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10 Questions with ... Peter Berard
November 15, 2016
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I've worked at Domino for over 10 years in various capacities including radio promotion, project management, marketing and now label management.
1. How did you become interested in the record business?
I have always been a huge music fan, but it wasn't until I started working at KJHK, the college radio station at the University Of Kansas, did I become interested in the business side. I worked as the Music Director for a year which brought me directly in contact with record labels and promotions companies via weekly tracking calls. Being an MD ultimately led me to Domino. I vividly recall receiving albums by Franz Ferdinand, Clinic, Four Tet, Caribou and Juana Molina all within a year and seeing the Domino logo, which at the time was unfamiliar to me. The diversity and quality of the roster intrigued me, so I reached out about an internship. I was fortunate to get the internship, which later turned into a job and I've been here ever since.
2. Give us the 411 on Domino Records.
Domino is a British Independent label founded by Laurence Bell in the early 90s. Many of the early releases were American artists that needed a nurturing label home in the U.K., which Domino provided for such artists as Sebadoh, Elliot Smith, Pavement, Will Oldham, Smog and more. Over time the label started to focus on its own signings such as Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, The Kills, Clinic and many more. In 2001 Domino started a U.S. office. Fun fact, Daniel Kesler was the first U.S. employee; unfortunately he couldn't stay long because his little upstart band Interpol began to dominate his time! As the label grew in the U.S., so did our U.S. roster with signings such as Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Real Estate, Bob Moses and more.
3. What may surprise people the most to learn about the company?
We not only have offices in London, New York and Los Angeles but also in Berlin and Paris. We also have employees in Melbourne and Singapore.
4. Tell us about Bob Moses and the stamina this project has had at Alternative since the beginning of 2016.
Bob Moses has been a great project to work on because the story of their growth has been very organic and unique. We released their debut album in September of 2015, but they had steadily been building a passionate fanbase for a few years prior by releasing 12"s and putting on incredible live shows in dance clubs and underground warehouses. This was almost completely off the radar of most traditional indie music fans. After releasing "Tearing Me Up" as a digital single we noticed that there was something very special about the track in terms of reactivity. It reached #1 on the Hype Machine chart multiple times and was selling and streaming a surprising amount of tracks without any commercial radio play. We caught our first radio break when XMU started playing the song heavily by the end of 2015. This airplay led to an unexpected TV booking on Ellen in January. As the story goes, Ellen was driving around L.A listening to XMU when she heard "Tearing Me Up" for the first time and fell in love with song so much that she immediately asked her crew to book the band on her show as soon as possible. With an XMU and Ellen story in hand, the radio team worked tirelessly for months to find early supporters at Alt.
By the end of May this year Alt Nation, KRBZ, KPNT & KRXP were all early believers and supporters of the track. Armed with great listener feedback, callout and metrics, we slowly but surely worked throughout the summer and fall to find airplay wherever we could. The single finally broke onto the chart a few weeks ago. After all this time the track shows no signs of slowing down from a streaming or track sales standpoint. On the live side the band has also grown tremendously; from playing Bowery Ballroom NYC (550 cap) in Sept of 2015 to playing Terminal 5 (2800 cap) just a few weeks, almost to the date, one year later.
I need to give a huge amount of thanks to Gary McDonald at Strange Loop who has believed in the project since the beginning and has worked tirelessly to this day promoting the single. Tyson, David, Cheryl, Tommy, Laura and the whole ADA team also deserve a tremendous amount of thanks for their determined work throughout the summer and fall. Our specialty team of Chris Stowers and Jessica Weber are worthy of a big shoutout for introducing the band to the Alt panel last year, as does Dave Sanford and the Distliler team for helping to break the band at non-com and college. It's been an incredible all around team effort.
5. What can Alternative Radio expect from Domino in 2017?
We hope to continue working Bob Moses well into 2017, and we'll have new albums and/or singles from New Jersey's finest Real Estate, newly L.A. based Dirty Projectors, NYC upstarts Porches, Joe Goddard from Hot Chip's epic new solo project, new tunes from The Kills and perhaps, just perhaps, something new from Arctic Monkeys!
6. What is your biggest challenge each day?
Attempting to understand the rapidly changing music marketplace as consumers embrace streaming more and more and away from their traditional physical and digital buying habits.
7. What is your favorite part of your job?
Helping to expose new artists to the world and to promote unique and progressive music from truly creative artists. Also working with a great team of talented and hardworking people at Domino.
8. What is a typical workday like for you?
I get in the office between 9-10a and start the day with emails and calls with our U.K. office. The rest of the day is filled with various meetings, emails and calls relating to all facets of the record label. We usually leave between 6-7p.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _______ ?
La Colombe Coffee. We buy it by the box lot for the office.
10. What may surprise people about you?
I serve on the board of a NYC non-profit called the New York City Urban Debate League. It's a wonderful organization that provides educational debate resources and access to tournaments for all NYC public schools and students. We have a particular focus on schools and students who have access to the least amount of financial resources and staff power to support a debate team. If you are interested in learning more and/or making a generous donation, please visit: debate.nyc. There are also Urban Debate leagues in many other cities across the country as well including L.A., SF, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Boston and more: urbandebate.org
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
As much tennis as I can play.
First concert?
Bob Seger
Favorite band of all-time?
Velvet Underground
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