When Pubberies

Act Like Labels

Artist development and career management are just part of the full-service treatment
that publishers increasingly lavish on writers. "I've done everything from buying
a writer an outfit to wear to a record-company meeting, to taking photos of a band
trying to get a deal," says one publisher.

BY MELINDA NEWMAN

These are good times to be a music publisher. During the rock-dominated mid-'90s, most artists wrote their own material, but with the pendulum swinging back to non-writing pop and teen acts, it's a boom time for both artist/songwriters and pure songwriters. "We're riding a pop wave now," says Universal Music Publishing Group Worldwide president David Renzer, "that's created some opportunities for people who are just songwriters because all these projects are radio-driven."
"You can sign more pure songwriters now because there are so many outlets," says Kathy Spanberger, COO of peermusic.
However, most publishers agree that a hyphenate-an artist/songwriter or songwriter-producer-still yields the best results, because, as Sony Music Publishing executive VP Jody Graham Dunitz says, "There remains a very limited number of opportunities for a song to be covered in the absence of the writer having some additional connection to the project."
To that end, when publishers sign a writer/artist, it's in everyone's best interest to maximize the act's potential as a tunesmith, recording artist and performer. Therefore, in many ways, publishing companies serve as the ultimate A&R departments and are the first step in artist development. Many adopt a "whatever it takes" posture when it comes to getting their artists ahead. "I have done everything from buying Jennifer Paige an outfit to wear to a record company meeting to taking photos of a band trying to get a deal," says Warner/Chappell's VP of creative, Judy Stakee.

THE PUBLISHER AS MANAGER
"When I sign a writer/artist, I take it upon myself to become their manager per se," explains Patrick Finch, VP of Famous Music's Nashville division. "It's my responsibility to get them a record deal. How else better to guarantee me the copyrights on a record than going out and getting the artist a record deal?"
Evan Lamberg, EMI Music Publishing's executive VP of creative, North America, points out how publishers have the luxury of developing acts that many labels in today's quarterly resultsoriented times don't. "We signed a band called Pound in 1995 and spent over three years developing them and doing their demos," says Lamberg. "We shopped them when we thought they had enough material and that they were ready to record a great album." The band signed with Island/Mercury and is doing well at rock radio.
For many publishing companies, there are advantages and disadvantages to signing a singer/artist before he or she has a record deal. On the upside, the publishing company can get the act before any bidding war has started. On the downside, they're investing in a horse that may never run a race.
"Obviously, the deal structure is preferable to the publisher at the early stage," says Danny Strick, president of BMG Songs, the U.S. arm of BMG Music Publishing Worldwide. "This involves advances, as well as other important issues, such as retention of copyright and royalty splits. It is also positive for a publisher to be involved creatively and emotionally with writers at an early stage. I think that a strong bond develops in these situations."
"If a songwriter already has a recording contract, in his mind the only thing I have to bring to the table is a fat check," says Rondor director of A&R, North America, Ron Moss. "And I'm not saying they would be wrong, but they will find other benefits through their relationship with a publisher that didn't seem important at the time they were being signed and were about to release their debut album, which was supposed to sell millions of records."
Conversely, at peermusic, "We're still doing development deals, but we'd rather have someone be signed," says Spanberger. "Yes, it's more expensive to sign them after they've got their deal, but it's not like we're signing one a week."
While signing a singer/artist already linked to a label is definitely the "fastest track to widespread exploitation of the songs," as Sony's Dunitz notes, she also adds, "Most A&R reps will tell you that it is often more professionally gratifying for them to have found an unknown, unsigned act."

SEALING THE DEAL
Once the act is ready, most publishers say showcases are the most effective way for them to let the record-label world know what they're offering, especially if the act is a band.
However, showcases aren't the way to go for some publishing companies. "I don't personally care for the whole showcase A&R frenzy that goes on in L.A.," says Stakee, who works more with solo artists than bands. "I really believe that, if you have an amazing talent and great songs, then why can't you take an artist to an office, play a tape and have them play in person? Sheryl Crow, Jennifer Paige and Leah Andreone all got signed off a tape. It can happen."
For publishers affiliated with record companies, they often have to look no further than their own backyard to find potential homes for their songwriter/artists.
"That's been one of the most exciting upsides of the [PolyGram/Universal] merger," says Renzer. "We're the sole publishing company for the largest collection of labels in the world. It's like a kid in the candy store. We take acts we've signed to Universal's labels first because we want them to view us as partners and vice versa, but there's no written rule [that it will get signed]."
That's similar to how business is done at the other publishing companies affiliated with record labels. Ultimately, as Sony's Dunitz says, "It is truly the artist who makes the decision."
FINANCING THE RECORD
While some publishing companies go so far as to finance the albums for their writers and then license it to a label, others feel that's not the best use of time and money. "Experience shows that, most of the time, record companies feel more committed and connected to a record with which they have involvement from the earliest part of creation, beginning with song and producer selection," says Dunitz.
Strick agrees, adding, "We have not developed a production entity in-house, as I believe it is important for us to continue to focus on our core business and avoid evolving into a record company. However, this approach would not preclude us from taking an override on a particular deal if the artist was comfortable with that approach. Obviously, the level of financial support would dictate what type of deal we would structure with a developing artist."
Other publishers say it can be a good investment. "We paid for [new artist] Jerry Kilgore's demos upfront, four sides that we took around to labels," says Famous Music's Finch. "The label does pay us back on sides they use, and Virgin Nashville bought three of the four sides we demoed. We ate the other one and considered it a good investment."
EMI Music has gone so far as to start EMI Publishing Productions, an entity that, according to Lamberg, "allows us to record albums and shop finished masters to the labels. The two we've done so far are a band called Go and a band called Full Devil Jacket, and we also have a couple of other new artists about to come on board."

FINANCIALLY SOUND TRACKS
For many publishing companies, once the act's record deal is signed, the publisher goes into phase two of promoting the artist by providing additional support. "Money for touring or indie promotion is sometimes put directly into the deal during negotiations," says Spanberger. "Other times, if we paid half a million for the first album, it's hard to cough up more for indie promotion or tour support."
"The way in which this has changed in the last five years has been the belt-tightening at the major labels and the supplementing of costs-such as studio time and independent promotion-by music publishers," says Moss. "Bands such as Everclear and Garbage have used the Rondor studios as a place to experiment and fine-tune their records at a reduced rate."
Regardless which label a songwriter/artist signs to, all publishers say the boom in television and film soundtracks has provided a motherlode for placing material. Some companies, such as peermusic, are even expanding their soundtrack divisions to take advantage of the goldmine.
"Synchronization [of music] for movies, TV and advertising is the biggest growth department opportunity-wise and financially for most every publisher," says Lamberg. "All you need to do is look at Hollywood's box office to see how, more than ever, successful movies have been and how music has played a part in it, from "The Bodyguard' to "Titanic.' "
"Soundtracks have been a key growth area along with advertising usages," says Strick. "As a good example of exposure, our developing artist Jude had the opportunity to have 7 million people around the world get exposed to his brilliant music prior to his own album release just by having his song "I Know' appear on the "City Of Angels' soundtrack. It also gave an opportunity for WEA marketing people around the world to get a feel for his artistry prior to the release of his own album."
Because of its shared alliance with Universal Studios, UMPG is already involved with the music rights for all feature films, says Renzer. The challenge is how to get new signings exposure via Universal films. "We're looking at setting up regular showcases for the film studio, so they're fully aware of the talent we're involved with," he explains.
Soundtracks have become such a strong avenue that some publishing companies ask writer/artists to record extra material so that there are additional songs for potential soundtrack usage. "We tell all our acts these days to overcut, because every movie out there wants B-sides to complete their soundtrack," says Stakee. "When Sheryl [Crow] turned in her latest album, she gave us four B-sides. Before the first single had ever been heard, two of those tracks ended up in movies and on soundtracks. It means more money for everyone!"n