Counting Crows Part Ways With Geffen Records After 18 Years

After a relationship that bridged 18 years — from the alternative-rock boom to Napster to the current music industry decline — Counting Crows announced on their Website today that they are parting ways with their label, Geffen Records. The Counting Crows were one of the last vestiges of an era of DGC and Geffen that included artists like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Beck and Hole. The band's last album for the label was 2008's Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings.

Explaining why the band opted to leave the label, frontman Adam Duritz writes, "The Internet opens a world of limitless possibility, where the only boundaries are the boundaries of your own imagination. We want a chance to push those boundaries back as far as we can. Unfortunately, the directions we want to go and the opportunities we want to pursue are often things that our label is simply not allowed to do... We all want what's best for everyone which is why we've decided to part ways."

So, Counting Crows may be plotting a Radiohead-esque route to album releases. After 18 years, the Crows likely have a fervent enough fanbase to pull it off. Or the band could be plotting a 360 deal with a company like Live Nation. (We'll take other theories in the comments.) To thank those fans for supporting the Counting Crows during the DGC era, the band has posted a free download of their cover of Madonna's "Borderline," live from London's Royal Albert Hall.

Head on over to the official Crowes site to read the entirety of Duritz's letter to fans and nab the track.

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Song Stories

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Jason Mraz | 2008

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