UNFD’s recent chart success continues

Three-year-old Australian independent label UNFD scored another top five ARIA Album on Saturday with In Hearts Wake’s second studio release.

The Byron Bay hardcore band’s new LP Earthwalker debuted at #5 in a strong sales week, behind Lily Allen’s Sheezus – the follow-up to her 2009 ARIA #1 It’s Not Me, It’s You – Thundamentals’ third LP So We Can Remember, Michael Buble’s reissue in support of his Australian tour To Be Loved and the Frozen soundtrack, which is in its second week at #1 after 13 weeks atop the US Billboard chart.

Before Earthwalker’s release, the album peaked at #3 on the Australian iTunes charts below Thundamentals and Lily Allen. The record is the band’s second to be released on UNFD, following the quintet’s debut album Divination, which peaked at #27 in September 2012. Before that, the band independently released three EPs; Into The Storm, The Gateway and Split (with Sydney band The Bride) were met with relatively no critical reception before they signed to UNFD in July 2012.

UNFD’s New York-based Founder Jaddan Comerford told TMN. “I cannot be happier with the chart result we’ve achieved for Earthwalker. In the current state of play, 4,500 units first week, for a new band, is a huge result.”

The band’s album campaign had a heavy environmental focus which saw them partner Carbon Neutral to plant 1128 trees (a tree for every pre-order) and release a video game where users throw acorns at Tony Abbott’s bulldozers trying to demolish the Earthwalker forest – the game has been played over 100,000 times.

Luke Logemann, UNFD’s Head of Recorded Music told TMN the band broached the topic of environmentalism for their LP campaign last year.

“They were really passionate about trying to give back to the Earth throughout the campaign by doing something like planting trees and doing something for the environment,” says Logemann. “That was a challenge for us, and became a bit of a riddle we needed to sort out. For one, we needed to make sure we weren’t losing money. And just as importantly, we wanted to make sure the band was able to retain a sense of fun and excitement so it didn’t come across as too ’preachy’ or anything like that.”

Since the label’s inception in January 2011, he’s watched four Australian heavy music acts find a place in the ARIA top ten: The Amity Affliction topped the ARIA chart in 2012 (Chasing Ghosts) and debuted at #6 in 2010 (Youngbloods), Northlane debuted at #3 in March last year (Singularity) and Dead Letter Circus debuted at #2 last August (The Catalyst Fire). Impressively, the label has only released  this records this year (Buried In Verona’s Faceless, Architects’ Lost Forever, Lost Together and In Hearts Wake) and each has landed inside the ARIA Top 20.

Logemann says the collective has its record label to thank for its continuing success. “UNFD is our heavy music label brand, and thats been the core of our business for a number of years now – we’ve just been able to use our experience in the genre to identify quality acts and help them realise their goals and potential.

“Our management company, UNIFIED, is also doing fantastic with artists like Vance Joy, Violent Soho, Illy, Northlane and The Amity Affliction. I think across the company we have been approaching things professionally for so long and all the hard work is really coming together with incredible results.”

UNIFIED spawned from a merger between Jaddan Comerford’s Boomtown Records and Staple Management and launched in 2011 as a full service heavy music company based in Melbourne offering artist management, label services, touring, merchandise, publishing and business management.

Luke Logemann, who worked for both The Staple Group and Boomtown before the launch of UNIFIED, predicts The Amity Affliction may take the crown again in a few weeks with their upcoming June 6 release Let The Ocean Take Me.

“We manage the band and run their pre-orders via our online retailer, 24hundred.net – I know the pre-order numbers from the first weekend were enough to land it at #1 most weeks so far this year. You never know what competition can present itself last minute, but we feel confident that they will nail it.”

The label are also picking ex-Confession member Doyle Perez as their dark horse for 2014; under the moniker D At Sea, Perez will release his first single this month.

“It’s a different one for us, but D At Sea’s EP will be out mid-winter,” says Logemann. “He’s a kid who grew up on hardcore and punk, but has taken his energy and attitude to create a fun and energetic alternative/pop project […] I can’t wait for everyone to see the evolution.”

In September last year the company re-branded to separate its label and management divisions; UNFD is now its record label and its roster includes Northlane and Dead Letter Circus among others, and WAU (We Are Unified ) Management is its collective of managers that currently look after Violent Soho, Vance Joy, Illy, The Amity Affliction, Northlane and Stories, to name a few.

Vance Joy’s March 2013 release Riptide has had success both at home and overseas, with the EP reaching #6 on the ARIA Chart and #3 on the TMN Hot 100. Last month the EP’s title track charted inside the Top 40 in five European countries, sitting at #7 in Austria, #11 in Germany, #16 in Ireland, #17 in Slovakia and #35 in Switzerland.

:: READ OUR CASE STUDY ON VANCE JOY

UNIFIED TIP SHEET:

UNFD – An independent record label and brand that releases music from rock, metal, punk and hardcore artists from Australia and around the world. UNFD is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Warner Music Australia, and around the world by ADA. Rostered acts include Northlane, Buried In Verona, Dead Letter Circus, In Hearts Wake, Misery Signals.

ONETWO – An independent record label that specialises in hip hop music. The label launched in August 2013 as a joint venture with Australian artist Illy. Like UNFD, ONETWO is distributed by Warner Music Australia and ADA around the world.

WAU Management – A collective of managers working with and for its clients on a worldwide stage. Its roster includes The Amity Affliction, Vance Joy, Violent Soho, Illy and Northlane.

WAU Publishing – The Publishing division of Unified was established in 2011 via a deal with Mushroom Music. WAU is in a position to sign artists from a wide range of genres.

24 Hundred – UNIFIED’s online merchandise and fashion retailer.