I usually stray away from interviews because I’m most often asked to divulge information about artists and labels I’m working with or they ask for specific details about projects I’m involved with.
I obviously can’t discuss that type of information, but when Cyber PR Urban reached out to me about discussing social media and how artists today can use social networks to their benefit, I happily agreed.
Here’s an interesting video I found of Jimmy Iovine discussing his views on today’s music industry and his vision on the direction it’s taking. (Note: The video is about a year old)
He offers advice for new artists as well as talking about possible distribution models, what makes a great producer and the future of Interscope and the traditional record label.
So, the other day, I was talking to Asher Roth and his label head/manager, Scooter Braun, and during our convo, Asher mentioned to me that he’s always asked how he’s gotten this much exposure and how he maintains everything that’s going on. His response was, “you’re only as good as your team”.
I couldn’t agree more.
It got me thinking I should talk about that here and also address some of the messages I’ve been getting regarding Asher.
Plus, I’ve been asked to discuss a few more personal stories so this seems like a great opportunity to do both.
For the record, I’m not his manager, nor am I the “head of his marketing”.
I’m part of a team.
I mean, I see why it would be easy for people to get confused though. My blog is called Making The Mogul, and I discuss issues revolving around working in the music business and being in marketing, and I talk about Asher often, so why wouldn’t somebody jump to that conclusion?
Plus, for years, we have been exposed to so much spotlight-hogging and “one man army” crap in the mainstream media, that whenever we keep seeing the same person attached to or speaking about an artist, we automatically assume that’s the person behind it all.
Actually, before I get carried away on that tip, I’ll stop and save it for another post.
One of the purposes of my blog is to help educate people on the business and also share some insight into what goes on with some of the people we watch and read about everyday; so I want to share a little behind-the-scenes story about Asher’s movement with you guys.
When Asher Roth dropped “The Greenhouse Effect” with Don Cannon and DJ Drama, the net blew up! Everybody’s been talking about him since. That’s something we all know and have witnessed firsthand. But what you may not know is how Steve Rifkind reacted.
Steve Rifkind, one of the most accomplished hip-hop entrepreneurs around, flipped on his staff! Almost verbatim, Steve told his crew, “Scooter, Asher and their team did this completely on their own. We can’t tell them what to do. They made themselves the label’s priority.”
That’s a big look!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying SRC hasn’t done anything. Their crew is one of the few in the business that actually understands how to properly support their artists.
Asher’s album is slated for an early 2009 release, yet he’s the label’s number 1 priority and everywhere you look on the net, you see the name Asher Roth.
But don’t get it twisted. Even the strongest team can’t push something that nobody believes in. We just put the word out, but it’s everybody else who reacts and gives the great feedback that helps support a talented artist like Asher Roth.
An audience that believes in you, is one of the most valuable assets you can ever attain. Scratch that, an audience that believes in you IS THE MOST VALUABLE asset you can ever attain.
Everybody who downloaded The Greenhouse Effect, everybody who keeps Asher Roth in rotation on their iPods, everybody who talks about him on Facebook, MySpace & Twitter, everybody who blogs about him or mentions him to their friends - you are part of this team. So shout out to you.
I also have to shout out some of the other members of the team that really put in their work:
Dana & Kathryn at Biz3 are handling Asher’s publicity and doing a great job at it. They’re working with other artists like The Cool Kids, Kid Sister, A-Trak and Chromeo; so they definitely know how to work with independents and help them compete with the top dogs.
And of course, it wouldn’t be possible to not mention Scooter Braun.
I’m actually going to feature Scooter on the site real soon, so I’ll save some of the background info for then, but just know that Scooter is the man with the plan.
If I hadn’t gone ahead and swooped up the name MakingTheMogul.com, he’d be the perfect candidate for it. Scooter accomplishes more in one day than most people accomplish in one month.
And he definitely has an ear for talent. Asher Roth is a prime example of that.
But that’s not all that’s up his sleeve. Scooter recently acquired another incredible talent; Justin Bieber.
For a while now, I’ve been paying attention to this young cat on his YouTube channel. He’s from Canada, so I have a sense of pride seeing his fanbase continue to grow. Justin’s become the most subscribed Canadian musician on YouTube, and one of the most subscribed musicians on YouTube overall, with about 50,000 subscribers and 21.5 million video views.
Let me repeat that: 21.5 MILLION video views!
Once you check out his videos, you’ll understand why he’s so popular. Oh and by the way… he’s only 13 years old!
I’d been following him for a while, so when Scooter told me he signed him; it just seemed incredibly coincidental to me.
Actually, just the other day, he played me a rough mix of one of Justin’s new songs and to say I was amazed would be an understatement.
(Side-note: Scooter played the song for me over iChat while he was sitting in a hotel room in Norway. He’s over there as a panelist for the Oslo World Music Festival. This just gives you an idea of the tip he’s on. I mean, who goes to Norway?)
The song is great and Justin voice is just incredible.
Remember where you heard it from first; Justin Bieber is going to be MAJOR!
I just realized how long this post has gotten so let me leave it here.
I first met Bu Thiam a few months back in Atlanta. After speaking to him for a bit and seeing the types of moves he was making, I immediately thought of featuring him when I first lauched the site.
As co-CEO of Konvict Muzik, Bu is definitely a mogul in the making.
During my discussion with Bu, we spoke about his entry into the game, career aspirations and the rumours of Akon’s country album.
Oh yeah, if you’re thinking he looks familiar, that’s because he’s also Akon’s brother. But don’t think he got his position just because of that. Bu makes his own moves and is steadily rising as one of the music game’s biggest executives.
The other day, I posted about a recent situation I had with someone who tried to steal my clients and ended up killing her reputation. I got a lot of emails from people telling me about their personal experiences with backstabbers and unprofessional associates. (Thank you for all your emails and messages, but please remember to also leave your comments on the blog. We gotta get this site up there!)One reader sent me the following video clip by entertainment lawyer, John Kellogg, which I thought I’d post up for everybody.
Okay, this post might crossover into rant mode, but I have to get this off my chest.
A little while ago, I noticed someone had sent me a friend request on 2 different social networking sites; Facebook and LinkedIn. I know who the person is, but I’m not very familiar with her because we’ve only briefly dealt through someone else in the past. On the few instances that we have spoken, she seemed nice and professional, so I decided to accept her friend requests.
She contacted me with an update of what she’s doing now and we exchanged a few emails over a 2 week period.
As you already know, I have my own business; so I have a few people on the team, but I also keep a short list of freelancers who I’ll outsource work to for certain services. I’ve seen her work and thought her quality of work and price would be a good match for one of my clients.
I called her up and gave her a brief rundown about this potential client and what was needed, but never went into details about who the client is and where they’re from. We spoke a bit and agreed on a rate for her retainer services.
Later that night, I logged into my Facebook account and noticed that she added 3 people from my Friends List. 2 of those guys were the clients who I was discussing the contract for, but I never mentioned their names or any real details about them.
We don’t live in the same area and she works in a very specific niche, so it’s unlikely for us to have many contacts in common.
I thought it was kind of strange but thought maybe she’s just one of those people who treats Facebook like MySpace and adds as many people as she can without making real connections with them.
Then, the next day, I get a call from my client telling me that he just got a message from her saying she can offer him a cheaper price if he goes directly through her.
WHAT?!
How bold can you be?
But wait, it doesn’t stop there.
The same evening, I noticed she joined about 5 groups that I belong to and ended up adding the admins of those groups as well (also people on my Friends List). These were all relatively small, local production companies and labels that don’t really operate within her niche; so again, it’s highly unlikely that she knows them.
The next day, I got some phone calls and emails from a few people telling me that she contacted them also and offered them the same thing. They noticed I was the only “mutual friend” so they wanted to give me a heads up on this back door shyster.
I can’t lie - I was vexed! I was about to pick up the phone and put her on blast. Did she think I wouldn’t find out? Did she think I’d just ignore it?
My blood was boiling at first, but then I realized - these people all called and told me about it. They got this random person who just added them on a social networking site and started pitching them straight from the gate. They don’t know her nor have they ever heard of her. All they know is that the only person they can link her to is me and that they hired my company to handle the services she’s pitching them.
They all sensed a rat and even deleted her from their Friends List as well.
But the fact that I’m the only person they can link her to plays into their perception of me and my judgment. We really have to be careful about who we keep around us. It’s hard sometimes because most of us work in industries that are built on greed and backstabbing. Especially the music business!
How do we know who to trust and when we find those people, how do we know how far our trust should stretch?
Obviously, she can’t be trusted and I’m curious as to how many bridges she’s burned so far, but even though she went directly to some of the artists, managers and indie labels I work with; I’m not really worried. She oversaw my secret weapon - Personal Relationships!
I don’t just walk up to people, hand them my business card and walk away. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I see it all the time at industry events; people walk around and give out their cards like they’re passing out club flyers - they don’t even speak to anyone. A lot of artists and beatmakers are guilty of doing the same thing with their CDs: just put it someone’s hands and walk away. I call that “spam networking”. There’s no point to it; nobody’s going to remember you when you spam network.
For me, I don’t just meet people; I develop relationships. When I look through my address book, I don’t see “contacts”; I see PEOPLE. I see experiences and memories. That’s not something that just takes 5 minutes to build. This is something that takes while to build and that you maintain on a constant basis.
Whether it’s wishing someone happy birthday, taking them out when they’re in town or even just grabbing a drink together because you haven’t seen each other in a while; these things are important. But don’t just do it because you feel obligated or for networking reasons only. People can tell when you’re being fake. Do it because you genuinely want to. Lucky for me, I’ve come across many people who I easily get along with and whose company I enjoy.
So, back to the situation at hand; to her and to anyone like her - you can steal all the contact info you want and try to pitch them, but I can pick up the phone and share a laugh or even ask for a favour if ever needed.
No matter what you do, what industry you’re in or where you are in your career, never underestimate the power of a personal relationship.
This blog is about my personal journey in the music business. I'm not really a blogger.. I'm just continuing my everyday grind and sharing my journey with you. From time to time, I'll also feature interviews with key decision makers, tastemakers and other young professionals doing their thing. Feel free to drop me a line or leave your comments.
- Moe Arora
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