Team Love

Team Love is a New York City-based independent record label founded by Conor Oberst and Nate Krenkel in 2003. It has released albums by musicians including Tilly and the Wall, Mars Black, Jenny Lewis, and Willy Mason. A distinguishing marketing tactic of Team Love has been complete albums for download in unprotected mp3 format at no cost on their website in addition to traditional record and CD sales.

Team Love's first release was Tilly and the Wall's Wild Like Children. In 2006, Team Love released Jenny Lewis' solo debut with The Watson Twins and later the Tilly and the Wall follow-up Bottom of the Barrels. The year before, it put out records by David Dondero and Craig Wedren as well as the Bright Eyes live album Motion Sickness (though the band's studio albums are still released through the Saddle Creek imprint). Team Love reissued Park Ave.'s When Jamie Went to London...We Broke Up in late 2005. The album was produced on Urinine Records in 1999, but in 2005 Urinine closed, making the album out of print.

The label was founded in part due to Oberst's frustration at not being able to sign and showcase talent quick enough through the record label his own Bright Eyes albums are released with, Saddle Creek Records. Saddle Creek was a label his brother helped co-found but was operated and managed by various individuals. Still, Team Love has ties to Saddle Creek with a distribution deal in place.

Also notably, Krenkel was a former A&R representative for 8 years with major labels like EMI and Sony before leaving for Team Love.

Notable artists

* Mars Black
* Craig Wedren
* David Dondero
* Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
* Tilly and the Wall

Former artists
* Willy Mason (later moved to Astralwerks)

See also

* List of record labels
* Saddle Creek Records

External links

*Team Love Records official website
*Team Love Records on MySpace
*Team Love online store
*Business Week Interview: Team Love: Downloads Sell CDs
*Business Week Article: Kissing Off The Big Music Labels