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10 Questions with ... Geordie Gillespie
November 16, 2021
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. In 2006 I decided to strike out on my own and start a future facing marketing consultancy. Drawing on my experience building artists’ careers, many from their very first albums, I was determined to maintain a small and credible roster of talented clients who would benefit from our focus and commitment to true artist development.
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1. What made you want to get into the music business and who were some of your early mentors?
Like many of our colleagues, my life path has been a winding one. I never really intended to have a career on the business side of music. I was a musician for many years, having studied music / percussion in Santa Cruz, Paris, and New York. In1979, I settled into NYC and I dedicated the next five years to the success of my band on the Lower East Side, which exposed me into to all aspects of the industry, including recording contracts, publishing, booking, and management. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a job at the time but when there was an opening in the mailroom at a label my band had done business with, the opportunity presented itself, and I took it. Soon I started talking to college radio programmers and before I knew it, I was in the music business. My first mentor was Jean Karakos, who owned Celluloid Records. A jazz aficionado like myself, he had worked with Magma, Gong, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie Shepp, and Don Cherry. From him I learned to find the best music, how to get by on very little and to follow my instincts. Others include Jack Satter, who took a shot on me for my first major label job at EMI and gave me as much responsibility as I could to take on. Don Ienner at Columbia Records, who for nine years inspired me to be the best executive that I could be. Burt Baumgartner, promotion head at the Work Group, was the most effective problem solver and fair professional I ever worked with. He really knew how to get the job done. I was lucky enough to be involved in artist development everyday with Jeff Ayeroff, co president of the Work Group and one of the industry’s true marketing geniuses.
2. What was your first job and give us a rundown of the labels and positions you’ve held over the years?
1979 – 1994 New York band KONK
1984 – 1988 my first music industry job was in the mailroom / college radio at the legendary French independent label, Celluloid Records.
1988 – 1990 Second Vision, the management company headed up by Bruce Kirkland
1990 – 1991 EMI Records Director of New Music Promotion
1991 - 2000 Sony Music I was part of the teams that set up labels Chaos Recordings, The Work Group and C2 as divisions of Columbia Records
2000 – 2002 Virgin Records VP Promotion
2002 – 2006 Hollywood Records VP Promotion3. You’ve had a successful career in Promotion at a few labels. What are some of the best highlights in your career at any of these stops?
Every company I have worked with presented amazing opportunities to work with artists one would dream about. At Celluloid I worked with Ginger Baker, Golden Palominos and Fela Kuti. At EMI it was Pet Shot Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, EMF, Robert Palmer. Sony brought me into the worlds of Def Jam, Fiona Apple, Jamiroquai, Neil Finn, Eagle Eye Cherry, Heather Nova, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Sweet Relief, Sponge, and Ricky Martin. At Virgin Records I worked with Gorillaz, At The Drive In, BRMC, N.E.R.D., Lenny Kravitz, Daft Punk, Phoenix, 30 Seconds to Mars, Doves, A Perfect Circle. At Disney we had Z- Trip, Breaking Benjamin, Elefant and The Polyphonic Spree.
4. How long ago did you start your own company Unleashed Music and what services does the company provide?
In 2006 I decided to strike out on my own and start a future facing marketing consultancy. Drawing on my experience building artists’ careers, many from their very first albums, I was determined to maintain a small and credible roster of talented clients who would benefit from our focus and commitment to true artist development. We basically act as a record label offering all the services expected when a company is creating and executing a marketing plan for a release. We break our services into four categories and an artist can choose one component at a time or we can bundle them all together. Digital marketing (which includes social media and video marketing) and streaming promotion (which includes terrestrial and satellite radio) form the core of our efforts. In 2019 I brought in Gina Juliano as my partner, and she has been invaluable to our artists’ campaigns as well as instrumental in our company’s growth.
5. I know you work bands from other formats, but let’s talk about some of the Rock artists you are working with starting with Kings County. What’s the latest with this project?
This is an incredibly hard-working rock band based in Orlando, who just doesn’t quit when it comes to gigging, composing and recording. Through the whole pandemic the guys never stopped working, playing up to 3 shows a week. As part of our approach to building their audience, we release a new single with some form of video every 6 – 8 weeks. They are that creative and prolific. Generally, we’ll send the song to our core programmers to get their opinion on production, song writing and performance. We look for Make it or Break-it type of features and test spins to see what we might have. We haven’t yet officially “worked” a song in the format, but our goal is build awareness for the band, and when the right track is ready to go, we believe the groundwork will have been laid for a solid base on which to break them out.
6. You’ve also been working with Jane N’ The Jungle out of Phoenix led by the powerhouse vocalist Jordan White. What’s the latest with this project?
Another band that is relentless in their commitment to do what it takes to succeed. During the past 18 months this band has also been consistently developing new music and visual content. Digital marketing has been a main focus in our marketing plan for them, and they have done an amazing job of continuing to increase their reach. They did dozens of live streaming events through the pandemic and are back to doing shows in their hometown of Phoenix as well as in L.A. Spotify has been very supportive with editorial playlisting and their current single “Ain’t No Other Way” was just premiered on Matt Pinfield’s ‘New and Approved’ on KLOS/Los Angeles.
7. Who are some of the other Rock bands you are working with now or in the future via Unleashed Music?
We’re excited about Black Note Graffiti from Detroit who are writing their new material now. Also psyched about VISITOR, from Detroit as well (there’s a pattern here) and led by guitarist Steve Dombroski, whose father is Vinnie Dombroski of Sponge.
8. You’ve been in the record promotion business for a long time. What are the most important tools/resources you use to stay on top of the Rock formats' growth and constant daily changes?
I listen to all kinds of music and employ just about every platform imaginable to discover and consume it. From the purely technical side, I subscribe to Mediabase and refer to it daily to see what songs, artists and sounds are emerging across the format spectrum. To get a sense of what mainstream active rock is doing, I love checking out Octane, and have a huge respect for Jose Mangin. I sample local stations in the L.A. market and listen to terrestrial stations in other markets online. Importantly, I’m a major fan of curated and algorithmic Spotify and YouTube playlists. Of course I’m regularly looking at All Access Cool New Music to see what bands are putting out for radio to choose from.
9. Now let’s talk about Active Rock music and the Rock format overall. What’s your take on the State of Rock Radio today?
There is certainly no shortage of compelling releases. I think it’s the format with the most loyal and active listeners because the passion level for the bands and music is so high. In general, one doesn’t listen passively to Active Rock music/radio, because it really is a lifestyle sound track for fans. Alternative still has a slice of those actives, even though more mainstream and pop sounds have permeated that format and broadened the sound. Artists that are shared, between what were historically sister formats, like Jack White, Papa Roach and Maneskin mean that rock music is alive and well across the board.
Geordie with his 1951 Dodge!10. Finally, what do you like to do for fun and relaxation when you’re not in “work” mode??
Honestly the business has become a 24/7 experience so work and relaxation end up being pretty seamless these days. When I go to Hawaii to visit my grandkids, I can take a Zoom call on the beach, and no one is bothered. In Venice, I do get out and ride my bike each and every day, and living so close to the beach means there’s plenty of places to put on some miles. I’m also a classic car enthusiast and tooling my 1951 Dodge up the coast is a way to clear my head – it only has an AM radio so I’m not looking to discover any new songs there.
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