10 Music Week 15.08.14
www.musicweek.com THE BIG INTERVIEW DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING HEADING DOWNTOWN
Downtown Publishing president Justin Kalifowitz on his company’s recent expansion, the changing role of publishers and the effects of major consolidation across the whole sector
PUBLISHING n BY TOM PAKINKIS
F
ounded in 2007, Downtown Music Publishing arrived on the scene at a time when digital revolution and major consolidation were
having big impacts on the music business as a whole. The industry is certainly still in a state of flux but, with the dust starting to settle, publishers have found themselves in a more commanding position than ever before. Downtown Music Publishing was originally tied
to a sister record label before the two businesses announced a split to become standalone entities at the beginning of 2013. Since then, the publisher has undergone significant international expansion which has most recently seen it open offices in Benelux and the UK earlier this year. “I would never have thought, in 2007, to
compete with so many of the great local publishers on the ground in the UK when we were just opening our doors in the US,” says Downtown Music Publishing president Justin Kalifowitz. “But some of the very best indies have been acquired in recent years, big and small, and we think there’s an opportunity to bring what we do to the table. “I also think from a technology perspective,
it’s become possible to create a dynamic global collection infrastructure. That just wasn’t possible in 2007 because the collection societies weren’t up to speed. There were different data standards that have developed over time and they’ve really helped us scale the business.” Today Downtown’s catalogue speaks for
itself, with the company representing big-hitting catalogues including those of John Lennon (including a handful of early Beatles tracks), Ray Davies, Trevor Horn and Seal, as well as songwriters and artists such as Corinne Bailey Rae, Ellie Goulding, Neon Trees, Mos Def and Randy Newman, who signed a North American administration agreement in July.
ABOVE
Team effort: Downtown Music Publishing president Justin Kalifowitz, meets with members of his team including Sean McGraw (VP, licensing & administration), Jamie Barnes (manager of copyright and metadata), Mori Einsidler (executive assistant), Frank Pagano (senior manager, licensing & administration)
“As CD sales have waned, publishers have been able to create opportunities that are completely separate from the record company” JUSTIN KALIFOWITZ, DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING
With more than 80,000 copyrights under its roof, Downtown Music Publishing is a significant player on a global level. Today, Kalifowitz suggests that indie publishers can compete with the majors in a way that just doesn’t seem to happen on the recorded side, as well as highlighting the growing influence of publishers on artist development - something which used to be monopolised by the label community.
What kind of impact has consolidation had for companies like yourselves? In terms of the music industry in general, do you think it’s harmful or does it create growth opportunities for others? I think it’s very similar to any other industry that goes through these natural cycles of consolidation. As it becomes more tightly wound, new businesses grow with new entrepreneurs. There are a number of fantastic independent publishing companies that have emerged over the past four or five years, many of which you can directly tie to the consolidation. I view it as a net positive for the industry over time. Initially, for some songwriters who may not necessarily be receiving the same level of attention at their publisher before it was acquired, it’s a huge frustration and we see that as a source of opportunity because many times there’s the option for those songwriters to leave with their catalogues.
Whenever we see consolidation in the recorded music business, there are often labels that are very open about their intention to snap up some of the artists occupying a middle ground and may become lost in new, bigger companies. Do you see similar opportunities in publishing? I think it’s less about the middle ground… You can
look at publishers like Downtown and see that we attract songwriters and catalogues of a very high calibre, as do other independent publishers. On the label side I think there is more of a middle ground, whereas the catalogues of independent publishers, from a prestige and quality perspective are quite comparable to what the majors have developed – the primary difference being the depth and the volume, which you could argue is too much [on the major side].
How much of an influence do you think publishing has today compared to previous years, now that record sales are harder to guarantee? Is it a more important revenue stream than it used to be? Yeah, absolutely. What we’ve seen happen in the music business is that the record company used to be the financial engine of the entire business, which everything followed. Artists would get a record deal, then they would get a publishing deal and then touring followed that. Touring has clearly become a major driver and I would say publishing equally so. When we’re doing deals with developing artists
at this moment in time, we’re frequently doing them well in advance of a record deal. We’re funding their recordings and increasingly seeing lawyers requesting development funds in addition to a typical publishing advance – that’s a unique phenomenon in the past five years as the recorded music business has invested less in the development of artists, at least from my perspective. I’m not speaking for all labels, there’s obviously
a number of amazing companies that continue to invest heavily, but I would say that the trend is that lawyers, managers and artists are looking to their publisher for development. I think from the songwriter perspective – not
the artist but specifically the songwriter – the importance of the relationship with the publisher has never been greater. Songwriters used to rely on record companies signing artists that would cut their songs. Then a tremendous amount of revenue would come from mechanicals. As that’s
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