10 Questions with ... Jimmy Harnen

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Jimmy Harnen's career in the music business can truly be described as a 360-degree, all-encompassing experience. On the creative side, he's a musician, songwriter, and producer. As an artist, and member of the band Synch, Harnen scored a Top 10 hit on AC radio with 1989's "Where Are You Now?" On the business end, Harnen's experience is just as diverse, with a background in artist management, regional record promotion, and National and VP level leadership roles in promotion. As SVP/Promotion for Capitol Nashville, Harnen was instrumental in building careers for Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, and Eric Church. Those successes ultimately led to his role as President for Republic Nashville (now BMLG Records), where he signed and broke The Band Perry, Florida Georgia Line, and Brett Young. In 2012, Harnen added EVP stripes for the Big Machine Label Group, a role which involves him in BMLG's sister labels, Big Machine and Valory Music Company.

1. Jimmy, thanks for taking on "10 Questions." Let's start by getting a sense of your duties with Big Machine - as Executive VP, tell us about your basic job description.

As President of BMLG Records, I report directly to Scott Borchetta and am responsible for day-to-day operation of the label. I am surrounded by the best and brightest executives in the business at Big Machine Label Group who continue to educate, support, and inspire me on every level. As EVP of The Big Machine Label Group, my day-to-day activities vary. I have my hand in wide variety of all our label group initiatives. Obviously, with an extensive background in radio promotion, I also spend a good amount of time with our amazing promotion teams.

2. As I looked back at the path you took to your current job, it covers pretty much every aspect of the music biz - artist/musician, regional record promotion, artist management, VP level promotion, producer, and now, label head. Would you say all those combined experiences provided you with the "10,000 hours" that Malcolm Gladwell says are required for success in your current role?

Absolutely. I'm going to take a trip down memory lane that encapsulates some of those 10,000 hours.

I've been all things music since I was 5 years old. I used to sing on the bus when my mom took me shopping in Wilkes-Barre, PA. It wasn't a long ride -- maybe thirty minutes from my hometown of Plymouth, PA -- but, when we first got on the bus, my mom and I were usually the only passengers for the first 10 minutes. One day I started singing, "The Ballad of the Green Berets." I was so intrigued by the reverberation on the empty bus and how it made my voice sound. I cheer on my mom here, because even when passengers started filling up the bus, I kept singing, and she never told me to stop. People told my mom that she should take me to this talent scout in Wilkes-Barre, PA by the name of Tony Grant -- "Stars of Tomorrow." I sang everything from current hits of the day to show tunes to jazz. The talent company hosted live shows all over the Northeast including Atlantic City on the Steele Pier. It was an amazing experience. In no time at all, I was taking guitar lessons as well as playing clarinet and trumpet in the elementary school band. In high school, I switched to drums, which led me to auditioning for bar bands. Right before I was about to attend graduate school, my four friends and I recorded two songs at a 24-track studio in 1985; that was a big deal back then. One of those songs was a song I co-wrote with Rich Congdon called, "Where Are You Now?" About two days after we recorded the song, I heard Jumpin' Jeff Walker, afternoon drive DJ, announce that Bon Jovi was coming to town for a free show sponsored by WKRZ-FM in Wilkes-Barre. Back pedal a bit here: I had played a demo of "Where Are You Now?" for Jeff about two months prior, and he loved it. So, when I heard about the show, I pulled over to a phone booth (remember those?) and called the radio station asking Jeff if the station had an opening act for Bon Jovi. Jeff told me that the station did not have an opening act, so I told Jeff that our band would play for free. Jeff told me that I would have to play our song for their PD, who at that time, was Al Brock, who now lives and works in Nashville. Al heard it and flipped out! I'll always remember that day. Al said, "You have the gig, and we are going to start playing your song on WKRZ!" That was HUGE! No local bands EVER got on the radio at WKRZ. Two weeks later, Al called me and told me that I need to make a 45 RPM record and get them into the local record stores, because listeners were calling the station asking where they can buy it. I had no idea how to make a record, but I quickly learned. We went to The Record Plant and remixed the song, and then had it mastered at Sterling Sound. Lastly, we went to WEA in Olyphant, PA and pressed 2,000 singles. Three weeks later, all of the record stores in the Wilkes-Barre area were asking for an additional 2,000 singles per store. So, we made more singles, gave them to the stores on consignment and away we went. We were at about 15,000 singles sold when record companies started calling. We were offered to be on Epic Records' album, "10 Best Unsigned Acts in America," but we passed on that. Next, we received a call from CBS Records, who offered us a deal. The single was released, but peaked at only #77 on Billboard in 1986. Three years later, Nationwide Communications got behind older songs that did not chart but felt were hits. They re-broke UB40, Benny Mardones, Sherriff, and my band, Synch. This time, "Where Are You Now?" went to #3 AC and #10 CHR on the Billboard charts. The entire experience was grass roots, guerilla marketing, and so much fun!

Fast forward to 1996; my wife and I moved to Nashville, where I went on to be a regional in the Southwest for Curb Universal. Next, I was a Northeast Regional for DreamWorks, where Scott Borchetta and I first met. Stuart Dill offered me a great opportunity at Refugee Management back in 2003. Stuart is one of the nicest human beings out there, and I was blessed to spend a year with him at his company. Next, Capitol Records offered me a job as their National Director/Promotion in 2005. I was promoted to VP/Promotion, then to SVP/Promotion, where we broke Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Lady A, and Darius Rucker. Great times!

In 2009, Scott Borchetta offered me the President's position at then Republic Nashville (now BMLGR Records), where we signed and broke The Band Perry, Florida Georgia Line (FGL), and Brett Young, in addition to having 24 #1 singles in just 8 years with all the above, as well as The Eli Young Band and A Thousand Horses. FGL is also the only Country act to receive Billboard's Diamond Award signifying over 10,000,000 sold. [FGL's] "Cruise" is the #1 best-selling digital single in the history of Country music, and [The Band Perry's] "If I Die Young" is #4. I'm very proud of what our great artists and team have accomplished in a very short time.

3. Part of those experiences -- as an artist, specifically -- include having success and disappointment: being signed, getting dropped, having a big hit, and then not having one again. How did all that shape how YOU deal with artists, from signing, to development, success, and -- unfortunately sometimes -- career stall or decline for today's acts. Did that provide you with more empathy than others in your role may have?

Personally experiencing what an artist goes through has its advantages. As I mentioned, I started singing in front of people at age 5. I played in hundreds of shitty bars, drove and flew all around this great country, and as you mentioned, have been signed and dropped...twice! I have opened for everyone from Bon Jovi to El Debarge; I've written and sang a hit song; spent countless hours of trying to craft a song only to realize the song wasn't any good; had our van breakdown more times than I want to remember all while "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Hell, I even had vocal chord surgery. So, yes, I've lived a lot of the same experiences that our artists have lived. In addition, my college degree in Psychology is something I lean on quite a bit. While this is the music business, it is also a people business. Egos come into play from all sides, and that's not a bad thing. Ego -- not to be confused with arrogance -- is life, passion, excitement, growth, drive, creativity, individuality, unique personality, and reason. Saying "ego is bad" is as preposterous as saying water is bad, because it can drown you, or fire is bad, because it can burn you. Ego can make someone a star. Arrogance can kill a career.

4. As you, Scott Borchetta, and your teams consider what kind of artists to sign, what is the criteria for attaining a label deal in 2017? How different is it from say, when you were an aspiring act?

I will let Scotty B speak for himself on this point, but this is how I approach it: Obviously, if the act in question is blowing up on socials, selling out shows, or succeeding at radio, Sirius XM, retail, or any one of the DSPs, they will certainly get my attention. Sometimes, the artist has yet to release music, so in that case, I approach it from a purely creative side. The first thing I listen for is a voice: Does the singer have his or her own unique, musical real estate? Next, I listen to what message the singer/songwriter is saying: Is the message important, clever, emotional, humorous, inspiring, fresh, throwback? Nothing is an absolute, but I personally prefer to work with artists who can at least be a part of the songwriting process, because they then combine their unique voice with their own perspective on this world. Again, that's just my preference. I also like to spend time with the artist to make sure they have an engaging personality, as I feel that is something you can't instill in a person. Like they say at the NFL Combine, "You can't teach speed." I believe when you locate that special voice that looks at the world from a unique place and has a notable personality, you will -- more times than not -- locate a huge group of fans who agree with you, and I don't think that has changed much in the last 60 years.

5. Country radio. We've always heard - and, have just seen data from a CMA streaming study - that says radio is still the #1 music discovery source. But, with streaming and so many other platforms available to music fans, will radio always be the end-all, be all? Asking, because we see some artists making a good life for themselves without it. And, what part of your strategy includes other portals for music consumers to find new artists?

I hope that all our outlets succeed and do incredibly well! Each of them are so very important. While they share many similarities, they are uniquely their own. We utilize each outlet in a custom-fit approach, depending on the artist and the music in question. There is not a "one size fits all plan." In terms of artist discovery, we certainly have a close eye on each outlet on a daily basis.

6. Are there certain artists who may not be a fit for mainstream radio airplay, but are still appealing and making significant music? And, are these the kind of artists that Big Machine is interested in developing?

Again, I will let Scotty B speak for himself. I like to make the analogy of a sliding scale. As time moves on, left moves to the center, the center moves to the right, and right comes off the scale in terms of music and artists. I think it is vital to have the proper balance in each category based on the company's musical strategy and approach.

7. I always ask this to get a sense of an overview for the format, and this is in the context of what happens at radio: There is a lot coming at radio now, and it includes all kinds of sounds that seem to work somehow or another, at any given time. We have a big Pop influence, a rock component, some R&B and Hip-Hop sounds -- Traditional music is more a texture than a core sound for Country radio. The format is broader than ever, but do we have a defining, singular identity as in years past, and do we need one anymore?

I think an identity can make a musical genre idle rather than active. Music ebbs and flows over time. And, I personally believe we cannot steer the format. The format is what the fans say it is. Art that doesn't sell is an obsession with a storage problem. We are in the customer acceptance business, and there is only so much wall space.

8. Speaking of "a lot coming at radio," and by that, I mean the volume of singles -- that's radio's #1 concern when we talk to them. Are they just not playing enough new music, or are labels just throwing too much out there to see what sticks?

I agree; there is a lot of music being released, but I don't believe that is the problem. I think the problem is hanging onto songs too long that are simply not reacting on any level with the consumer. I thought Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob Stringer's comment was very on point when he said, "What a record label does for its releases: What we're here for is to magnify, but you have to start with something beautiful. If you enlarge something that isn't good, it's like enlarging a picture that's blurred." I personally believe fans know what they like quite quickly. With as many outlets as we have for music discovery, it doesn't take too long to find out if you have a special record. So, if you are seeing REAL signs telling you that you have that special record, FIGHT LIKE APES!

9. We also seem to have two kinds of artists - the small percentage of stars who go up and out of the charts in 20 weeks or less and others who take 35-50 weeks to peak. What ends up being the better, long-term record for radio? And, isn't there a point somewhere in that 35-50-week record where a label needs to cut bait and move on? Pop radio and labels seem to identify stiffs together faster than us.

I use part of my answer from question #8 here as well. In addition, there is a great Warren Buffet quote that I feel can add to my answer. Again, nothing is an absolute, and it is all about balance. That said: "Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks."

10. Females. Everyone agrees Country music has had a tough time establishing careers for new, female artists. Your label group is enjoying a big breakthrough with Carly Pearce right now, and her album is getting great feedback. What is it going to take for the ladies to carve out a consistent, sustainable career in Country?

Carly Pearce is succeeding because the consumers/fans reacted. She has a #1 album and #1 single. It should never be about male or female; it should be about great music and artistry that fans react to. The gender of the artist should never come into the equation.