Ashbury Heights claims Out Of Line are out of line

SideLine magazine is tutting that a band shouldn't go public with problems with a label, which seems a bit unfair, as Ashbury Heights tell Facebook that their label has been a bit rubbish:

In a post on their Facebook, which also ended up on the Side-Line forum, Swedish electropop act Ashbury Heights blame their label [Out Of Line] for not having achieved the success the band hoped for. Says Anders Hagström: "I feel that after five years with them without any real progress it wouldn't be fair to ourselves or to the fans to allow them to continue their mismanagement of our music."

He also says that the band was "never meant to be a niche act, circumstances outside of our control made us sign with a niche label however and in hindsight it was probably not a good idea."

Not entirely sure that you can totally blame a niche label for making you a niche act if you signed with them for whatever reason, and it's not entirely clear that Swedish electogothdance was ever going to be a major taste - they surely weren't expecting Bieber-type audiences, were they? - but I'm a bit surprised that SideLine thinks they should keep their gripes to themselves. Presumably the posting is the end of a long, frustrating process rather than the first time the label has heard the band is upset?

SideLine sidelined

PVC and Depeche Mode obsessed Belgian Goth magazine SideLine is dropping its printed edition, following owner Seba Dolimont's heart attack at the end of last year.

The magazine, which had sales of 6000, has been running since 1989, and intends to continue as an online title (don't they all?):

Dolimont says:

"My body has sent me a sign, I can no longer remain a 'super-busy bee' for years any more. So I am forced to make choices in my activities for my health's sake. Music is my sole 'mega' passion, no doubt, but I also have a very demanding full time job with huge responsibilities, a family life with two young sons and I am running a record label next to it all. (...)"

"I consider Side-Line as a baby, and selling it to some stranger or leaving it in other hands is not an option for me. So after a long talk with the 2 chief editors who have been running the mag for the last 7 years, we decided to cancel printing the magazine, and only focus our information duties on www.side-line.com and expand its content in the near future."

The editor, Bernard Van Isacker, reckons that "twenty times" as many readers see the magazine online as in the printed version, which doesn't strike us as an especially large number. And, as he observes:

"also internet offers more flexibility and faster information dispatching."

Which you can't really argue with. We've a soft spot for SideLine, and wish it well in its new incarnation.