THE CORE MISSION: INVESTING IN TALENT

“Fast food corporations, coffee shop chains and radio stations are among those who have tried to break acts by creating their own labels. They have all failed and shut their labels down. No successful artists have come through that route.” Ged Doherty, chairman and chief executive of Sony Music UK “Breaking an act and sustaining their career requires more varied expertise than ever before. We can provide artists with the investment, resources, tools and collaborators to achieve their creative potential, attract an audience and develop long-term appeal.” John Reid, CEO, Warner Music UK & Europe “For the artist to connect with the consumer through all of these new channels needs a big team of people – without that it’s just not realistic, even for the biggest management company.” Simon Wheeler, director of strategy, Beggars Group “Sometimes you have to be brave enough to say the baby is ugly.” Ged Doherty, chairman and chief executive of Sony Music UK “She had real, raw talent, but she was just 17 and it took time to develop her vocal skills and her song writing. We experimented with different styles and rehearsed and improved her live performances. Ultimately, the pay off came when she released Back to Black as we had been able to harness her natural talent to produce a coherent album.” Nick Gatfield, president of A&R Labels, North America and UK, for EMI, recalls signing Amy Winehouse when he worked at Island Records. “They shared the same vision as the band, respecting their values, creativity and identity, whilst working with them to develop their music and their growing following. The band had a team working with them with the manpower, contacts, expertise and finance to reach further and possibly be more creative than they could have been alone struggling with funding and trying to do everything themselves.” Diane Wagg, Manager, on why Scouting for Girls signed to the record label Epic