Is A&R Dead?
Tom Silverman Reflects On
The Past & Future of
The Record Industry
Founder and Chairman of Tommy Boy Entertainment, Tom Silverman has been pioneering change in the biz for 25 years as an innovative force in hip-hop, dance, electronic and other styles of music. In addition to his role as record executive, Silverman has consistently been at the forefront of the industry as a founder of the original New Music Seminar; the creator of the DJ Bible and Dance Music Report; and through his involvement with the RIAA, NARM, NAIRD, the Dance Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and now the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM ).
On the eve of launching a reimagined version of New Music Seminar that reflects rampant changes in the music business, AtlasPlugged met with Silverman to get his take on the state of the industry and the reasons he’s reconfiguring New Music Seminar for the 21st Century.
AtlasPlugged: Tommy Boy Records has been active and influential (especially hip-hop, dance & electronica) since the 80’s – what is the role that labels play in today’s industry?
Tommy Silverman: The role of labels is in transition. In the past, labels [played a number of roles] --- venture capitalist, A&R advisor, marketing and promotion [coordinator] and distributor. From the consumer perspective, a label acts as a filter and a conduit to maximize the quality of music and its exposure.
AP: How do you anticipate the label’s role will change in the future?
TS: The label of the future will act as a venture capitalist, an advisor, a business strategist, and the manager of an artist’s fan relationships. Labels will be responsible for best monetizing the artist/fan relationship. From the consumer perspective, the label will still be the filter that finds the few worthy needles in the haystack of music that seems to get bigger every year.
AP: What is the biggest challenge artists and labels face today?
TS: Breaking through the obscurity barrier of 300 ticket sales and 10,000 albums. 105,000 albums were released last year and only 1515 sold over 10,000.
AP: What is Tommy Boy Records doing to address this challenges?
TS: Prayer, lucky amulets, and most recently, a pact with the devil.
AP: Is A&R Dead?
TS: Yes. Labels rarely sign an artist with their ears. Indie labels want an artist that is already moving 20 – 30 mile per hour. Major labels want artists that have an even bigger head of steam, say 40 – 50 mph. No one wants to invest in an artist that has no demand at all based solely on hearing music. The risk is to high and the reward too low.
AP: What are the 3 most important things artists & other independent industry pros need to know to be successful in this volatile business?
TS: 1. Do 2. It 3. Yourself
AP: What should artists do to get heard above the noise?
TS: 1. Be better than anyone else at what you do (See Malcolm Gladwell book “The Outliers”). 2. Radically differentiate yourself from anything else out there. And 3. Come to the New Music Seminar and take copious notes.
AP: The original NMS was one of the most exciting music industry events during the 80s & 90’s – why revive it now and what do you hope to accomplish?
TS: The business is in revolution. The New Music Seminar is vastly different in purpose and approach than the original. It is focused directly on the artist -- as the future of the music business belongs to artists. But they must learn a whole new way of seeing their career and set their goals accordingly.
AP: How will this version of NMS differ from other music business conferences?
TS: No B2B Bullshit. Just information and ideas that will make a real difference in an artist’s career. No talk of DRM, DSPs, major labels, Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers.
AP: What topics will you be covering and why do you regard them as important in today’s market?
TS: 1. Welcome to the New Music Business; Everything you know is wrong. 2. Fan Relationship Management – The Fan Relationship Pyramid and how to best monetize your fan relationship. 3. Creation: Radical differentiation in the creative quartet; And 4. The Song, The recording, The look/concept, and the Show.
AP: Will the panels and event be geared primarily for artists or managers or labels?
TS: Artists and their representatives be they managers or labels or neither.
AP: What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a record label?
TS: 1. Come to the New Music Seminar. 2. Start with as much money as possible. 3. Sign only the most outrageous artists you can find. 4. Don’t build a label around radio play.
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