New Partnership & Program: TGNP Partners - Black Label - BWN

Totally Gross National Product (TGNP), a record label globally recognized for its progressive sounds and as an international tastemaker, has entered into a new partnership with original music company Black Label and its sister company BWN Music. TGNP has put out albums for such internationally renowned artists and groups such as Lizzo and Polica. As part of this partnership, emerging artists Nona Marie Invie (of the TGNP band Roniia and formerly of Dark Dark Dark) and Andrew Broder (of The Cloak Ox and formerly of the acclaimed band Fog) have been invited to participate in BWN’s “Artist in Residence” program, six-week sessions working on-site with BWN and Black Label to create exclusive music for the BWN music library. Within the residency period, artists are also invited to participate and collaborate on Black Label custom music opportunities.

“We are keenly interested in finding new ways to work with artists,” says Black Label Producer/Director of New Business Development Kari Sharff. “Although we engage a national roster of stellar freelance composers and musicians on a daily basis, in addition to our wunderkind staff composers, working directly with TGNP bands and artists allows us to diversify the music we’re adding to our library. And through new relationships and in-studio collaborations, we’re able to enhance our original music projects as well.”

Also, effective immediately, BWN Music Inc. will represent TGNP artists for licensing opportunities in commercial, advertising, branded content, television and film projects.

This broadens the pool from which BWN pulls tracks for potential placement and enhances their music supervision offerings. Another perk to this program is what has been described as a “camp” environment in the studios between the staff composers, producers, engineers, and visiting artists.

"Having established so many legacy relationships with agencies and other original music clients over the years, this partnership brings new relationships with emerging musicians and artists,” adds Black Label and BWN Partner/Composer Ken Brahmstedt. “These new voices and this fresh energy and perspective increase our offerings to our clients tremendously. TGNP artists believe in building and fostering community, and we’re just happy to be a part of that community."

According to TGNP Co-Owner/Musician Jake Luck, the label was founded on the premise of making music with local friends and fellow artists in Minnesota. Similarly, this new partnership with Black Label and BWN came about essentially as two neighbors (Luck and Sharff) came together to see if they could collaborate in some capacity. “The music business has changed significantly over the past decade, so we are constantly looking for new revenue models for our artists so they can continue to make music and also make a living,” points out Luck. “This new partnership provides new opportunities for our artists who want to participate to have exposure to new media and advertising industry contacts. We have had similar discussions with companies in New York and L.A., but we really like the idea of Black Label and BWN being based here in the Twin Cities. We believe that something that is localized is also personalized.”

Drew Christiansen, Co-Owner of TGNP and member of Marijuana Deathsquads and Polica, agrees that collaborating with everyone at Black Label and BWN has been about bringing like-minded creatives together. “The attitudes towards commercial projects, both from the labels’ and the artists’ perspectives have changed. Years ago, these sorts of relationships and opportunities were really limited to the mainstream, major label artists, not to independents. But that has changed. For the artists, they have become more open to these opportunities. We have known everyone at Black Label and BWN for a long time, and as musicians and composers themselves, we believe they are very sensitive to artists and their creative process.”

For Chris Bierden, a member of Polica, having just completed his “Artist in Residence” session at BWN, the collaboration has been ideal. “As a working/touring musician, I was thinking about diversifying my skill base, and then this partnership came up,” he explains. “So it is a very symbiotic relationship. They have let me come into the studio and make music in my style, the way I do,” he explains. “There were no parameters or limitations to what I was creating or how, so it is a very artist-driven process. They have put the artists on the top tier and very clearly value artists and their contributions.”

Nona Marie Invie adds: “For me, this is attractive because I have been writing music and touring for the last 10 years, and I am at a place where I am interested in exploring different aspects of the music industry,” she concludes. “I hav