FWM: At 21 you founded “International Marketing” the first independent marketing company dedicated to expanding the success of U.S.-based recording artists in global markets. What excites you the most about the music business?
The “music business” per se does not excite me. I am excited by talent and using my skills to make a difference by helping creatives on the business side. I am excited to see how technology continues to impact how music is delivered to consumers, and how independent and unsigned artists continue to leverage technology to build careers, audiences and revenues.
Transition Music is dedicated to helping creatives make a living doing what they love. The increase in content being created to meet the needs of the growing OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu is exciting because it means more productions. And, more productions means more opportunities for the creatives we work with!
FWM: You have unprecedented success as an Entrepreneur and Music Publisher. Tell us about working with Eddie Murphy, Anita Baker, Heart, and Stevie B.
All three of these experiences were different because they are each very different artists, and my role with each was different. Working with any artist, much less a superstar, has its challenges. That said, my job working with Eddie Murphy was to manage the business of his music career. I also executive produced one of his albums. It was a unique situation because I was working with one of the most popular and successful artists in the world, which meant everyone took my calls related to Ed. Everyone wanted to be in the mix. Sadly, few took his music career seriously, and fewer would say that aloud. His fame kept people from being honest…a rough lesson learned when key executives and press said they loved his music and were planning to really get behind it, then didn’t. I was shocked by the number of people who literally did not want his music to be successful. People repeatedly said he wasn’t really a singer, he was an actor “acting at singing,” not a singer. Which made no sense to me! They would also ask why he needed to be successful in records since he was already so successful in film? People were either jealous of him or not willing to give his record the same shot as other artists because he’s “Eddie Murphy” which made the journey difficult.
Stevie B. was a totally different situation. Working with him required the type of heavy lifting needed to take an artist from regional success to national recognition. I was introduced to Stevie when he was on a small indie label in Florida. He was unhappy with the label and wanted to be released from his contract. He came to me to manage him and get him out of his label contract. I got him out of his record deal and secured a new deal for him on BMG records, which resulted in a number one record on the Billboard Charts “Because I Love You”. That aspect of working with Stevie was great… We rode the wave of him being a virtually unknown artist to having a number one record together.
My relationship with Anita Baker and Heart was as a music publisher. In both cases I signed and pitched songs to their labels or producers who then decided to record those songs on these fabulous artists’ records. Michael J. Powell recorded “Lead Me Into Love” on Anita Baker’s Songstress album, and the legendary Don Grierson, VP of A&R for Capitol Records selected “If Looks Could Kill” for Heart.
Again, all of these experiences were different with a common thread that speaks to what you called my “unprecedented success”. No matter what the situation, positive, negative, confidence building, emotionally or financially devastating I never gave up, I never let the negativity get the best of me, instead, I was committed to embracing the lesson, correcting my course and marching forward each time. This was not easy, but it is why I am still in this business today.
FWM: Tell us about Transition Music Corporation (TMC). What do you look for in Artists?
Most people think Transition Music was named after the musical term “transition music” which is a piece of music that moves or connects one thing to another. It wasn’t. I gave it that name because when I formed Transition the only thing I knew for sure was that things were always changing and I was always in transition, which I knew would never stop. So that is how Transition got its name. It was my surrendering to reality vs my adored rose-colored glasses. The first surrender was admitting to myself I was not cut out to be a manager. Management took too big a toll emotionally and financially on me. The second was when I looked around and didn’t like what was happening in the record industry. I saw a business model that was closing off opportunities for independent publishers who did not have distribution channels. The third surrender came when I realized the music industry was poised for total disruption unwilling to embrace the change new technology presented. This led me to combine what I learned about music, film, and television while working with Eddie Murphy and Irene Cara, with what I knew about music publishing to create the version of Transition Music we are today.
We are and have been for almost 20 years, dedicated to creating an opportunity for artists, no matter their level of prior success. We have been told year after year we have the largest number of published and placed songs by unknown talent in the industry. That is because we look for talented creators, quality records, great music, and songs. We sign them even if the artist or composer has never had a deal or a song placed. Free from the need to justify our signing or mitigate the financial risk of signing an unknown artist we can sign based on the music. Yes, every year we work with more established artists, but we only sign based on the quality of the music. The answer to what are we looking for is great music! We sign high-quality recording from all genres from any decade.
FWM: TMC is the exclusive music provider for Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios infusing the content into all original content including film, TV, and digital. Share your recent work with Artists.
We have been very fortunate. Many of our composers and artists have continued to work, despite the industry shut down. In addition to providing the music for several series that entered post-production during Covid our team recently scored the 5 part special “Top 100 Weather Moments “, “The World’s Funniest Weather, and 12 Video Vooks for the online children’s book platform “Vooks”. One of the newest members of our TMC Artist Series is Angelique Calvillo, an amazing vocalist and songwriter. Her song “Lean On Me” was featured in the film “The Answer” which was released by Entertainment Studio’s digital distribution arm Freestyle Digital Media. Tha Rift is another rising star on the Artist Series. He and his producer,Angelo Bombay, had their song,” Faith ” featured in an episode of the ESTV production “The American Athlete.
FWM: You are an expert in music publishing music supervision, monetization, and the management of music IP. What is your advice for upcoming Artists?
As my daughter says “You be You”. That is my first advice on the business side and the creative side. Be you…learn and highlight what is special about you. Then do everything you can to learn everything you can about the job you want to do from people who’ve been successfully doing it. I talk about this a lot in my upcoming book on the industry. Being you and positioning yourself for success can mean a lot of different things, including being honest about what you want as an artist/composer or musician. It’s not enough to want to be in this business. This is a highly competitive industry where many more fail than succeed. In addition, it’s important to know what you want from this industry, what you are willing to give up to get it and how you will survive or thrive if success isn’t instant…which it rarely is. People who have long careers surround themselves with people who are committed to them and are proven in the industry. And the really successful ones know that if everyone around you is saying “yes” to everything you say it’s time to get new people.
FWM: What will people notice about working with you?
I hope they will notice that I care. The entire Transition Music team cares. We all care about doing a great job for our artists and our clients. We all show up every day committed to being extraordinary! One of our core values is “Always bring value”. Why, because that is the only thing we control. We can’t control what songs our clients select, we can’t control what shows the networks pick up, we can’t control when a show is canceled or a movie is canned. But we can control doing the best job possible and providing high-quality service and music.
FWM: You were Recognized as Essence Magazine, “Entrepreneur of Excellence” and the “Inspiration of the Year” by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). What does this mean to you?
When young people think about the entertainment industry and success, they primarily are thinking about music artists, actors, and a few pop culture executives. But if you ask the people who want to succeed in the media industry, I bet none will say “I want to be a successful music publisher!” The Essence Award was really special because it provided me with an opportunity to introduce young black people to music publishing as a path to wealth other than being an artist or actor. I want people to know they don’t have to be songwriters or artists to succeed in the music industry, they can be entrepreneurs making a difference on the business side of the industry.
The NAWBO award really hit home for me. I was raised by a single mom, who was one of only a few women in her field. She was regularly passed over when it came to job opportunities and pay increases by boss’s who boldly pronounced “he’s getting the promotion because he’s a man and has a family to feed”. My mother had a family to feed also, but that did not translate into equal pay. My mom’s experience, my own negative experiences working for people combined with my fierce sense of independence drove me to be an entrepreneur and build my own business. As a single mom, I am keenly aware of how important it is for women to be financially independent. Being recognized by NAWBO gave me an extraordinary opportunity to encourage women business owners and celebrate the women who made my success possible, most of all my mother.
FWM: As an Advocate for Social Change. What are you supporting today?
As the mother of a child with autism, I am actively engaged in social change for the intellectual disability’s population. The social bias and ignorance directed toward people with intellectual disabilities covers all levels of society from social, medical, and educational. As a result, many never get the care they need to thrive. They have few friends and experience social exclusion. My goal of inclusion and interdependence, from social exclusion to supported Inclusion led me to be actively engaged on a local, state, and federal level to improve healthcare, social interaction, and job opportunities. I also author a blog Autism Day by Day – an official resource of the National Institute of Health – which details my journey raising my son and provides resources for everyone living with autism.
FWM: Share your goals/projects in the next 6-months.
Many of our goals and projects have shifted along with the rest of the world as we adapt to the Covid realities that directly impact our industry, our businesses and workspaces. Initially, we were faced with so many uncertainties. Our days were filled addressing the changes and trying to get ahead of the impact they would have on our business. Now, 7 months later, it’s clear we are living in a new world, where business operations will never go back to exactly the way they were. We have shifted our mindset and embrace the positive. As a result, over the next 6 months, our goal is to grow by expanding our staff remotely. In the past, we were limited to team members who lived in Los Angeles. Relying on local hires limited the opportunity for people living elsewhere to work in the mainstream music industry.
Our projects over the next six months include continued work with the major film and TV studios and our existing clients and shows that were in production before Covid including; Entertainment Studios and The Weather Channel. We have several series in various stages of development including an animated series with BRON Media. Over the next 6 months, we will announce new shows as their production starts up and others move into their post-production phase.
Twitter and Instagram @TransitionMusic
https://www.facebook.com/TransitionMusic/
