Page 64 - The Westerner Magazine Halloween 2018
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today. Back then a jock would get on the It was a shame. I lived it. I have
radio and hit the record they liked three performed every function—promotion,
or four times in an hour. “Did you hear sales guy, administrator. I represented
that! This is going to be a smash hit!” Motown. I had about twenty labels I
They’ve taken that away from the represented in that area. I’m from
artists. In the late 70’s the independent Detroit originally and one of my best
companies started to leave the fold of friends was a vice president over there. I
independent distribution, which was the was there almost every day. He used to
equal of major distribution, but they take a lot of their artists to record hops. I
went with the majors because they were knew the artists too and knew the
willing to pay more—and quicker. They operation very well. It taught me
all started to leave the fold and they left everything I needed to know about the
them without the product they could record business.
operate with, so they died.
How does a record company actually
So the distributors actually managed to develop talent?
kill their own industry?
First of all, you have to have a good
I tried to stop that in 1980. I took a product—it’s everything. These people
lawyer and advertising guy, and I had a had two studios at Motown. It’s now a
plan. I said to the distributors at the museum but at the time it was going
convention, “You don’t have to lose out 24/7. It was preparing people for live
here. Get together, give me some money performances once the records made it.
and we will buy into four catalogue But if they felt that the performances
selling acts and if we had stars we could weren’t strong enough, but the material
compete.” Nine months we had was good—they’d go right back in and
meetings and then the egos started, and re-record it until they’d got it. That’s the
they died. secret to A&R. They had a great product
and learned how to process it through
It’s a shame they couldn’t see the
distributors. It was a development. An
writing on the wall and save
artist development situation. As you
themselves. They really should have
went region to region, different singers
taken a step back and listened to what
were hot. The boy singers from Philly,
you had to say.
the acid rock from San Francisco. They
created the same talent development.
