They would like to thank their label boss, their publisher, their tour manager
and their PR – and quite often they do, to the stifled yawns of the
audience. Now though, pop stars accepting awards may not feel quite so
obliged to give credit to the people who propel them to their elevated
status. In line with the Grammys and the Oscars, the influential Music
Producers Guild is pushing the Brits committee to expand its list of awards
to encompass all the nonperforming sections of the industry.
Dubbed the “Backroom Brits”, these would see the entire creative team – from
stylist to engineer to label boss – honoured. Canvassing the industry’s key
players, we’ve compiled a list of the Top 20 most powerful and in-demand
behind-the-scenes players working today. They have the power to shape an
artist’s career – as they have proved over the past year. In some cases –
such as Live Nation – their influence seems to be subtly remoulding the
entire industry.
1. LUCIAN GRAINGE
Universal Music Group International Chairman/CEO
“Lucian Grange doesn’t care if you like him. He just wants results,” says one
Universal employee. A famously tough negotiator, Grainge isn’t afraid of
shirking the direct approach. After months in which those close to Amy
Winehouse wondered how best to make her realise the gravity of her problems,
Grainge summoned the singer to his office, laid out a series of tabloid
articles detailing her travails and told her to tell him that she didn’t
have a drug problem. She couldn’t. On the same day, she checked herself into
rehab.
Key success: Amy Winehouse
2. SIMON COWELL
President, Syco Records
Cowell’s genius is in having devised a format that eradicates many of the
risks involved in breaking those acts on his label. Guaranteed exposure and
a public sense of sharing in a rags-to-riches story have probably been key
to the success of Pop Idol/X Factor winners. As long as Cowell has a
prime-time TV show upon which to base his business, he remains a powerful
industry force.
Key success: Leona Lewis
3. JIM CHANCELLOR
Managing director, Fiction
Shortly after Universal gave Chancellor the Fiction imprint, he lured the
indie also-rans Snow Patrol from the tiny Jeepster label. It seemed a
bizarre first signing, but the success of the two albums that spawned Run
and Chasing Cars has propelled Snow Patrol to worldwide success.
Signing Kate Nash and managing Athlete hasn’t done Chancellor any harm either.
“I honestly think you can’t go far wrong if you sign artists whose music you
absolutely love,” he says. The current commercial rehabilitation of Elbow,
another of his signings, bears him out.
Key success: Kate Nash
4. PAUL LATHAM
President, Live Nation UK
“Live Nation is the future of the music business” is the flat declaration to
be found on the company’s website. Had the entertainment conglomerate not
signed a $120 million worldwide contract with Madonna encompassing albums,
tours, merchandising and TV projects, that may have been an overstatement.
But Latham, the company’s 47-year-old president, says the wind has been
blowing this way for some time. Jay Z is reported to be signing up too.
Latham says he has a knack for gauging the views of the man on the street. If
he ever loses it, a database filled with the leisure habits of 25 million
concertgoers should help. The Competition Commission has recently voiced
concern that Live Nation’s stronghold on London concert venues may be
harming competition, but with the ink barely dry on a new 12-year
partnership with U2, Latham probably won’t worry.
Key success: Madonna
5. GEORGE ERGATOUDIS
Head of music, Radio 1
As the person who signs his name to the Radio 1 playlist, the former fanzine
editor from Leeds can cool down a career at a stroke. His apparent antipathy
towards Robbie Williams may have been a contributory factor in the singer’s
recent decline. Conversely, The nu-Britpop wave of Nuts-rock combos
such as Kasabian, Killers, the View and the Twang is also closely associated
with Ergatoudis.
Key success: The View
6. JACKNIFE LEE
Record producer
Right now “Jacknife” Garret Lee is the go-to guy for indie bands who want to
sound good in arenas. Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Editors and U2 have all
benefited from his talents. Bono recommended him to R.E.M. for the acclaimed
new album Accelerate. According to Jim Chancellor, of Fiction: “He’ll
sit bands down and say, ‘That was a good chorus – now make it the verse and
come up with a better chorus.’ ”
Key success: R.E.M.
7. ORLA LEE
Head of marketing, Polydor
The Dublin-born Lee earned her spurs in the late1990s at Virgin, where her
marketing savvy helped to propel French artists such as Air to widespread
acclaim. “Artists trust her to communicate what they are about,” one of her
peers says.
Since she moved to Polydor, those artists have included James Morrison and
Duffy. Aware that four flamboyantly gay New Yorkers and their female friend
might strike potential sections of their audience as “freaky”, Lee
introduced Scissor Sisters to Britain by a process of stealth, playing down
who they were while allowing strong early radio coverage to do the business.
Key success: Duffy
8. ALISON HOWE
Television producer, Later… with Jools Holland
As the producer of Later . . . she has approved key TV debuts by the
likes of Arcade Fire, Ray Lamontagne, Seasick Steve and, more recently,
Adele and Duffy. In a postTop of the Pops musical climate bands are under no
illusions about the value of a slot on the show.
Key success: Adele
9. JAMES FORD
Record producer
What would Arctic Monkeys have done if it wasn’t for James Ford? The urbane,
perpetually chipper Hair Bear of nu-rave lured Sheffield’s finest to London
and made them forget the pressure of following an agenda-setting album. He
also produced and is the drummer for Alex Turner and Miles Kane’s current
project, the Last Shadow Puppets. And he steered Klaxons from obscurity to
Mercury-winning glory with Myths of the Near Future.
Key success: Arctic Monkeys
10. ZANE LOWE
DJ, Radio 1
To outsiders he may seem like a hybrid of indie kid and whooping sea lion, but
Lowe’s enthusiasm for new music and his camaraderie with bands commands huge
respect from his audience. After years at MTV, he has found the natural home
for his cheerleading approach in Radio 1’s flagship evening show.
Key success: Arctic Monkeys
11. CENZO TOWNSEND
Audio engineer
The person in charge of the sounds a band makes is just as important as a
producer. Kaiser Chiefs, Jack Peñate, Babyshambles and the Maccabees all
visited Townsend’ s Olympic Studios last year.
Key success: Kaiser Chiefs
12. SCOTT RODGER
Manager
Rodger is Björk’s long-term manager and the director of Quest Management.
Arcade Fire came to Rodger when they realised that they needed someone who
could steer and orchestrate a global campaign. Most recently he snapped up
the much fought-after Black Kids. Also consultant to Macca.
Key success: Arcade Fire
13. GEOFF TRAVIS and JEANNETTE LEE
Rough Trade supremos, mentors to Duffy
Since buying back Rough Trade in 1999, and running it in partnership with the
former PiL guitarist Lee, Travis’s track record has easily eclipsed that of
its earlier years. The Strokes, Arcade Fire and the Libertines all emerged
under the pair’s stewardship. In their managerial role, the pair have
masterminded the ascent of Duffy.
Key success: Duffy
14. MELVIN BENN
Managing director, Festival Republic
Benn has been the force behind the Reading and Leeds festivals in recent
years. But it’s his creation of the idyllic Latitude Festival – with its
nods to artier European festivals and UK literary gatherings – that suggests
he has a feel for the way festivals are going. Among acts announced for
2008: Elbow, Franz Ferdinand and Sigur Rós.
Key success: Reading and Leeds festivals
15. DARCUS BEESE
Senior A&R manager, Universal/Island
He signed Sugababes to Island and has helped to give them a lifespan beyond
all expectations. More impressively, Beese signed Amy Winehouse and helped
to oversee the direction of Back to Black. Next up is Frankmusic,
South London’s one-man hybrid of Antony & the Johnsons and Aha. If
anyone can make it work, Beese and his team can.
Key success: Amy Winehouse
16. PETER ROBINSON
Editor of Popjustice
Though he wrote for Time Out and Melody Maker, it was with his
web-site-turned-blog Popjusticethat Robinson found his true voice. By
the time he launched Popjustice, there were no magazines that, as he
puts it, “set out to separate the good pop from the bad, in the same way as NME
separates good indie music from bad indie music”. As a result, Popjustice’s
support is vital to the launch of any mainstream artist.
Key success: Sam Sparro
17. ROGER FAXON
Director, EMI Music Publishing
The record company might be off the boil, but EMI Music Publishing is on fire
right now. Its roster includes Arctic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse, Take That and
Madonna. Since being appointed last year, Fax-on has nabbed the industry’s
most lucrative artist of the year, Duffy.
Key success: Duffy
18. CARL FYSH and WILLIAM RICE
Purple PR
Fysh and Rice understand that there is a fine line between staying aware of an
artist and being pig-sick of them. As PRs to Mika, Goldfrapp and Adele, Fysh
and Rice have established a reputation for “storyboarding” a press campaign,
so that promotion for an album manages to avoid lurching into overkill. By
knowing when to say no, they’ve helped to abet the longevity of their
artists. And they spotted Adele before she had even signed her record deal.
Key success: Mika
19. LUKE DAY
Stylist
The 29-year-old style director of Attitude magazine is the man Scissor
Sisters turned too when they needed to take on Elton for outrageous fashion.
Take That turn to him for something a little different. He’s also first
port-of-call for indie bands who need transforming from spotty teenagers
into potential Noel Gallaghers. He has been known to drag up as a very
convincing Madonna.
Key success: Scissor Sisters
20. LAURENCE BELL
President, Domino Recordings
Back in 1993, when Domino was a one-man operation, Bell’s first release was
Sebadoh’s beautiful Soul & Fire, and the quality has rarely
dipped since. Its discovery of Franz Ferdinand showed the world that Domino
could mastermind a mainstream campaign. By 2005 that allowed the label to
mount a late challenge for Arctic Monkeys. His intuitive stewardship of the
band means that they continue to deliver on their promise, and his ability
to cut his cloth according the commercial prospects of his acts makes Domino
Britain’s best indie label.
Key success: Arctic Monkeys
