UB Round Table Discussion: Part II
In June of 2003 for Black Music Month, our previous e-zine presented Round Table. A discussion with industry executives regarding the music industry. We went on to do additional Round Tables. This year we decided to bring the Round Table back!
Some of the executives included in our previous round tables were former president of BET Stephen Hill and RCA‘s Russ Jones.
This Round Table we have a variety of music executives from different fields. We reached out to executives that we personal know and who have been supportive of UB over the years. More importantly than anything, executives who know the business in and out.
For the first part, we started with two successful music executives Ra-Fael Blanco and Adrian D. Meeks.
The executives discuss a wide rang of topics; including artists and social media, the importance of the Billboard chart fading, the transition from albums to singles only, the good and bad effects of streaming, the lack of support for black owned music outlets and more!
Part II of Round Table we’re joined by GRAMMY nominated songwriter/producer Ivan Matias. He’s written hit singles for everybody from SWV, Toni Braxton, Tracie Spencer and En Vogue, including their #1 hit single “Don’t Let Go (Love)” from the Set it Off Soundtrack.
Legendary industry executive and entertainment journalist Billy Johnson Jr. also joins the discussion. Billy has written for Hollywood Reporter, VIBE and Yahoo! Music, to name a few. Billy Johnson Jr. has also appeared on various episodes of TV One‘s Unsung.
See what these two industry vets have to say about the current state of the music industry.
We’ve added a Part III, live in August. The final part to this years discussion.
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Ivan Matias: I’m a songwriter & producer. The life of a songwriter isn’t very structured. We have a lot of flexibility. My day is built around how creative I’m feeling. If a good song idea hits me, I spend time flushing it out. Otherwise, I’m dealing with the same life duties as everyone else. Unlike what people think, the life of people in the entertainment industry isn’t as glamorous as it’s portrayed or imagined.
Billy Johnson Jr: Founder and Chief Media Officer for Media & Repertoire. After being a full time music journalist/editor for more than 20 years, 18 as a senior editor for Yahoo Music, I founded Media & Repertoire. I’m blessed to be working on a variety of media related projects. I handle PR for Jay Lyriq, Dr. Daniel Walker and Crystal Tamar; social media and event planning for Jenesse Center’s Jeneration J youth initiative, a domestic violence intervention program; I have an annual mental wellness workshop series #NoStigmasAllowed funded by the California Department of Mental Health; and I also do a little freelance as a music journalist. My time is spent planning, researching, pitching, following up, facilitating, writing, etc.
Ivan Matias: The books I would recommend are “self help” books like “The Motivation Manifesto” & “& High Performance Habits” By Brendon Burchard. Many of the “Music Industry Books” have outdated information that doesn’t translate well into 2019. I’ve found that many in entertainment lack balance & seek validation through money & fame. It’s not until you acquire them that you realize, they only comprise a small part of a successful life. That is why many are famous, rich & depressed with crippling vices & addictions. Anything that promotes balance, peace & positive perspective for the bumpy entertainment industry ride is what i’d recommend.
Billy Johnson Jr: I don’t have any particular books to recommend but I would definitely encourage people to do research in the execs you admire. Read and/watch/listen to all their interviews. Learn what it took for them to be successful. Get to the root of their philosophies and self assess. Make the changes you need to make in order to advance. Conferences are good for networking. It’s hard to get people to reply to emails and to return calls. But you’d be surprised how easy it is to meet people at events. FaceTime is essential. Much easier for people to connect with your vibe in person. Email is tough.
Ivan Matias: I don’t think they use it less: I think they use it differently. Going “viral” in ways unrelated to your music is a great way to expand your audience. Artists are interested more than ever in lifestyle branding because the cash isn’t in record sales anymore. Their projects have become just another part of their portfolio. With streaming & record companies making the lions share of the profit, artists are more focused of other income streams. It’s an odd time in history where a good controversy can make a person richer than a great record!
Billy Johnson Jr: Recording artists’ opinions about social media may not be too different than the general public. Social media is very time consuming. There’s a new platform popping up each day. It’s really hard to get engagement and to really impact your bottom line. If you’re a recording artist your goal is to expose your music to a larger audience with the intention of selling more records. If you don’t see that happening and you don’t like doing social media anyway, you are going to be discouraged. I understand this thought, but artists have to remember that social media is where fans and potential fans go to get updates on you and your music. This digital footprint is necessary. It’s worse to have someone search for updates on your music and not get any results.
Charts & Radio still matter?
Ivan Matias: Charts & Radio are a tradition. The major players in the industry still utilize them. The main shift is the result of Hip Hop/Rap becoming the most popular global genre. The genre made it a common practice to pick up artists out of obscurity with only a self made following through local, regional & internet popularity. Most other genres still need the traditional system to break artists nationally & internationally. The charts & radio also heavily influence the Award shows which create a cache & additional benefits for artists. Like everything else, the role of radio & charts are evolving & changing; but they still play a major part in the mechanics & perception of most artists.
Billy Johnson Jr: Charts and Radio matter most to the music business professionals than to the consumers. I have 16-year-old twins, they discover music via YouTube and Spotify and rely on the algorithms to recommend new music to them and they trust those recommendations because they end up liking the new music. This makes sense. The charts and radio needs to take a more active role in breaking new artists and not just ones backed by big label partners. I live in the LA market and I just started hearing Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” in heavy rotation a few weeks ago. Terrible.
Ivan Matias: It’s kind of a return to the past. In the 70’s & 80’s, that wasn’t uncommon. Many artists don’t have an album worth listening to in them. They might have one amazing song. How many artists put out an album but were still a “one hit wonder?” Labels had to tighten the belt & get more conservative. If an artist only has one good song in them, put it out & save the expense of album production & promotion. The average lifespan of most artists is 3 albums if they’re lucky anyway. The first has 1 or 2 hits. The follow up doesn’t live up to the first. The 3rd is the last shot at squeezing out a sale from those who loved the first, before sending the artist to pasture. Also, people wanted to be artists years ago. People just want to be famous now. If they can have 1 hit, they can be set for life.
Billy Johnson Jr: It makes total sense to put more energy into making and releasing singles than to releasing an entire album. Consumers are not going to be bothered streaming an entire album or EP until they are sold on an artist. It is usually going to take liking a series of singles to make that happen. New artists should keep putting out singles until there is a demand for an album. And when they finally release an album, make sure it’s good. That’s the worst turnoff.
Ivan Matias: The thing “others” do that we don’t is, they look at the culture from a business perspective. We tend to be too emotionally connected to it all. We also look for credibility & respect from people that won’t support us no matter what we do. We must get better with handling the business aspect & stop trying to cater to those that have convinced us that our effort should be spent auditioning for the support & respect, they have no intention on giving us. We must learn to cater to & compete in the business market like others. We must also be more inclusive. As hip hop/ rap & the urban culture grows & dominates mainstream; we are either going to evolve & expand our approach with the times; or get left behind while others “eat the meat & leave the bones” of the culture.
Billy Johnson Jr: There are a few examples to consider here — Essence, Ebony, BET, Urban One. Each of these platforms started as Black owned, stayed true to their Black audiences in the content they created and established themselves as trusted sources and beloved brands. They stood the test of time and made strategic moves to grow into the powerhouses they all became. No doubt, it was tougher for them than their white counterparts. Unfortunately, those are the cards we have been dealt. I wish Essence could have remained wholly Black owned but I love that the brand’s voice is still authentic to the Black community and that the Essence festival has become such a staple. As a brand they bring so much value to consumers, Black-owned businesses, corporations desiring to market to the African American community and artists. This is key to any business.
I also applaud Cathy Hughes for her work to grow Urban One (formerly Radio One) to include successful entities TV One and Interactive One. I started my career working for small Black owned media outlets (Riverside Black Voice News, Rap Sheet newspaper) and I loved the compassion we had for Black culture. It is not easy when you don’t have the same resources as your counterparts but resources is only part of the connection. Niche brands have to create unique, invaluable experiences for their audiences. Artists always need safe places to tell their stories.
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Stay Tuned for Part III – August
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