Five Actors With Their Own Record Labels
The world is filled with musicians who want to act and actors who want to be rock stars. But lately, some actors have recognized the limits of their musical skills and would rather save their efforts on other people they think the world needs to hear. The following five actors have started the own record labels to lend their own celebrity power to their favorite music-makers.
1. Kiefer Sutherland
Label: Ironworks
Artists: Rocco DeLuca & The Burden, Ron Sexsmith, Lifehouse, Billy Boy Poison, Jim Stapely, honeyhoney
Jack Bauer doesn’t just wait around for good music to get made. He builds a studio in L.A.’s Silverlake neighborhood with longtime friend Jude Cole and signs some of the local talent to his own label and publishing company. “When I was a teenager, the only way I could fall asleep was to pretend I was in the band and was playing whatever song that was coming over the airwaves,” Sutherland told the TV tabloid Extra in 2005. “And trust me, in my dreams I was fantastic.” But Ironworks wasn’t created for Sutherland to make music—his first signings included Rocco DeLuca and Paste favorite Ron Sexsmith.
2. Guy Ritchie
Label: Punchbowl Recordings
Artists: the Punchbowl Band
After spending years as Madonna’s husband, the Snatch director is no stranger to music, but in January, he announced that he was launching his own record label, named after his pub. His first signing is the pub’s house band, a traditional Irish quartet of Willy Barr, Brendan McAuley, Steve Mulhern and Daniel Gott who’ve contributed music to Ritchie’s latest film, Sherlock Holmes. The band’s debut, Journey, is due out soon on Ritchie’s Universal imprint. “[The music industry] is a tough place, but I’ve seen this band connect with people… They have every chance of being embraced by a wider audience and I genuinely wish them the very best of luck with their debut album,” he said in a recent statement.