Teller Enters the Online Fray With Record Label Atomic Pop

Record industry veteran Al Teller will reenter the music business today with the launch of an Internet company called Atomic Pop.

Teller, who has run a number of major record companies over the last three decades, has already signed several music acts--including acclaimed rock band L7--to the tiny Santa Monica-based label. The company plans to market, sell and eventually distribute recordings from a Web site called Atomicpop.com, which will also feature interactive video games and a shopping channel hawking comics, clothing and cosmetics.

Teller said Atomic Pop will offer artists higher royalty rates and shorter-term contracts that will allow acts to retain ownership of their master recordings--a proposal practically unheard of at major record companies.

“We plan to break artists online and migrate a number of record company functionalities online,” said Teller, who started the label with $5 million in backing from private investors. “Because we will be Web-centric, our cost structure is going to be radically different than that of the major record labels. We intend to create a very different financial landscape that will be appealing to artists.”

Since entering the music business in 1969, Teller has held a series of top posts at such companies as Columbia Records, United Artists Records and MCA Music Entertainment. Three years ago, Teller launched an independent label named Red Ant Records and was soon appointed head of Alliance Entertainment, which eventually filed for bankruptcy protection.