Fame and fortune: Hanson Brothers find success investing in themselves

BANKRATE: Looking back, do you feel that as kids you were taken advantage of?

ISAAC HANSON: I definitely don't think we were taken advantage of, because we were always aware of what was going on. We had people who cared about our well being. Our manager understood that a good manager not only looks after the business well-being but also the psychological well-being of his clients. He actually cared about that.

BANKRATE: So you had people looking after your money to make sure it wasn't squandered?

ISAAC HANSON: We were always very conscious of where our money was going, and what investments we were using them for. In most cases, we were very simplistic and conservative about where we spent our money, because obviously you want it to last, especially when you're 16, 17, 18 years old. So we've been very lucky to have made enough money that we're able to feel comfortable making risky investments, like owning a record company.

BANKRATE: So you funded the record company yourself?

ISAAC HANSON: Oh yeah, very much so. It's a completely self-owned entity, which is also exciting because we're looking in the future to help out other artists the way we were helped out, whether it is in the classic artist/label relationship sense, or some other form. We've been lucky enough to have some cool opening acts over the years, and we've taken out independent artists like Michelle Branch, who we found through our manager. She played for us and it was good for her, she got signed and made a name for herself. It was cool to be on the front end of that. That's the kind of thing we're always looking to do.

BANKRATE: It seems like you got an amazing lesson in business really quickly. Did you all take to it that fast? Was someone there to say, this is really important for you to know?

ISAAC HANSON: We've always had a lot of smart people around us who were never shy about sharing information, because a good client/artist relationship is one of trust and constant exchange of information. In a lot of cases too, your attorney is a musician on the side, because that's why he took music law, because he loves music. So you have that kinship. It's kind of a funny reality. A lot of guys in the music industry are there because they love it, and they wanted to do it as a career. So because of that there's always a kinship between you and the people you work with. Also, we've always been aggressive pursuers of information. I can confidently say that there's not a contract I've signed that I haven't gone through. Every artist should be able to say that.

BANKRATE: The label is owned solely by the three of you?

ISAAC HANSON: It's a partnership, solely owned by the three of us. We're the CEOs of the company.

BANKRATE: Had you learned enough about the business where you felt you knew enough to start a label, or did you need outside help?

ISAAC HANSON: The important thing about leading a process, about owning a company, is not just your own personal knowledge, it's also having people who work with you who are there as the foundation support team, the rest of the story. Our team includes promotions people who've been at this for 25 years, who we've been lucky enough to pull out of retirement to work on this record. So we've got very experienced people, and several young, vibrant, entrepreneurially-minded people also working with us.

BANKRATE: How is the record doing so far?

ISAAC HANSON: We've sold just over 100,000 copies, which we're feeling very good about. Us selling 100,000 as an independent is similar to selling between 750,000 and a million on a major. And the cool thing is, we've been able to do things most independent artists don't have the opportunity to do, because most indie artists don't have the relationships and exposure with major television shows and other major media outlets, places like Good Morning America, or Today, or the Tonight Show, which we've been on multiple times.

BANKRATE: Have you gotten support from traditional venues, like MTV and radio?

ISAAC HANSON: We have had a pretty positive relationship with MTV throughout. The hardest thing about MTV right now is that the actual channel, MTV, doesn't play very much music anymore. Which I think is unfortunate for their brand because it is, after all, music television. But that aside, the various cable channels they own, such as MTV Hits, have been very supportive. In fact, the last single went heavy rotation. We're just now launching the second single. The hardest thing right now is terrestrial radio, as opposed to satellite. Everyone has that problem though, whether it's the head of Columbia promotions or 3CG. It's a hard nut to crack these days. Right now, the play lists are no more than 30 songs in any given market, and in many cases, in rock radio, you've only got about eight of those 30 records being current records. It's an unfortunate situation because it's not allowing the music to grow, and not allowing the audience to get familiar with the music. The audience has to find another outlet, another place to find the music they're interested in. And that becomes the Internet. I feel like radio is hurting itself. Radio needs artists the same way artists need radio. It has to be a group effort. And when you've only got 20 or 30 songs on your play list, it's hard to be representative of popular music, or your audience.