12 Music Week 28.11.14 THE BIG INTERVIEW BLACK BUTTER STACK HOUSE - THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY: ‘SIGNING LILY ALLEN PUTS A NICE RIBBON ON A GREAT YEAR’
Roster includes: Rudimental, Lily Allen, Redlight, Gorgon City, Fryars
The original lynchpin of the Black Butter setup, Stack House management boasts a proudly varied roster including sole producer and songwriting clients, as well as big stars like Lily Allen - who recently joined Stack House after leaving Rocket, and is managed by Henry Village. Working with Warner Music’s Atlantic/Asylum, Stack House has now helped guide Rudimental to over 3 million record sales. “I feel very happy about the
Lily signing, it puts a ribbon on our year,” says Village. “Lily is the queen of our time for interesting pop music. It’s really fascinating to be working on an artist that’s had huge critical acclaim. We’re busy making new music and looking forward to a great 2015.” Like the rest of Black Butter, Stack House is based within the
offices of Quest Management in South West London. Quest founder Scott Rodger told Music Week: “Henry, Joe and the Black Butter team have tapped into the most exciting areas of new British music in recent years. “I truly believe they are now
playing a bigger game and can see Black Butter being a known global brand within the next 18 months. “My partner and colleague
Roger Ames introduced me to Henry about 18 months ago. “We got on immediately and I got excited about the projects he was working on as well as the possibilities to assist with growing his various businesses. “In the past couple of years
we have tried to create an exciting work environment in our building with various independent companies. Bringing in the Stack House/Black Butter teams was such a natural step in that process.”
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Roster includes: James Newman, Jess Glynne, Kiko Bun, Aquilo, Bipolar Sunshine, Chloe Leone, Laura Dockrill, Mark Crown, Elderbrook, Everything Everything
BLACK BUTTER - THE PUBLISHER: ‘THIS COMPANY DEFINES THE ESSENCE OF A NEW STRAND OF BRITISH POP’ [L-R] Henry Village, Laura Dockrill and Joe Gossa
The Black Butter publishing arm is the baby of Goss and Village’s family, but has been quietly growing since launching 18 months ago. The company is administered by BMG Chrysalis UK for the world, in a joint venture with the business. The deal was signed with BMG’s UK boss Alexi Cory-Smith in early 2013. “We’ve had a great year on publishing,” says Gossa. From our early signings like James Newman and Jess Glynne, who are both insanely good writers, to more recently, Aquilo, Kiko Bun and very recently Everything Everything. It’s been really enjoyable to go after and help nurture acts. We obviously bring A&R support, but we also put real time into our writers.” He adds: “Doing administration, that’s for BMG to
take care of. We’re the guys on the ground that put ‘A’ and ‘B’ together, to create situations where writers can flourish or prop up mangers with whatever we have at our means. We don’t know how to be ‘just’ publishers. We’re prepared to be very hands on and aggressive, it’s not just something we do on the side.” “BMG and Alexi have been great. They’ve backed us at
every stage. Alexi has been brilliant in that respect. It’s a JV in the true sense of the phrase. We work side by side with their A&R team, bouncing ideas back and forth and getting stuck in. Alexi’s always supported us; whenever we’ve been ‘we need to sign this or do that’ she’s never questioned us. BMG are great company, here and in the US, and it’s been a pleasure getting to know them.” Says Cory-Smith: “Black Butter define the essence
of a new strand in contemporary British pop. That’s not just in the music they produce - which has that quality and sheen which is so distinct - it’s also in their approach to doing business, where you have an anything-is-possible energy, combined with the kind of high-level strategic
thinking they showed in getting Roger Ames on board. Working with Black Butter has pretty much been a textbook example of cooperation.
“It’s a frictionless relationship in which we each get the opportunity to tap into each other’s networks and capabilities.”
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