Ziggy Marley is set to release his sophomore solo album, titled 'Love is My Religon.' With the new album, which is Ziggy's follow up to the hugely successful 'Dragonfly,' Ziggy has made the decision to release 'Love Is My Religon' completely independent of a major label and he has signed an exclusive deal to release his new album solely though Target retail stores. By releasing 'Love is my Religon' independently, Ziggy also fulfills one of Bob Marley's dreams.
As it turns out one of Bob's long life career dreams that was never fulfilled was his dream to release a completely independent album, free from the constraints of a major record label thus ensuring complete ownership in the masters. We caught up with Ziggy to discuss his partnership in distribution with Target and his thoughts on finally fulfilling one of his fathers dreams.
This deal is a first for both parties, marking the first time Ziggy has ever released an independent album without using the traditional major label infrastructure, and the first time that Target will act as the sole U.S. retailer for a major recording artist. So with many different distribution deals on the table why did Ziggy sign this deal with Target?
Watch video: Ziggy Marley's Love Is My Religon
"It took a process but this was a dream of my father from when I was a young boy growing up and watching him in the music industry. Being around him he always wanted to own his own masters and be independent. So he started a label called Tuff Gong, he started manufacturing records, he opened a record store, so he was an entrepreneur in that sense in trying to acheive something that once belonged to just the top producers in Jamaica. He was one of the first artists who tried to own his own stuff. So that was a big dream of his and growing up I too realized that one day that would be necessary for me."
The album will be available for an extremely low price of $9.99. Ziggy Marley is currently touring Europe in support of 'Love is My Religon' and Ziggy will next be back in North America for the Bob Marley Roots, Rock, Reggae tour. The Roots, Rock, Reggae tour, which will begin August 6th at Reggae on the River and extend until August 27th in Virginia, will also feature sets from Ozomatli, Bunny Wailer and Stephen Marley.
"And then as the record went along it kind of developed and I was like 'How am I going to get this out to the people, but still have as much rights of ownership that I want?' So we had many different options on the table and then Target came in and they gave me the most rights and the most freedom and them promised to sell the album at a cheap price that people can afford. And also Target as a corporation is one of the better corporations out there because they give a lot to charity and I appreciate that from Target, giving back to the communities that they are in."
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