When I got into the children's music scene in the early '00s, the major labels treated the genre with literal kid gloves. Recordings for young listeners required curation by parents – and the audience "ages out" of your talent roster in a finite number of years. It was frankly too much of a chore for an industry where physical product – at that point the lifeblood of the touring, local musician – was beginning to dwindle, in favor of digital downloads or online steaming services (something tweens and toddlers don't have a credit card to purchase).
In 2006-2008, a breakthrough looked possible, as Disney Music threw its massive marketing influence behind a selection of artists, including
Ralph's World, for a "Disney Music Tour" featuring
They Might Be Giants (who performed the theme to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and had released several children's music CDs). Disaster struck as the Barenaked Ladies, scheduled to headline a few of the concerts, dropped out when lead singer Steven Page was arrested for drug possession. TMBG filled in on those dates (including a show outside the Nassau Coliseum that I attended) but attendance didn't exactly thrill Disney. The experiment ended soon afterward.
The world is a totally different place and
8 Pound Gorilla Records, curated by SiriusXM Kids Place Live's
Kenny Curtis, is poised to face those challenges head-on in 2021. A division of the comedy label
800 Pound Gorilla Media,
8 Pound Gorilla Records will mirror its parent company's digital marketing tactics to promote a diverse lineup of truly independent musicians, spanning a number of genres, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.
More children's music in 2021? From people who know what they're doing? What's the downside in that?
As seen by three of the contenders for Best Children's Recording bowing out of the category due to discomfort with the all-white nature of the five nominees, multi-culturalism is a big deal for 8 Pound Gorilla. The roster ranges from Australia’s Formidable Vegetable to Grammy-nominated Bay Area artist Frances England. This year will see new releases by Grammy winner Tim Kubart, Genevieve Goings (Disney Jr's Choo-Choo Soul), comedian-musician Mike Phirman, pop songwriting duo Rabbit!, Sesame Street songwriter Erica Rabner, Nashville's Elliott Park, SaulPaul, Latin Grammy and Emmy Award winners The Lucky Band, Chicago’s soul duo Raii & Whitney, and Atlanta’s hip-hop maestro DJ WillyWow.
Genevieve Goings christens 8 Pound Gorilla Records as the first artist being featured this year, with the release of GREAT INDOORS, a pandemic family EP. “8 Pound Gorilla is really nurturing to artists – we do what we do, and they will take it from there,” she said.
