{"id":3766,"date":"2011-02-05T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2011-02-05T17:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=3766"},"modified":"2011-02-05T09:14:30","modified_gmt":"2011-02-05T17:14:30","slug":"troy-carter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2011\/02\/05\/troy-carter\/","title":{"rendered":"Troy Carter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now THAT was interesting.<\/p>\n

So I’m at Q Prime, back in October, and I’m checking my e-mail and I get a message from a guy who says he’s Lady GaGa’s manager.\u00c2\u00a0 Off the top of my head, I don’t know who Lady GaGa’s manager is, so I ask Peter Mensch for confirmation of the relationship and when he says it’s solid I dial the number in the e-mail and speak with Troy Carter.\u00c2\u00a0 Who asks me if I’ll come speak to his troops.<\/p>\n

Today was the day.\u00c2\u00a0 At Soho House.\u00c2\u00a0 In West Hollywood.\u00c2\u00a0 On the cusp of Beverly Hills.\u00c2\u00a0 About twenty people, around a long slim table.<\/p>\n

Funny, there was no attitude.\u00c2\u00a0 No malaise.\u00c2\u00a0 Just eagerness and attentiveness.<\/p>\n

Troy asked questions.<\/p>\n

And his team did too.<\/p>\n

But the most fascinating interlude was when the tables turned, when I got Troy’s story.<\/p>\n

Son of a single mother.\u00c2\u00a0 From Philadelphia.\u00c2\u00a0 Came up with DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.\u00c2\u00a0 Even to Bel Air with Will Smith.<\/p>\n

Or, what did Bob Dylan once so famously sing, "when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose"?<\/p>\n

That’s what fascinating about the entertainment business.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s no admission requirement, no basic curriculum you complete to get in.\u00c2\u00a0 And if you think music business college is gonna get you to the top, you’re sorely mistaken.\u00c2\u00a0 Entrepreneurs are born, not made.\u00c2\u00a0 Or to put it more accurately, it’s who you are, not what you own or who your daddy is or where you went to school that matters.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you think on your feet?\u00c2\u00a0 Can you make things happen?<\/p>\n

Steve Jobs dropped out of college.<\/p>\n

If you want to steer the corporation, you can get an MBA and work your way up the ranks.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you want to invent something brand new, you’ve got to go your own way and take the hits.\u00c2\u00a0 A path many pay lip service to but few ultimately journey forward upon.\u00c2\u00a0 Because they’re just too damned scared.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only is it easier to go to law school, but it’s also easier to make a deal with the devil, the major label, then it’s THEIR problem.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’re only successful if it’s YOUR PROBLEM!<\/p>\n

And believe me, Lady GaGa’s issues, her career, her direction, as well as Greyson Chance’s, are Troy Carter’s problems.<\/p>\n

Now you can get a toehold if you’ve got a famous dad.\u00c2\u00a0 And there’s always someone in Hollywood ready to take your money if you’re rich.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you want to make it forever, you’ve got to be smart.\u00c2\u00a0 Really smart.\u00c2\u00a0 David Geffen smart.\u00c2\u00a0 Irving Azoff smart.<\/p>\n

I was impressed how smart Troy Carter is.<\/p>\n

So he ends up going to work for Puffy.\u00c2\u00a0 When Sean Combs was still using that moniker.\u00c2\u00a0 What did he do?\u00c2\u00a0 EVERYTHING!\u00c2\u00a0 Take out the trash, open the mail.\u00c2\u00a0 Too many people are too big to do the little things, and they get left behind.<\/p>\n

Then he promoted shows in Philadelphia.\u00c2\u00a0 And made a deal with Sanctuary.\u00c2\u00a0 And then the English company ran out of money and Troy was out on the street.<\/p>\n

That’s when he connected with GaGa.<\/p>\n

He got her when nobody wanted her.\u00c2\u00a0 When she’d been dropped from Def Jam.\u00c2\u00a0 Troy got her a new deal with Interscope.\u00c2\u00a0 And then…<\/p>\n

We talked about Justin Bieber.<\/p>\n

It’s an interesting question.\u00c2\u00a0 Do you plan for the long haul?\u00c2\u00a0 IS THERE A LONG HAUL?<\/p>\n

I don’t think so.\u00c2\u00a0 Justin’s voice is gonna change.\u00c2\u00a0 And he didn’t write the songs.\u00c2\u00a0 GaGa wrote the songs.\u00c2\u00a0 It bonded her to her audience.\u00c2\u00a0 She blew up.\u00c2\u00a0 Now?<\/p>\n

This is where it gets really interesting, truly fascinating.\u00c2\u00a0 Troy told me how he was going to launch the new album.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it was off the record.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’ll see.\u00c2\u00a0 It won’t be long.<\/p>\n

But I’ll tell you this.\u00c2\u00a0 His goal is to sell 30 million albums.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe 40 million.<\/p>\n

Don’t laugh.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the power of the Internet.\u00c2\u00a0 You can reach everybody.\u00c2\u00a0 Shouldn’t everybody be up for buying your music?<\/p>\n

That’s what we’ve got in the world today.\u00c2\u00a0 Winners and losers.\u00c2\u00a0 And not much in between.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you’re a winner, what’s the limit?<\/p>\n

Laugh at the number ones on the SoundScan chart.\u00c2\u00a0 Amos Lee is never going to be a household word.\u00c2\u00a0 And neither is that Christian rock band that’s supposed to enter at number one next week.\u00c2\u00a0 But GaGa is already a household name.\u00c2\u00a0 If Verizon can break sales records in two hours with the iPhone <\/p>\n

\n
Verizon iPhone Sales Are Brisk<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

shouldn’t this mania be able to translate to a musical act?<\/p>\n

But what’s the price?<\/p>\n

Troy is an advocate of lowering the price.\u00c2\u00a0 To get everybody in.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the future of music.\u00c2\u00a0 Low-priced subscriptions that EVERYBODY buys.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead of pooh-poohing this, look at the cell phone industry.\u00c2\u00a0 Where handsets used to be a grand and calls were a buck a minute.\u00c2\u00a0 Who needed a cell phone?\u00c2\u00a0 Wasn’t that for Maxwell Smart?\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out EVERYBODY needs a cell phone, and what it does…you couldn’t have even conceived of five years ago.<\/p>\n

So how do you get everybody to buy those records…<\/p>\n

Not via the radio, not at first.\u00c2\u00a0 You’d think that radio would be jumping to air new product.\u00c2\u00a0 But radio is now last.\u00c2\u00a0 But Troy believes that without radio the project doesn’t scale.\u00c2\u00a0 And believe me, he’s interested in projects that scale.\u00c2\u00a0 He rejects nine out of ten acts that come to him for management.<\/p>\n

First it’s about the music.\u00c2\u00a0 If you know you’ve got a hit, you’ve got to stick with it.\u00c2\u00a0 Could take an entire year for the track to become ubiquitous, for radio to finally go on it.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t get discouraged, don’t change singles, either believe in your cut or don’t put it out.<\/p>\n

And you look for stickiness online.\u00c2\u00a0 And then pounce.<\/p>\n

Are people watching the video?\u00c2\u00a0 Then instantly go on Twitter and Facebook, start a dialogue, promise to follow the first 20,000 people who follow you.<\/p>\n

So GaGa’s in a meeting with Steve Jobs…<\/p>\n

That’s right.\u00c2\u00a0 Money can’t buy you love.\u00c2\u00a0 Not even fame.\u00c2\u00a0 But artistry?\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone wants to be involved with artists, because of the elusive charisma and the fanatical fan base.\u00c2\u00a0 The doors come open.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got access.<\/p>\n

And the key is not to suck up to the bankers, but to manipulate them to your advantage.<\/p>\n

Anyway, Steve shows GaGa….<\/p>\n

I don’t want to tell tales out of school.\u00c2\u00a0 But Jobs shows GaGa the latest Apple creation and GaGa says it sucks.\u00c2\u00a0 Steve didn’t like this, he argued.\u00c2\u00a0 But that’s what being a rock star truly is.\u00c2\u00a0 Being honest. Using your power to say what you think, playing to the audience as opposed to the middleman.<\/p>\n

That’s what we love.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfiltered truth.\u00c2\u00a0 Gimme some truth.<\/p>\n

So far, GaGa’s been right about that Apple product.<\/p>\n

Stick to your guns.<\/p>\n

Because of Lady GaGa’s success, because of the rabidity of her fan base, doors have opened across the business landscape. She can get a meeting with anyone.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody wants to be in business with her.<\/p>\n

And it’s not about saying yes, but partnering with these enterprises to your greatest advantage.<\/p>\n

At some point in the future we’ll have acts that sell the equivalent of thirty million records.\u00c2\u00a0 Will GaGa be the first?\u00c2\u00a0 She’s trying. Maybe.<\/p>\n

You’ve got to think big.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t worry about Wal-Mart and the old powers, you’ve got to enter the new world and figure out how to play by the new rules.<\/p>\n

Troy Carter impressed me.\u00c2\u00a0 It wasn’t about winning through intimidation, but leading with the best music and then running that ball to the goal line.<\/p>\n

We live in an exciting era where everything’s up for grabs.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re doing it the old way, you’re destined for the scrapheap.<\/p>\n

I believe new players will triumph over so many of the old.<\/p>\n

But I also believe Malcolm Gladwell had it right.\u00c2\u00a0 That the 10,000 hours make a difference.\u00c2\u00a0 He with the most experience who’s willing to take chances, who is not wedded to the past, will win.<\/p>\n

Don’t decry Spotify, e-mail Shak and get hooked up.<\/p>\n

Tweet, social network, sign up for Groupon.<\/p>\n

How can you succeed if you’re not familiar with the tools?<\/p>\n

Music doesn’t change.\u00c2\u00a0 When done right, nothing means more.\u00c2\u00a0 How do you get the great music to the public?\u00c2\u00a0 How do you inform and infect them?\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the question.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now THAT was interesting. So I’m at Q Prime, back in October, and I’m checking my e-mail and I get a message from a guy who says he’s Lady GaGa’s manager.\u00c2\u00a0 Off the top of my head, I don’t know who Lady GaGa’s manager is, so I ask Peter Mensch for confirmation of the relationship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-YK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3766"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3776,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3766\/revisions\/3776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}