is a large
Vancouver, British Columbia based
Record Label and music management firm. The label was founded in
1984 by
Terry McBride ,
Mark Jowett , and Ric Arboit in McBride's small Vancouver apartment, initially to release albums by Jowett's band
Moev . Additional branches of Nettwerk exist in
New York City ,
Los Angeles ,
London UK,
Boston ,
Nashville , and
Hamburg , Germany.
Notable artists who have recorded on the label include
Skinny Puppy ,
Sarah McLachlan ,
Jenny Owen Youngs ,
Single Gun Theory ,
Econoline Crush ,
MC 900 Ft. Jesus ,
Consolidated ,
Ron Sexsmith ,
Delerium ,
Sixpence None The Richer ,
BT ,
The Grapes Of Wrath ,
Guster ,
Josh Rouse ,
Autour De Lucie ,
Lava Hay ,
Boxcar ,
Nathan ,
Tara MacLean ,
The Hermit ,
Rose Chronicles ,
By Divine Right ,
Doubting Thomas ,
Great Lake Swimmers ,
Trespassers William ,
Severed Heads , and
Jars Of Clay (as of 2007 under the
Gray Matters imprint).
The label specializes in
Alternative Music acts, particularly in genres such as
Industrial Music ,
Electronica and
Folk-rock , releasing albums by both Canadian and international artists in those genres.
Nettwerk also manages a number of artists, including the
Barenaked Ladies and
Avril Lavigne , who do not release their records on the label. Other artists under Nettwerk Management include
Leigh Nash ,
Anathallo ,
Dido ,
MC Lars ,
Sixpence None The Richer ,
Treble Charger ,
All Saints ,
Brand New ,
State Radio ,
Robert Post ,
The Be Good Tanyas ,
The Old Crow Medicine Show ,
Gob , and
The Format .
Nettwerk has joined the fight against the
RIAA by offering to pay the legal fees of a teenager in Texas who is being sued for downloading songs. They will also pay any fines if they lose the case. They came in contact with the teen when she wrote to
MC Lars (who is managed by Nettwerk) about his song, "
Download This Song ".
Nettwerk further sells actual
MP3 Music Files from its artists and artists it manages directly from its website. While these files are generally priced at 99 cents as most online music files are, they do not include any
Digital Rights Management . Hence, unlike files purchased from
ITunes or
Napster , these files allow consumers the freedom to copy the songs they purchase to other devices of theirs.
Nettwerk states on its website:
:Litigation is destructive, it must stop .... as per Nettwerk copyrights, we have never sued anybody and all our music is open source to encourage fans to share it with others and help us promote our Artists. As per those Artists we manage on other labels (Majors), we take issue with those labels claiming that litigating our fans is in our interest, as it clearly is not.
Nettwerk is one of the first major music companies to abolish
DRM releasing songs in the unrestricted
MP3 format. Many songs are available on Nettwerk's own store as well as
Puretracks , a Canadian music download site. Nettwerk is also the first major music company to have their music listed on
Amie Street .
