Well, overall I wouldn’t say that’s completely accurate. But I do think that’s the philosophy of a lot of record companies: sign a lot of acts, put a lot of product out there, see what sticks, and then they chase it. At Motown especially, we pride ourselves on developing artists like Erykah [Badu] or India [Arie]. I think from a Universal side – and I’ve been here for the longest, I was there when it was founded – I think initially, as a new company, you tend to sign a lot of artists and put out a lot of records because you’re trying to create your niche and dominate some of the market share. I think any new company that’s introduced to any industry is bound to do that initially. Throughout the years, they tend to become a lot more selective. If you look at the fact that Universal has been in the top 10 or top 5 position in terms of market share, and considering how young they are, you have to commend them on the fact that whatever their philosophy is, it’s working. They definitely are moving more towards artist development, spending a lot more time developing the acts. What happens at record labels is the same thing that happens in society. Sometimes we don’t have the money or the means to stay behind every act, so you have to prioritize. You pick the acts that you feel are going to have the most longevity; the most career-oriented acts.
Have you ever seen a situation where prioritizing one artist has hurt another artists’ career?
No, I never feel like that. Because I think the hits always – you know, the cream always rises to the top. If you take Mario Winans on Bad Boy, for example. People heard about the “I Don’t Wanna Know” record on mixtapes, and Universal heard about it from the radio staff. Now, that record is over a hundred million in audience. My point is, no one has ever denied a real hit record. Hits surface. If it’s not a hit, it’s not going to rise. All it takes is one radio station to put it on, and that’s what happens. What tends to happen with some artists is this: the radio station’s not feeling it, there’s no one asking for it in stores, and the artist is like, “You not pushing it.” Listen, it’s about getting the product out there and letting the consumer react. If the radio station isn’t playing it and nobody’s asking for it in stores in that region, that’s not a hit record. I do think that there’s times where we could stay on a record and push it a lil’ longer, but it’s hard. The best indication of a hit record is to get one believer in any format, whether it’s radio or video or a club. Or maybe just word of mouth; that determines if that record is a hit. The majority of the time, a hit happens real fast.
Universal seems to be one of the few record labels that places a high priority on reaching out to underground/grassroots publications. Why is that?
Then that shows you that we do believe in grassroots marketing and development. I think that’s the opposite of just throwing stuff out there. But we have to give credit to Wendy Washington and our press department for actually organizing that. Our philosophy is this: if you’re not hitting in your own hometown, then there’s a problem. All hometowns belong to a region, so your best chance at having a national record is to break it out of that region. That includes press, retail, and radio stations. Then, you just go gradually from region to region until it’s an international record. That’s what it’s about. It just depends on the genre and format.
For our Florida readers in particular, I know that at one point, Universal was considering signing Jacki-O based on a regional hit record, “Nookie.” Using that as an example, could you explain the process that usually happens with a regional record?
Well, I was only involved in that situation from a certain perspective. But I think that what happens is basically the foundation of hip-hop. With a lot of big records and indie companies, a record starts off in a certain region, and a major gets involved and wants to take that record and help the independent company spread it a little further. It might have been happening in the Florida region in the South, and then record companies – not just myself, but Elektra, Atlantic, etc. – they get involved and want to try to take the record further. I think that’s normal in the record business, to try to break out of a region.
How do you feel about all the mergers and layoffs going on in the industry right now?
Well, I feel bad for the turmoil, but it’s due to the downloading and disrespecting of music in terms of an art form. The artists, the performers, the studio engineers and manufacturers, a lot of people are being put out of work and put out of business. I feel bad because a lot of those people have families. I feel bad that consumers and a lot of people don’t see the hurt that they’re causing. And from the perspective of the mergers, I don’t necessarily like that because it’s conglomerate business. What tends to happen is that you end up with a single entity that’s controlling the type of music that comes out. Whenever there’s no variety, the music suffers.
Do you plan on picking up any new employees?
Well, we try to always have the best. We’re happy with the people that we have now, but we were one of the first to go through a merger so we’ve already gone through the [layoffs]. I think we’re okay, but if the market doesn’t get better then you never know. I think that whenever you have a new format – whether it’s the 45 or the 8track or the cassette or the CD, now you’ve got the digital downloads – whenever there’s a new format that can’t be defined then you’ll have that shakeup. Eventually it will get better.
How active are you personally in signing new acts?
I’m very active. I signed India, Erykah personally.
What would be your advice to an aspiring artist, how can they get the attention of someone like yourself?
Trying to get my attention is part of the process of becoming an artist. But, I think if the artist has the means to get their song on the air in their region or in the clubs, that’s one way. Another way is to try to hook up with somebody that’s got a production company that can help get their demos out. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. It’s very harsh. But there’s so many ways where you can get your music out there – not just to me but to record companies. You can even start out as an intern if you’re trying to be an artist, and your demo might wind up on someone’s desk. You just have to be creative. There’s no real set way, you just have to be a good marketing person and know how to get someone’s attention.
- Interview & photo by Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com
