inertia established its imprint Provenance to reissue and export important, classic and rare Australian and New Zealand music. Provenance’s first release is a limited edition boxset that reissues the first three Beasts of Bourbon albums

Commercial Success

Intrtia’s biggest commercial successes include an Australian Double Platinum Record for Ben Lee’s "Awake Is The New Sleep", and Australian Gold Records for Radiohead’s "In Rainbows", Interpol’s "Antics", Pendulum’s "Hold Your Colour" and The White Stripes’ "Icky Thump".

Ben Lee’s ‘Awake Is The New Sleep’ also earned a series of ARIA Awards, including ‘Best Male Artist’, ‘Best Independent Release’, ‘Best Cover Artwork’ and ‘Single Of The Year’ for "Catch My Disease".

External links

* [http://www.inertia-music.com/ Inertia Official Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/inertia MySpace Site (Inertia)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/roguerecords MySpace Site (Rogue Records)]
* [http://www.civilsociety.com.au/ Civil Society Official Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/civilsocietytouring MySpace Site (Rogue Records)]