By "The Truth"
January 3, 2005
Are people like Jay-Z qualified to run major record labels like Def Jam? About a month ago, Jay-Z was appointed President of Def Jam Records and certain old school executives balked. However, a lot of the "old school" executives are not so successful right now. So maybe they are not the best critics. Of course long time fans of Hova cheered. But then again, they also believe that Jay is qualified to be the President of the United States.
Bottom line, the record business is suffering big time. Everyone knows that. Label heads are clamoring to find a solution to the problem. Electing Jay-Z to the forefront of one of hip-hop's legendary shops may start a trend if found to be successful in the long run. Before we know it, Bono may be tapped to run Interscope, and Diana Krall may take the helm at Verve. But is this a good idea? Do artists really know what they are doing on the other side?
Sure, it's been an Achilles Heel between label execs and artists for years that the execs don't know how to run an artists' career. Rappers and rockers and crooners alike have publicly declared that they know what's best for single choices, marketing plans, and album concepts. One of the many issues that have kept the executives laughing off that theory though is the fact that many artists don't have college degrees. They haven't gone to business school, or law school, or majored in communications. Not to say that artists aren't intelligent, it may just be that they went on tour right out of high school, or spent most of their free time working in recording studios since they were teens. And has a university background helped the label heads anyway? Or would a degree from "the streets" benefit them more? Possibly. Especially when dealing with rap music, a street-savvy-former-hustler-turned-hip-hop-superstar may know a lot more about steering fellow rappers down the right path career-wise than the latest batch of Ivy League grads.
However, the problem doesn't lie with who has the best ideas for phat rhymes or dope promotion tactics. It goes without saying that someone like Jay wins hands down in that regard. A major problem could arise though when Mr. Jay-Z begins promising things he shouldn't or discussing matters that the corporate heads at Vivendi aren't too fond of. See there's a corporate culture that many in America may not be familiar with if they have worked as a teacher, or bartender, or graphic designer, or recording artist all their life. Those that attended business school, or worked behind a desk, or answered to a Director, and Vice President, and Senior Vice President know all about it. There's always a protocol. There are always rules you must abide by. And to be totally honest with you, they may not make sense. They may be frustrating as all hell. But they are corporate America. That's just the way it is. There are certain things you can't do when running Def Jam that you can do when running your own personal independent label. But are these rules easy enough to learn by doing? It's possible but there are also lifestyle changes that need to take place in order for it to work. Will Jay be able to make all of Def Jam's weekly staff meetings? What if Beyonce needs him to help her pick out a new dress at Louis Vuitton? I'm only joking of course. I doubt Mr. Carter will ever leave work to attend to Beyonce and her fashion emergencies. At least I hope not.
It's true that Jay-Z is no stranger to the business world. He has run successful business ventures in clothing (with Rocawear), liquor (with Armadale), nightlife (with his 40/40 Club), and in music (with Roc-a-fella Records). And it's true that Jay-Z took a little-known-Brooklyn-run label and turned it into a multi-million dollar empire. But one, he didn't do it alone. And two, he was closely monitored by upper echelon corporate brass from Universal and Def Jam once Roc-a-fella was partially acquired by their parent company (of course Damon Dash will tell you otherwise - he always says that Def Jam had no interaction with Roc-a-fella and the way he and Jay ran things, but anyone who has ever worked under a large corporate giant will tell you differently). I do believe it's evident when all of the above is taken into consideration that Jay-Z definitely has a successful track record. He has a stellar background. Who better to mentor up-and-coming rappers on the game than the current ruler? Clearly Jay has signed and nurtured talent before by running the record label that his own product was released on for years. But is that talent really all that?
Roc-a-fella's current roster at the time Jay-Z announced his retirement from recording solo albums included such names as Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Kanye West, Cam'ron, Rell and Young Gunz. Beanie, Cam and Memph are no doubt respected on the streets, but their record sales do not really put up the numbers that larger major labels like to see. Young Gunz and Rell hardly have had a chance to take off. But on the other hand, Kanye is a giant. He has become quite the media darling as of late and was recently nominated for several Grammy awards. But besides Jay, he is the only major talent to be developed on that label in the ten plus years it has been in business. Are those really the kinds of statistics a major label like Def Jam likes to see? I highly doubt it. Naysayers could say that Jay can and will finally flourish now though with Def Jam's power and money behind him. Very true. It can also be stated that Jay was very busy with his own career while running Roc-a-fella but now that he is retired and has several more years of experience under his belt, he will sign bigger and better artists. I do believe that could happen.
There is one last issue though. Does being a celebrity ruin your credibility and availability as a white collar executive? As an artist/executive, it's totally accepted if you want to take a month-long excursion to Capri or check out on work for a few weeks while you are brokering a deal to bring the Nets to Brooklyn. But as an executive alone, are these practices helpful and acceptable to the firm where you report? Does it hurt or harm your cause if screaming fans line up outside your office everyday to try and get an autograph before you enter the building? Can you stay truly focused? In order for Def Jam to climb back to the top of the charts (like in its' late 90s heyday when Jay-Z himself, DMX, Ja Rule, LL Cool J, Foxy Brown, Method Man & Redman were all dominating), they will need a label head who can focus solely on them. Someone who has interests in nightlife, clothing, and alcohol may have their eggs in too many baskets. Sure, Jay will be a great addition to the team. But maybe the best bet would be to have co-Presidents - one, a creative genius who has outside ventures and one, a business guru who can concentrate solely on the task at hand. That may not be a realistic ploy I know. It's just an idea.
It's just that when someone's as big as Jay, there are bound to be issues with his superstar status clashing with his executive status. Countless artists are awarded with imprints from their own record labels once they reach a certain level of success. But how many of those labels go on to bloom? How many artists themselves are truly running the labels? More often than not, the artists appoint outside General Managers and Vice Presidents to take care of business while they are on the road touring and schmoozing. Horror stories like Mariah Carey's Crave Records throb in my head. Insiders squawked that Mariah hardly made it into the office. Crave had no choice but to shutter its doors about a year after launching. I wonder how her current label MonarC is doing. However, Eminem's Shady Records is a great example of the other side of the coin. The sales from 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, G-Unit & D-12 have overshadowed slight misses with Obie Trice. So it can work.
In the end, I do hope that Jay-Z experiences great success as the new President of Def Jam. He is an amazing inspiration to the youth. He's gone from living in the projects listening to Def Jam artists on his tape deck, to living in the corner office of Def Jam with a gold plated tape dispenser on his desk (well I don't know about the tape dispenser part for sure). And he did it all in ten years time. Not too bad. There's just a lot to think about. And I hope that other companies don't automatically jump on board with the same tactic without fully thinking it through. Jay has experienced a lot more than others have and that needs to be recognized. Many of his contemporaries either have stellar recording careers but not much business experience (like an Usher) or have worked on the business side for years but are not really respected as a solo artist (like a P. Diddy). So keep your eye on the presidential ball y'all and work it out.
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