Abso Lutely Productions, the company behind Eric and Tim’s Awesome Show, Good Job!, Moonbase 8, The Eric Andre Show, and numerous stand-up comedy specials, announced the label Abso Lutely Records on September 30th, We have announced the release of our Up album. Teeth Like Beak is the debut album from up comic and musician Tim Platt. The label intends to capitalize on the current popularity of stand-up comedy features through audio recordings released on vinyl (among other formats), producer and Abso Luttery partner Dave Kneebone said. , says it gives manga artists more creative control and opportunity. Make your work your own.
“Abso Lutely Productions has always been successful by giving ultimate creative control directly to artists and helping them convey their vision to audiences. Believe in this idea. It is at the core of what we do. ,” says Kneebone. “We founded Abso Luterie Records so that we can encourage performances and performers that we love but may not find an audience right away.
Although the label doesn’t intend to limit its releases to musical comedies, Kneebone said Pratt, who wrote songs for Sesame Street and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, was the ideal choice for Abso Luterie’s first album. It states that. It is an important element of a business plan. Recorded in February at Brooklyn’s Union Hall, Teeth Like Beak is a mix of songs, character pieces, one-liners, and confessional stories.
Abso Luterie has produced projects for Netflix, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, HBO, and Showtime, and has worked with breakout talent such as Andre, Nathan Fielder, and Hannah Einbinder, as well as comedy veteran Scott Aukerman, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Andy Daly. Recent stand-up specials include Einbinder’s “Everything Must Go,” John Early’s “Now More Than Ever,” and Brent Weinbach’s “Popular Culture.” In 2023, Absolutely was formed in 2007 to create the surreal sketch comedy show “Adult Swim’s Tim and Eric’s Great Show, Great Job!” — Partnered with Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational comic organization that has produced contemporary comics and actors such as Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Donald Glover, Kate McKinnon, and Nick Kroll.
Kneebone spoke to Billboard about his love of comedy albums and records, Abso Luterie’s business strategy, which includes giving comics more control over their work, and the growing role of social media in developing talent.
I would like to ask, is Kneebone your real last name?
that’s right. This is an old name for Cornwall, meaning British miners from time immemorial.
I’ve been cursing it for so long. What a stupid name. But as you get older and more accustomed to the job, it never hurts to have a slightly unique name, especially in this business.
Why are you starting a record label at this time?
That’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time, especially musician and comedian Tim Heidecker. But it was never our core competency. We didn’t know how to run a label. As time went on, I started spending more time filming stand-up specials. This is an important time for stand-up specials. We thought, why not do it ourselves? Hannah Einbinder had just done a special for Max and was eager to record it. I thought it was a great idea. I went home that night and thought, there’s no reason why the people we work with can’t have that outlet.
I grew up listening to comedy records: Bob Newhart, Steve Martin, Bill Cosby, Bob and Doug McKenzie’s Great White North records. It’s a great experience and a great gift to yourself. It’s the theater of the mind. Sometimes I’d rather listen to records while drinking beer at home than going to a club. We thought, why not do this and give people other than Hannah Einbinder, John Mulaney, and Nikki Glaser a chance? Abso Lutely Productions’ stock and trade is in finding comedic voices that fall off the radar. Here’s how to make this even stronger. And it doesn’t cost as much as producing a TV series.
Will it be digital only?
No, obviously digital comes first because it’s so easy. But part of the love I have for comedy records is the artwork, the liner notes, the physical records. I love going to record stores, and I think Renaissance-era vinyl records are amazing. We want to be a part of that too. And thanks to our friends at Custom Vinyl Pressing House, you have more options than ever. Why not try making something beautiful first? Good to listen to and good to hold in your hand.
Listening to a great comedy album is like listening to a great album or song. Every time you hear it afterwards, you can say, “When I heard this, I was in this place, doing this, and feeling this.”
It’s core memory. You create a bit of an image in your head, whether it’s Bill Cosby or Bob Newhart or Steve Martin. I remember very clearly how my 8-year-old brain came up with this joke. I can still see it. You wouldn’t know that from watching the (stand-up) special. The only limitation is that I love silent, physical comedy, and it just doesn’t translate well.
I’m not going to make a Billy the Mime album.
In fact, that would be a great joke. I would love to do that. The world’s best pantomime is here.
Is it a theme for the label that you chose Tim Platt, who has produced many musical comedies, for your first album?
Not necessarily, but I’m drawn to it. When Tim Platt and I started talking about releasing his record, he’s also very talented musically, so it was a natural fit for that reason. There’s something about Tim Pratt that reminds me of early Steve Martin. Martin seamlessly and deftly jumped between bizarre and high-concept joke structures, playing charming melodies that turned into jokes. Tim moves so well between those two things that I was like, oh, this wants to be a record. However, we do not intend to specialize only in musical comedies.
Given the absurd menace that runs through your partner and Tim Platt’s comedies, will your label offer much of that?
That’s what I like, and what Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim like, and it’s surprising and weird and refreshing. That has always been our guiding principle. Find out what you’ve never heard before. Someone is saying something in a way we’ve never seen before.
An inexplicable must-see comedy.
Without a doubt. To me, that’s usually the hallmark of something special and good.
What terms do you negotiate with manga artists who release albums on Abso Lutely? Do they protect their masters?
This is still a work in progress, but our guiding principle is that artists should own their work. That’s one of the things that inspired me to do this. We are not doing this as a charity. It’s going to be a 50-50 split with them, but a lot of the deals that are made these days are, “Hey, young man, I know you’ve been touring this amount of time that you’ve been working on for five years.” Come to this huge mega streamer service and earn a little money. You can brag about it and send people the link, but you won’t get any long-tail revenue. It’s good publicity, but it’s time to say goodbye to something you’ve spent a long time working on. I’m heartbroken.
I was surprised to hear that Netflix contributes very little to filming specials about famous comics.
Obviously, this is universal. The economy is not what it used to be. And then you get to a point, especially if you’re young or not a mainstream comic, that it’s not that good of an upswing anymore. So why not make a record with the artwork you want, the sound you want, the material you want, take it to an audience, and participate directly in the profits of this thing from $1 onwards?
We’re doing the same thing here for special shoots. We did it in partnership with (Upright Citizens Brigade). We believe that it is possible to make a good special for less than a million dollars. And the focus is artist first. Do it on a lower budget and share control and ownership directly with artists in a more substantial and authentic way. I’ll record it. Get it on SiriusXM and create your merch. ”Being able to provide multiple revenue streams for these comics is something we can do now. This technology didn’t exist 20 years ago, but now we can do it, and we can do it almost as well as anyone else.
Who will distribute your records?
We talked to some people. For now, we’re doing it on our own, but when I feel better, I’ll try to expand the conversation and find a partner.
Social media has become an important tool for comics to expand their fan base. What is more important today, touring as a stand-up comedian or social media?
I think now they have to walk hand in hand. You have to learn to use them in combination. But I also know comedians who have chosen to ignore social media because they don’t want to burn good material. Everyone’s going to watch it, but they come to the club with preconceived notions, and you have to do that part again. It’s a double-edged sword.
Can you shed some light on your upcoming releases?
There are a few more. I can’t go into details because the paperwork hasn’t been completed yet, but they’re really weird comedians who are familiar to me in the comedy world and who I love. In addition to those, there’s at least one more coming this year or early next. And next year, I want to do a full slate. Our expectation is that we’d like to do at least six things a year.
Will Tim Pratt records have a video component?
It’s not Abso Luterie’s. He filmed that show as part of the Union Hall recording we’re releasing, which is just a record release for us. That being said, many of our upcoming projects will have two components: producing a special and producing a vinyl version of that special as a tandem piece for that project.
What are the biggest challenges or headwinds facing the comedy industry over the next five years?
In today’s media environment of movies, television, and records, there aren’t as many mid-level tastemakers on the buyer side as there used to be. Those who have enough rope to creatively hang themselves say: This might not be for me, but there’s something there. Let’s make a pilot. ” or, “I don’t really know what this is, but let’s find out. Let’s do a season of this show, because that’s how this show will find its legs.” That process has died down in many ways. We are in the process of doing so. And for me, whose job it is to try to get ideas, comedy, jokes, and pieces of talent in front of buyers, that’s the biggest challenge I face.
This is very interesting because more and more streaming platforms are demanding content. Is it just fear of risk?
Yes, it’s mostly risk aversion because there’s so much competition. You don’t want to be taking funky swings with crazy little projects while your competitors are developing huge big name projects, huge IPs that are profitable. If the effort fails, the light goes out. This is unfortunate. In the case of comedy, the best work is created when people feel like, “I don’t know what this is, but let’s try it.”
That’s the great thing about Mike Lazzo, which contributed so much to his professional success, was taking risks. He was the head of Adult Swim, and a lot of that (programming) came from saying, “Okay, let’s do this.” Build a ship while sailing. ” That may be bad business advice, but good for comedy.
