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10 Questions with ... Jeff Gillis
April 21, 2009
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NAME:Jeff GillisTITLE:Sr. Director/Rock and Alternative PromotionCOMPANY:RCA/Jive Label GroupFORMAT:Rock & AlternativeLOCATION:New YorkBORN:Rhinebeck, NYRAISED:Pine Plains, NY
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I started out at WPDH in Poughkeepsie doing swing shifts, then eventually moving to overnights and Promotions Director. I went to WPYX/Albany to be Director of Promotion and Marketing; I also hosted a Sunday night specialty show. Then off to WKRL/Syracuse as Program Director for two years. After that it was Geffen Records in KC for three months and Boston for two years, Dreamworks Records for five years, Reprise Records for four years and now RCA.
1) What made you want to get into the music business? Early mentors? First job?
I was always the guy who had a record first in my small high school. I also booked the bands for "dances," did public address announcements in the morning and whatnot. I grew up listening to WABC/NYC and eventually WNEW, WPDH and WPYX, and always thought an on-air job would be a great way to make a living. As for early mentors, on the radio side, without question it would be Ed Levine. I still count Ed as one of my friends. We speak from time to time and he taught me a lot, although he might say I didn't learn a goddamned thing. He's a great broadcaster. A BROADCASTER. Not a bean counter. He's a real radio guy -- something that radio ownership is in short supply of right now. On the label side, there are so many. Bob Catania gave me my first shot with some prodding from Ross Zapin. Johnny Barbis, who I worked for at Dreamworks, has become one of my best friends. Lynn McDonnell was a great co-worker and remains a great friend. Billy Burrs and I worked together at Geffen and are together again now. He's amazing to work with. It's really fun; he's a music junkie, everybody loves him and above all he knows what he's doing.
2) Too many records, too few slots. What data seems to be most important to you when jockeying for an open slot on a radio station and why? Ticket sales? Tour info? Prior success? Retail? Other stations?
It's any combination of the above along with the relationship with the station. Even factoring in the reliance on research, such as it is these days, relationships still matter. Every station has a different formula for what makes a record rise above the rest to take an available slot. Thankfully there are also still some programmers who use their gut. Using the information at hand is completely understandable. Having been a programmer, albeit for a short period of time, with an owner who came out of programming, I understand that when it's there, you use it. Otherwise, you're risking your job. Jobs are few and far between and you've gotta hang onto it.
3) It seems that set-up is more important now than ever. What do you do to inspire your staff for success in the field on a daily basis, considering the amount of material that recording companies are releasing in today's market place?
As busy as our staff is working the world-class pop product on RCA and Jive, they still love the rock and alternative bands on these labels. We're in a good place right now, working with great bands that have great attitudes and make killer music. That seems to inspire them plenty. To supplement that, we try to arm them with as much information as there is and back them up everywhere. There are less regionals in the field then ever before and they're crazy busy. We make it a point to call or e-mail everybody and keep them in the loop. They do the same. The communication at both RCA and Jive is wide open on all levels. It really helps.
4) Things are changing rapidly in our business. Were it up to you, what would you change in our "system" to give your bands a better shot?
I would overturn the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
5) Who do you consider the current tastemakers in the Rock world?
It's tough to be a tastemaker when so much of the music sounds the same. That said, I think that Randy Hawke and Blake Patton still rock the shit out of Madison on their own terms. You've gotta love that. Ron Valeri is someone I've known and respected for a long time and Ron is always adapting in a very rock-heavy market. He's consistent in that he's always aggressive in every way and delivering ratings. He also thinks outside of the rock box musically. Dave Hill does the same thing in Baltimore. He's had to re-tool his morning show, which is a major undertaking, yet he still delivers in one of those markets where, although it's a major market, he has other signals coming into the fringes from D.C. and the surrounding area. The station is a true force in Baltimore. Bill Weston resurrected one of the great rock stations in America. What more can you say? He's a good man and a great broadcaster. There are so many great people programming rock stations and I wish I could mention them all, but that's a thumbnail of the best of the best I think.
6) It has become apparent that in this research-driven time, records are taking much longer to "test." How do you go about making sure that your record will be given a fair shot?
We stay on radio like stink on shit. Nobody fucks with Bill Burrs and gets away with it. LOL.
7) Repetition breeds familiarity. How does your label increase exposure of your artists outside of traditional radio promotion?
This is the first time I've worked for an East Coast company and to have the product managers, publicist, art dept. and new media dept. down the hall is a real asset. This company is extremely professional and efficient in how it goes about getting its business done. It's a machine in the best sense of the word ... and those areas are covered.
8) Every Promotion person has a record close to their heart that for one reason or another never broke through, "The One That Got Away" ... What is your "One that Got Away" and what did you learn from that record?
I don't dwell on those things because there really is a pretty big part of it that's beyond our control. I'm more concerned with the ones that get away because of the over-fragmented state of radio. We have a Dave Matthews Band record coming. It's fucking AMAZING. It's a masterwork and back in the day Rock radio not only played this type of artist, it OWNED it. Should virtuoso musicians have a home at Rock radio the way they used to? I think so.
9) What are the most important tools/resources you use to stay on top of the Rock formats growth and constant daily changes?
Talking to radio people. My mind turns to mush when I start reading about PPM. I understand the methodology, but rather than read what all of the broadcast pundits have to say about it, I prefer to talk to radio people and have them tell me how it's affecting them and how they are dealing with it and the other issues they face like non-traditional revenue, declining ad sales, research or the lack thereof, Arbitron, etc. One of my favorite people to talk to about all of this is Eric Wellman at Q104 in NYC. Incidentally, Eric was one of my best interns in Albany. He's a smart S.O.B..
10) The lost art of Artist Development. What do you do to ensure your artist is building a career as opposed to just breaking a song? And does it even matter anymore?
It's all that matters. Look at Kings of Leon. Mid-charting singles, sales of 200k or thereabouts on three albums. They continued to hone their songwriting, stayed on the road and have a label and management behind them that knew they were just a song away. I can remember when Bill Burrs first started talking about this band. Every record that came out was an event for him and you could tell how committed to it he was. The label was there as well and now everybody is reaping the rewards.
"Only By The Night" is Gold in the U.S., at almost four million around the world. They're selling out arenas here and headlining Reading and Leeds in the U.K. When Leon Panetta was being confirmed as Head of the CIA, a caption underneath him on MSNBC read "Kings of Leon". I mean, c'mon. When you become a cultural reference, you've arrived.
I wish labels were in a position to stop looking for instant gratification out of rock bands and would take the time that RCA has been willing to take with the Kings. It works. We're trying to do the same thing now with a band on Black Seal called Audrye Sessions and we'll do the same thing on the Jive/Q-Prime side with Cage The Elephant. 311 also has a record coming out. There's another great career that has been built because management and the label have been willing to stick with them.
Bonus Questions
You are the remaining survivor on a remote tropical island with no chance for rescue. You have a CD/DVD player with endless power. What five CDs are a "must" to have with you? What five movies?
CDs: Quadrophenia, Frampton Comes Alive, Tapestry, London Calling, Physical Graffiti
MOVIES: Shawshank Redemption, Good Fellas, About A Boy (I AM an island...), The Insider, and lately, Michael Clayton.
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