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David Nathan
June 16, 2015
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Few companies better reflect the multi-platform, multi-format music world than the Big Machine Label Group, which has swiftly evolved from the hot, new Country label to a Country music powerhouse to what it is now, a burgeoning Country/Pop trailblazer featuring crossover stars such as Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line and Steven Tyler. Helping orchestrate its success is David Nathan, a longtime Republic Records exec who is now devoting his talents to what Scott Borchetta has built at Big Machine. Here, Nathan offers his perspective on the multi-genre, multi-platform music and media world.
What made you decide to segue from Republic to Big Machine Label Group?
I reached a point in my career where I wanted more marketing, branding and cross-promotion opportunities, not to mention the chance to quarterback Taylor Swift's album at Pop. As part of Big Machine, I would have ability to do other things with that music, which was very attractive to me. I had a long conversation with Scott Borchetta about it, and the upside of my growth and the opportunities with Big Machine -- just when the label starts to dive into the pop world -- was just a perfect match. It ended up being really beneficial for all parties because I was now going to be the liaison, as head of Pop Promotion for Big Machine, with Republic on projects we cross over.
Is the Big Machine "corporate culture" any different than the culture of other labels you worked for?
Yes. It starts at the top, with Scott Borchetta's mantra of "You start from crazy and work backwards." I love that because that gives everyone at the company the opportunity to do new and different stuff, to be a star and a dreamer. That's what makes this company special. The 101 people who work here has made the label more powerful and helped Scott become one of the premier players in the industry as a whole. What I love about it is that he's giving everyone the opportunity to do other things and not just focus on one thing, be it marketing, sales or promotion. This company is bigger and better than ever because there are no boundaries.
What's the biggest difference between Country radio and the Pop radio formats you used to work with at Republic?
The biggest difference is that there's essentially just one Country, with the possible exception of NASH Icon. But there's no AC Country, no Alternative Country, no Rock Country and Rhythmic Country. On the other hand, hits from all those formats -- and even Country - cross over into Pop world. Only recently were we able to cross Florida Georgia Line to Rock.
The big thing for me is how different the various charts move. Country artists get slotted in, and we work as a team, whereas everyone is out to kill each other at Pop. I'll hold Taylor at #1 for 12 weeks on Pop, but it doesn't matter if the #1 Country record stays there for five weeks. The way the Pop charts move is based on spins and audience. There's a whole different philosophy on how you work records in Country. The way the numbers are combined and put together in Country seems different. It's been an education process for me. Any record I want to cross over that comes from Country, I've got to beg, borrow or steal to convince the company and the band's manager that it would be worth it to do -- without running the risk of losing relationships at Country, which naturally is their main concern.
Are you satisfied with how well Florida Georgia Line crossed over to Pop and Rock?
In one way, I am I happy with what we've done, but in another way, I'm never happy or satisfied. I am excited that we sold nine million singles up to today, but on the other hand, "This Is How We Roll" with Jason Derulo met with a lot of resistance and it didn't get a fair shake. I'm not sure it's whether we didn't do stuff for Pop, or we had the Country side concerned that the band was going to lose its edge. We previously worked "Sun Daze" to #1 Country; we thought we'd have as good a run again. The band was doing their thing at the iHeart fest and Live In The Vineyard, but at the end of the day, the song just didn't translate.
We also have A Thousand Horses, who are doing very well. They're like Skynyrd, a Southern rock band that would fit on a stage with Kid Rock. I really think we have the people to cross them over into the Rock world and after that, potentially Pop. The Band Perry is doing great music that potentially could have pop openings. We're never satisfied as we move our records further, with #1 being the ultimate goal. We'd love to sell another million or so for the Florida Georgia Line.
Could Florida Georgia's Line's summer tour work reinvigorate your efforts at radio?
One thing these guys do incredibly well is tour, and when you go to one of their concerts, it's not all cowboy hats and boots. It's the same kids who listen to Z100/New York, KIIS/Los Angeles and B96/Chicago. Kids these days appreciate a variety of talent that's spread out so wide, which is a tribute to iTunes, Pandora and all these streaming sites that offer the ability to make a playlist where you can from One Direction to 3 Doors Down to Britney Spears to Florida Georgia Line to Bruno Mars. When these people see FGL in concert, they fall in love with the band and go out and buy their music. Radio is now a Florida Georgia Line follower - and that makes a difference.
In general, what's your take on working formats - would you prefer there be more crossovers and less format exclusivity?
Everyone has their place. There's a Country format for a reason - to break core Country records. Pop is different because at the end of day, Pop stands for "popular," and having an artist cross genres successfully to chart on a few different radio formats will only make that artist bigger. But that's not for everybody. Just because a record is a hit on a Country station in New York, it won't automatically cross over to a Pop or Hot AC station in New York. I still feel with the right artist and right song, you can go around and make the record that much stronger at multiple formats. Taylor is the perfect example. When we first started crossing her to Pop, we had problems with Country radio, which worried that she would go too far Pop. As it turned out, no one left her. The goal was to find a happy medium, which enabled Taylor to get bigger and bigger.
Conversely, you're now trying to cross Steve Tyler to Country. Do you face similar challenges?
Steven Tyler ... he could be a star, that guy (laughs) ... Seriously, I sat in the studio with him in L.A. while Idol was happening, and he told me that this was just another chapter in his life. He basically has fallen in love with the music, the sound, the Country artist relationships, the friendliness and the "comfortability" of that world. It seems that Country is embracing him as well. The familiarity is already there. We're going to push to make this a hit record. From what I heard, there are about seven to eight really good Country tracks that have the potential to cross to Pop. So I'm glad he signed to our label; he's going to get a legit shot to knock this record out of the park.
Big Machine - and Taylor Swift, most visibly -- has spoken out against Spotify because of the meager artist compensation. In your eyes, can a streaming service such as Spotify work where everyone gets compensated fairly?
It needs to be tweaked a lot, but it can work. Taylor and Scott's argument is simple: Music has value and one size does not fit all. One fix is there needs to be a "Premium Only" platform for all streaming services. Music is not free. By not taking care of our own works, our industry leaders have put us in a tricky place. Just today it was announced that Spotify is issuing its first-ever "Premium Only" release. We are winning this fight and now's the time for real leadership and understanding. It's not a hard argument to win once it's explained to fans, listeners and consumers. When we get this right, we will have the most prolific upside to our business in over 30 years - when we went from cassette tapes to CDs. It's coming...
I do believe digital delivery has changed the culture of music; now you have kids who program their own music almost all of the time. My kids listen to Pandora; they pull music off iTunes and make their own playlists. They do what they do; my son plays hip-hop mash-ups that can go from hardcore rap to Skrillex. The ability to create a wide-open playlist that's not genre-specific, going from Rock to Country to Hip-Hop ... I love the fact that everyone has the ability to create their own playlists. It's good for music overall because the audience is more involved.
I still think Spotify will change its ways; they're learning every day, as is Cumulus with its digital platforms for radio, and iHeart's streaming platform. They're all tweaking every day. We'll see what happens, but there's a lot of ground to be covered, a lot of things to do, and at the end of day, I think everybody can win.
With all that's going on in streaming and other digital platforms, what's your take on radio these days? Are you confident it will maintain its place as the primary driver in breaking bands?
I'm as confident as ever. Radio is still the #1 place for music and artist discovery and the place to break artists. It's still the first place people go to listen to music in the car - and just as important, people pay attention to radio in cars. Our relationship with radio has evolved in terms of opportunities and partnerships. We have fortified our relationships with iHeartMedia, Cumulus, CBS and the rest; those relationships are really important. As partners, we have gone way beyond airplay and onto platform opportunities so their listeners can be exposed to new artists in live settings as well.
Then I look at a project we did with Nick Fradiani, which immediately got 50 Top 40s and 11 Hot ACs -- 61 stations in one week. We started a project with Cumulus as a partner and we picked up another 35 stations. That's what made iHeart take notice; now they want to do something with Nick. That gives us the opportunity to expand and broaden Nick into becoming the biggest Idol since Phillip Phillips.
I love the opportunities we have to create partnerships, platforms and branding with radio that give us the ability to cross-promote - and that's what makes both radio and records more successful. More opportunities like this in the future will enable us to expose and break more bands.
With all you do, do you also have time to look for new bands?
That's the beautiful thing about BMLG. Scott encourages us to stay plugged into everything going on around us and if I hear or see an act I like, I have direct access to Scott and the A&R team. As long as we do our core job and make sure business is taken care of, we have a lot of rope to be creative and add to the mix. We just signed our first pure Pop artist, Laura Marano, who stars in Austin & Ally on the Disney channel. That's the first signing I brought to the label, and I look forward to doing more. Credit has to go to Scott, who's completely open to new ideas - and not just on the A&R side. A big theme of the culture of BMLG is "opportunity."
Has your new job changed the future goals you have set for yourself?
I was at Republic Records for 19 years. I helped build it with Monte and Avery from day one - and I loved what I was doing and what we've accomplished. Now, there are more opportunities for me at Big Machine. Scott has basically given me the opportunity to help run the Pop side of the label and help lead the Big Machine Label Group into the next decade and help build it into a bigger powerhouse at all formats, as big as it is in Country. It is a little different, but I love it. The work itself and the ultimate goals are still the same - artist development, break those same artists, create artist brands, and help them shape our culture. I will carry out the vision and culture of the label group to the Pop world: "Start at crazy and work backward!"
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