Bruce Watson

In an industry that finds, develops and celebrates success defined as mainstream, Bruce Watson has achieved his own modicum of success overseeing the indie Fat Possum Records, which is still based in rural Mississippi. It certainly hasn't been easy, yet Watson and company have been able to survive and prosper with a roster of blues acts, Americana artists and other groups off the mainstream radar. Through the savvy catalog acquisition of titles from the likes of Al Green, Townes Van Zant, Royal Tux, Ann Peebles and Iggy Pop, as well as signing the Black Keys to their first label deal, Fat Possum has been able to succeed on its own terms, adhering to the rather modest motto, "We're trying our best." Here's what he means...

What made you decide to join Fat Possum?

I've been here 26 years now, but back in '91 or 92 when Matthew Johnson started the company. I was a recording engineer who had my own recording equipment, which I used to record Junior Kimbrough and RL Burnside. I joined the company through that and I've been here ever since.

Was there a turning point when you realized the label was going to survive and prosper?

Maybe a couple weeks ago. (laughs) Honestly, we started out as a blues label out of rural Mississippi, so the first 10 years were pretty rough. Fortunately, over the last 15 years, we've been able to build up a big enough catalog to help establish us. But those first 10 years were pretty tough.

So it wasn't one artist or record that broke through?

Not really. RL Burnside helped keep us afloat during the early years; his tour with Jon Spencer Explosion and the Ass Pocket Of Whiskey album did really well for us. After RL played with Jon Spencer, we tried to mix blues with garage rock for the first time, but we didn't know it would be that successful. We knew RL was getting more popular through touring; he was doing more ticket sales at the venues, so we knew he was on an upward transition. But this really set the world on fire - at least for him.

After that, Tom Rothrock's remix of RL's "It's Bad You Know" from "Come On In" got used in The Sopranos; that also helped change the course of things. The next thing that gave us a boost was signing The Black Keys.

How did you find and sign them?

The Black Keys guitarist, Dan Auerbach, was a huge Junior Kimbrough fan since he was 16 or 17 years old, and he contacted us and said they wanted to come down to Mississippi for the summer and spend some time with our blues guys. We said sure, set him up with T-Model Ford and we always kept in touch. When they went out on the road, they had a show in Dallas, which was canceled. Dan called and asked if we could book them a show in Mississippi. We did, they played and were amazing. We knew those guys would be successful, so we signed them the next day.

What were they like in the studio?

I never worked on their records. They were already recording enthusiasts; they worked out of their own studio and cut their own records, then they would send them to us to release.

Was this the first time you seriously started working mainstream radio?

They were a new, unknown band and they were a slow build. They sold pretty well but they didn't have a radio hit with us. That didn't really happen until they signed onto Warner Bros. Don't get me wrong, we always knew they would break -- and they still sold decently for us, but they didn't become mega-stars until they signed with Warner Bros. At the time, we didn't have the kind of money to get them there, which is fine ... we get that. We've come to grips with our strengths and weaknesses.

How does Fat Possum view radio in terms of promoting its product?

First of all, our catalog is pretty massive with records from artists such as Al Green, Towns Van Zandt, the Black Keys, Andrew Bird and Modest Mouse. Our back catalog definitely helps us with radio; there's a definite cachet value to that.

What about your current product?

It seems that we're selling more and more through radio. Americana radio is becoming more and more relevant for us, but it really depends on the artists. We don't have to spend money on radio for some of our artists because their music doesn't fit that format, but for artists such as Courtney Marie Andrews, we will spend a good amount of her marketing budget on radio.

How has the burgeoning streaming economy impacted Fat Possum?

Actually, it's been great for us. We have probably 500-600 titles in our back catalog, including blues titles that are streaming 400-500,000 every quarter, which adds up. It's especially beneficial for the smaller titles, because for an indie rock artist we'd use to rely heavy on physical product. Well, that has since died down -- especially the CD, which is almost dead outside of artists such as The Black Keys or Al Green. Whatever money the indie artist is making is now coming from digital. Obviously, we'd like to keep that coming; it's been good for us.

Does that mean you're putting more manpower into exploiting streaming revenues?

Absolutely. We have several employees who are dedicated to that now. More employees will be added as it continues to grow.

A lot of Fat Possum talent, like other acts, seems to have to choose between performing at a growing number of festivals vs. doing their own tours. How do you work with your artists on this?

It's tough, and not just for the artist. If the fans are paying $150 for a festival ticket, they're going to have less money to see our bands at a club. It really hurts newer artists just starting out. When the audience has a limited amount to spend on concerts, they're far more likely to spend it on established artists than younger artists, who are not going to get the exposure they need to become established.

Do you feel there is a competition between Fat Possum and like-minded indie labels, especially when it comes to signing new talent?

We're kind of isolated being based here in Mississippi, but yes, there's always competition. It seems like there's not as many large indies anymore. There may still be some small indies, but not as many bigger indies, who've become part of the majors.

Did you ever consider moving or adding another office elsewhere?

We almost moved to Austin in 2008, but the bottom fell out of the housing market so we stayed put. The bottom line is this is where the company started. Oxford is a nice college town, it's great place to live and it will always be a huge part of our identity.

Do you have long-range plans for yourself and Fat Possum, or is it better for you to plan more for the short term?

I'd like to say we have a long-term vision, but to be honest we have to concentrate more on backing the stuff we're working on now and in the near future. It's not that we're ignoring our long-term plans; it's just that we seem to do better reacting to the stuff in front of us and going with the flow.

As for me, I've been doing this for well over 20 years. I always wanted to be in music, help record some great records and things like that. As far as how long I intend on doing this, I sure as hell don't know for sure. I do know I still enjoy doing this now, and that's all that matters.