As children, we often aspire to grow up and be someone that affects/changes peoples’ lives. We hear things such as the want for being a doctor, a firefighter, an actor, a singer; and for awhile, I was one of those children as well. The moment that I finally heard about Clive Davis
and started researching him was a moment that changed my direction in the music industry, all thanks to my 14 year old crush and admiration for the pop group Hanson.
Clive Davis is an A&R phenom for the music industry, with a resounding background of 44+ years within A&R as well as some phenomenal musicians in which he helped to bring about their careers such as Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston and Santana to name a few (Kurutz, n.d.).
Clayton Perry conducted an interview with Clive Davis in May of 2011, and there were a few points/comments that I wanted to touch on from the interview:
Perry had asked Davis' opinion about the current state of "artist development". Being this industry is constantly going through changes and that the internet and several aspects of it has changed the music business in itself, it is thought that many of the past ways of managing the industry are all dying off. Davis described the problem with artists promoting themselves on the internet like this "The challenge is that there are more artist selling singles who are not able to make the important transition to albums. An album solidifies an artist’s identity – especially if the practice is done right. Nobody wants to be a singles artist with only digital singles. There is a lot of work that needs be done in order to educate the listener that they are more than a single record." It is true that the industry has taken a turn toward digital, however there will always be aspects of the industry that remain the same. The impact that music has on it's listeners, the need for validation as an artist etc... those are the things that cannot be effected by the changes that are currently happening and those are the changes that keep artist development alive.
Since we are on the topic of the impact of music on it's listeners, Perry brings up the idea about "a ballad lasts forever". However, Davis states that regardless if a record is a ballad, a great song should be timeless anyways. He agrees that ballads have a great track record, however he goes on to list an up-beat song that is also considered timeless such as "Respect". The truth of the matter is, aside from being a catchy song with a great hook, great beats, and perfect timing of production, a song can also be placed as timeless if it has a special meaning to a mass group of people, whether it be due to a historic event, or something that several people can attach that particular song to.
Another key to being a successful A&R rep is not only knowing your artist and their talents, but knowing how to get them seen as well as what is acceptable in the current industry and/or area that you are trying to get them seen/heard at. When Davis was trying to promote Alicia Keys, he knew that the urban stations wanted "faster" tempo and the pop stations felt it was too urban unless it hit the top of urban charts? So he promoted Alicia Keys wherever he could take her and even made a phone call to Oprah and talked her into promoting musicians as she promotes book authors. Oprah and her associates loved the idea and brought Alicia Keys onto the show shortly after. Alicia really started to have her name buzz around the industry and finally the radio stations ended up coming around.
I would like to end with the skill or lesson that Davis contributes to consistently bringing him success over the years, and I feel it is something we seem to forget or overlook. Instead of trying to paraphrase it, I feel that it gives much more dignity and point to the meaning by quoting it's entirety, he stated "I have discovered that you learn lessons all the time, if you’re open. I never look at my track record and think that certain things are going to happen. Radio changes – and I bring charts home with me everyday. Records that were hits 5 year ago are no longer hits today. You cannot be too encrusted in the past. And you have to keep you ears fresh. That is a basic rule that I always follow." A common lesson that anyone should take into consideration, but that is easily overlooked. However, those involved in the entertainment industry definitely need to adhere to it, as the industry is forever changing and evolving.
Since we are on the topic of the impact of music on it's listeners, Perry brings up the idea about "a ballad lasts forever". However, Davis states that regardless if a record is a ballad, a great song should be timeless anyways. He agrees that ballads have a great track record, however he goes on to list an up-beat song that is also considered timeless such as "Respect". The truth of the matter is, aside from being a catchy song with a great hook, great beats, and perfect timing of production, a song can also be placed as timeless if it has a special meaning to a mass group of people, whether it be due to a historic event, or something that several people can attach that particular song to.
Another key to being a successful A&R rep is not only knowing your artist and their talents, but knowing how to get them seen as well as what is acceptable in the current industry and/or area that you are trying to get them seen/heard at. When Davis was trying to promote Alicia Keys, he knew that the urban stations wanted "faster" tempo and the pop stations felt it was too urban unless it hit the top of urban charts? So he promoted Alicia Keys wherever he could take her and even made a phone call to Oprah and talked her into promoting musicians as she promotes book authors. Oprah and her associates loved the idea and brought Alicia Keys onto the show shortly after. Alicia really started to have her name buzz around the industry and finally the radio stations ended up coming around.
I would like to end with the skill or lesson that Davis contributes to consistently bringing him success over the years, and I feel it is something we seem to forget or overlook. Instead of trying to paraphrase it, I feel that it gives much more dignity and point to the meaning by quoting it's entirety, he stated "I have discovered that you learn lessons all the time, if you’re open. I never look at my track record and think that certain things are going to happen. Radio changes – and I bring charts home with me everyday. Records that were hits 5 year ago are no longer hits today. You cannot be too encrusted in the past. And you have to keep you ears fresh. That is a basic rule that I always follow." A common lesson that anyone should take into consideration, but that is easily overlooked. However, those involved in the entertainment industry definitely need to adhere to it, as the industry is forever changing and evolving.
To see/read more of the interview please visit Clayton Perry's Interview
Other references:
Kurutz, S. (n.d.). Clive Davis. Retrieved July 8, 2011, from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/clive-davis-p69041/biography
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