Amanda Ghost
"As well as working with artists signed to Epic, she plans to continue her writing/production partnerships with Ian Dench, Jack Splash, Stargate, the Rural and FutureCut, and will also continue to work with artists Hugo Chakra and Scott McFarnon."
And Rick Rubin will continue his outside production duties with Metallica and Weezer and…
I like Rob Stringer, he’s got an honest assessment of his company, just ask him, but how about hiring an American? It takes a decade at least to fully understand the American market. How it isn’t dominated by the press, how there’s no cohesion, how there’s no center. I speak to those in the U.K. all the time and they just don’t understand the disarray over here. You have a hit, but no one wants to see you perform live and you sell a bunch of singles at best. How about someone who understands the Dave Matthews Band? An act that’s never broken overseas, but is arguably the biggest regular touring band over here. Don’t the labels want to be in 360 degrees of the business? Don’t they want acts who can generate revenue in all streams? Then why hire someone with no success as an artist on this side of the pond?
Amanda Ghost. Have you heard of her? She’s the new head of Epic Records. Not that that’ll turn heads. May not even get you a good seat at a restaurant. That’s how far the status of the labels has fallen. But if you want to rebuild, you find someone who can focus all of their time, who understands not only music, but business. And what music does Amanda Ghost understand? Rob would have been better off hiring Kara DioGuardi. You know she’d do it. She’s got the benefit of that Duke education and all those vapid radio hits, if that’s what you’re interested in. But isn’t that like driving the car straight towards the cliff? When radio hits don’t power the business? When it’s all about putting asses in the seats, creating a career?
As for taking risks… What’s this with on the job training? There was not one single American executive available? Not one single middle-management type, never mind big cheese, who understands not only Wal-Mart, but iTunes, who knows the different radio formats, who’s been to most of these markets, who went to college in the U.S.A. and has got a feel for the landscape?
Isn’t this like the London "Times" hiring Malcolm Gladwell as its editor? More accurately, Stephenie Meyer? Connect the dots here for me, will you? Or why not close down new music development at Sony and live off your catalog, or just let Simon Cowell turn all artist development into a contest. Hey, he works for you, right?
I wish her success. I’d love to be proven wrong. But just like hiring lawyers turned out to be a fallacious solution to record business problems, hiring inexperienced songwriters/failed performers is no better solution. A good songwriter is a lousy businessman. A failed artist has no blueprint for what it takes to make it. As much as Lyor Cohen has been derided by the press, at least he increased Warner’s market share. And, if it’s all about numbers, isn’t that all that counts?
Or maybe Epic doesn’t count at all. It’s a glorified imprint. And rather than piss off those acts signed to the label, Stringer is going to keep it alive with minimal investment.
Utterlyfuckingridiculous.
