FINALSAY...
The music industry’s biggest names have the last word on their time in the biz... THIS WEEK: Andy Heath, chairman, Beggars Music
Indie sector legend Andy Heath was recently awarded a CBE in recognition of services to the music industry, including the launch of UK Music in 2008. Here, the Beggars Group veteran reflects on five decades in the business, shares his wisdom on the role of publishers and reveals the huge band that got away...
The best decision I ever made was… “Partnering with Martin Mills [Beggars Group founder and chairman]. He’s awesome. He’s clearly a good partner, he’s been in partnership with Richard Russell [XL Recordings owner] for a long time. He probably has more long-lasting partnerships than either of us could think of in the music industry.”
Grime artists had to do it on their own… “Because there was no other way of them reaching the market – the conventional routes were simply not interested in what they were doing. They created a completely separate route to market for their music, and that will happen more and more. If you’re going to be an intermediary in the music world, if you’re going to work between the audience and the creator, then you better bloody well add value, because otherwise you won’t make a living. You’ve got to actually create, you’ve got to invest time, money and art in the whole process, because otherwise you’re not going to survive.”
The American industry is much more direct… “They assume they can solve a problem and, as a result, they don’t fear some of the issues that, actually, they ought to fear. Whereas, outside the US, people don’t assume they can solve a problem, which often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The industry in America is no better or worse than in the UK, they are just different.”
The biggest risk for a music publisher is… “Every time you invest your own money in a songwriter. It’s a big risk, but it’s a risk I love. It’s a risk I’ve consistently taken for decades – and the reward was definitely worth the risk.”
The biggest change in the industry was… “Watching all the power go to record companies during the CD boom, when the control was pretty much absolute. Everybody was at the mercy, to a certain extent, of the record industry. The second biggest
50 | Music Week 01.07.19
“Every time you invest your own money in a songwriter it’s a risk – but I love it”
change is to watch that being diluted and the power is now back with the artist and the writer. Although I don’t think the main community of artists and writers have realised yet the extent of the power that they are able to wield in this new commercial environment.”
The achievement I’m most proud of is… “The current roster of writers we have at Beggars Music. It sounds corny but I think that’s totally true, actually. Well, it’s a close run thing between that and succeeding in getting UK Music off the ground. That was pretty fucking difficult and cool, and it’s worked out well.”
My biggest regret is…
“Saying to [industry lawyer] John Benedict, I couldn’t understand why he was sending me Mumford & Sons, because I didn’t get it. And I could have invested in the musical Hair, but that was nearly 50 years ago!”
musicweek.com INTERVIEW: ANDRE PAINE By royal
appointment: Andy Heath has just added a CBE to his MBE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
