IDA MARIA, LADYHAWKE and SEMI PRECIOUS WEAPONS as part of the PEREZ HILTON tour at the Opera House (735 Queen East), tonight (Thursday, September 17), 7 pm. $20-$26. 416-870-8000.
You could almost hear universal snickering in the music industry a few months ago when Perez Hilton announced his intention to start a label and become the next Jimmy Iovine.
[rssbreak]
By then, the portly gossip blogger had already boosted the careers of teen fave Katy Perry and fashion nightmare/icon Lady Gaga by lavishing praise on them on his “celebrity juice” website.
But Hilton didn’t see any dividends from his promo pushes, so he launched the Perezcious Music label and is currently sponsoring a 17-date North American tour. Now the industry watches to see if the 31-year-old blogger wunderkind can achieve profitability in a climate where ticket sales are soft, something to which insiders say Hilton has not been immune.
“I’m not doing this for the money,” says Hilton. “I’m doing this because I love music. It might take people time to get over the fact that a gossip blogger is trying to work in the music world, but it’s really a natural progression of what I’ve already been doing, and I feel like I bring a lot to the table.”
At least one heavyweight is taking Hilton seriously. Warner signed the upstart label to a first-look agreement, meaning it gets first crack at signing any Hilton-touted artist. Considering that Hilton built his virtual media empire with a laptop in a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset Boulevard, it’s surprising to see him aligned with a corporation so early in the venture.
“The reason I partnered with a major label is to use its resources,” he explains. “I don’t want to hire an entire marketing staff, radio promo staff and so on.
“[Warner] has already passed on some of my artists, which is great. I don’t want them to sign anyone just because I want to sign them.”
The Toronto stop, which Hilton says he might attend, features acts he’s developed relationships with through his parties at fests like CMJ and SXSW. Outside of their friendships with Hilton, Norwegian new waver Ida Maria and glitter-rock spectacle Semi Precious Weapons have little in common.
“I think they’re all amazing, and it’s great to have them on the same lineup, because [their sounds] work really well together,” he insists.
“It feels like it’s happening all at once. I’ve got my record label, my first artist [French pop artist Sliimy], my tour. I’m thrilled because I’m passionate about music, and this allows me to share great artists with the world.”
music@nowtoronto.com
