10 Questions with ... Phil Nieves

NAME:Phil Nieves POSITION:Sr. Director/Promotion LABEL:Ultra Records

Please outline your radio career so far:

1994-96 Intern, Capitol Records NY
96-98 Mailroom, Virgin Records NY
98-2000 Promotion Assistant, Virgin Records NY
2000-02 Regional Promotion Director, Virgin Records FL
2003-Present Sr. Director/Promotion, Ultra Records NY

1) What led to your career in "reckidz," as they say in New York?

I happened to be born and raised in New York City. Music was everywhere as a child. I had young parents who listened to the popular music at the time -- disco and R&B mostly. One of those records happened to be Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." I was reciting that record when I was six years old. Freestyle then wound up being big in my predominantly Latino neighborhood (and in Miami, where I'd visit relatives). I had a huge crush on Lisa Lisa. I lived in Manhattan, which was the only borough that had MTV for a while. So I was also being exposed to other types of music there. The Police, Naked Eyes, Van Halen, etc. In the late '80s, hip-hop really took off. I went to college in New York and did a college radio show for a couple of years (Vassar College 91.3 WVKR. I hosted. The DJ was Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Ronson. True story.). Last two years of college I interned at Capitol Records, mostly in their video department. Graduated (whew ... seriously!). Since music had been a lifelong love of mine, I looked for work in that field. I hit up the labels. Nothing. Did some temp work. Eventually Virgin called back with a mailroom gig. I didn't have benefits and wanted a foot in the door, so I took it.

2) Looking back, which years hold the best musical memories for you and who were your favorite acts at the time?

Mid to late-'80s. I was trying to breakdance and failed. Freestyle was big. House, hair bands, R&B. Hip-hop really popped at this time. Run DMC, Whodini, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. and Rakim, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy.

3) What's been the most significant change in the business since you've been in it?

We all know we're sitting in the middle of the digital revolution. It has changed everything. The way records are bought and sold. The way they are promoted and marketed. It's led to different revenue streams via ringtones. It's changed the way labels do deals with artists. I still believe there is a strong synergy between music and our society as a whole. The trick is finding a way to tap into that.

4) What's been your most rewarding project to work?

Probably the NERD project when I was a Florida local at Virgin. Pharrell was just starting to blow up from his productions and cameos in the Urban world. The first single we did was "Lapdance," which I did pretty well with at Rhythm in Florida. Then NERD went back to the studio and re-recorded the entire album, with a live Rock band, giving the album a more Alternative feel. The first single off the "new" album was "Rock Star." Florida has some very hard rocking markets, but the initial response was cold. People felt it sounded too Urban. But at the time bands like Linkin Park and P.O.D. were huge at Rock radio. And they were rapping much more than Pharrell was. NERD was just that next progression of rap and rock coming together. Slowly but surely I got a station and a story. Sales grew. And stations I thought would be the last to play it were helping us break it.

5) What's been the most frustrating?

The Dance records at Ultra to Top 40. I've seen these records do great things for great stations .. and there could be more of that. But it seems sometimes people dismiss the whole genre. There are plenty of well-written and well-produced Dance records with monster hooks. I think they could be just as big as any Rock, Urban,\ or Country-crossover record is at Top 40. I think it's great that we're seeing more mainstream artists embrace Dance music. Kanye West and Daft Punk. Rhianna "Don't Stop The Music." Even the new Ne-Yo and Chris Brown singles.

Another recent frustration was working a record that was not a Dance record and having it perceived as such because it came from Ultra (The Audio Club "Something Serious").

6) What is your favorite part of the job?

Favorite and least favorite = the travel. I am the only promotion person at Ultra, so that can mean lots of time on the road, which can be draining. And I still like to "road dog." I'll fly to Miami, hop in a car and run all of Florida at least twice a year for old time's sake. But I have seen more of this country than I ever imagined I would. And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

7) What artist would we be surprised to find in your iPod?

I was at dinner with a young lady once, and she started flipping through my iPod and came across a folder labeled "NKOTB." Awkward... "Please Don't Go Girl" was hot, though...

8) Do you have a favorite hobby?

Who has time for a hobby? I try to work out when I can. I do a lot of swimming. I've always enjoyed boxing. I like watching Mixed Martial Arts and have been looking into Jiu-Jitsu schools. And I buy sneakers constantly, from all over the world, which with the weak dollar is more of a problem than a hobby.

9) What music do you listen to when you're not working?

As a young adult, I went back and revisited all the old funk/soul/R&B records that were playing when I was a child and had gone on to be sampled in a lot of rap records. I still listen to Earth, Wind & Fire, Slave, Parliament/Funkadelic, Roy Ayers, Isley Brothers etc.

10) What advice would you give people new to the business?

Listen. Learn. Don't wait to be taught. Learn from everyone you interact with. This is also a cheap ploy to give a shout out to everyone I've worked with and learned from -- Tommy Delaney, Patty Morris, Mike Easterlin, Cary Vance, Michael Plen, Naumann, Howard Petruziello, and all the Virgin locals I talked shop with as an Asst., just to name a few. Patrick Moxey at Ultra Records. And all the great independent promotion people who help us take our records to the next level. Like the fine folks at All Access.