27 minute read
Adam Barker Universal Music UK
1971 AND ALL THAT
Adam Barker joined Universal Music as a deal-maker. He’s now also a film-maker, cutting his teeth on Amy and, more recently, exec-producing the new Apple TV+ series, 1971…
Around 10 years ago, renowned British music journalist David Hepworth posited the theory, quite casually but quite confidently (and quite often, actually), that 1971 was, as he put it ‘the annus mirabilis of the rock album’.
He didn’t make a big deal of it. He does, after all, posit theories reasonably regularly – on podcasts, on his blog, on Twitter. It’s what he does. But they’re more pub chat than pitch.
This one, however, had legs. And then wings, becoming first a best-selling book, Never A Dull Moment, and now a eight-part documentary series on Apple TV+, 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything.
The series has moved things on quite a bit from Hepworth’s original position; it’s more global, less personal, and dwells more on the societal and political scenarios music was reflecting and sometimes influencing at the time.
It has been made by much of the team behind Amy, the Oscar-winning featurelength documentary from 2015, including series director Asif Kapadia, who is part of a group of executive producers that includes Universal Music UK’s Director of Business Affairs, Adam Barker.
Here, Barker discusses his evolving role within UMG, and explains how the mosttalked about new music doc of the year came together.
Can you first give us a quick thumbnail sketch of your career so far?
I was a criminal defense barrister for a few years, then I bumped into a friend of a friend of a friend who said, ‘You should have a look at working in the music industry, you’d love it: you get drunk all the time and don’t do any work; it’s amazing.’
From asking around, I realised that was what very much what this person did, and they were promptly fired. But the idea had been planted.
I first worked for a guy called Tony Calder, who was one of the music industry’s great rogues. He was a comanager of The Rolling Stones, he was Marianne Faithfull’s manager and he was often referred to as ‘a psychedelic gangster’. Quite a character.
From there, I went to work with Dean Marsh at a boutique law firm that specialised in dance music.
That took me to Ministry of Sound, for about three years, which was an education – very strange, but very enjoyable.
And then I joined Universal in 2003 via what used to be Mercury Records, but has since morphed into EMI. 10 years ago, my predecessor in this job, Clive Fisher, retired and I was lucky enough to be put forward as his replacement [as Director of Business Affairs].
Adam Barker
In that 10 years as, if you like, the chief deal-maker and contract negotiator at Universal, what have been the main changes in that area, from the record company side of the desk?
It’s definitely become more complex; the variety of different types of deals has
increased dramatically and there are more choices and options for artists than ever before. If I think back to 10 years ago, obviously we were in a digital era, but, by and large, artists had the choice only of relatively conventional record deals: multiple options, royalty basis, advances – the standard ingredients that had been in place for decades.
The commercial terms of deals had changed over time, but up until that point, the structure of deals, the basic commercial choice available to artists, had been pretty much unchanged for 20-odd years.
And then, over the last 10 years, the way that digital distribution affords opportunities, the rise of label services, the rise of DIY, the ability to do it independently, has all meant that the number of options available to artists, and their lawyers and managers, has increased dramatically. So the first question for an artist starting out has become, what type of deal works best for me?
Obviously the heart of what we do as a label is best supported by a more conventional structure, because it’s a structure that allows us to make what can be massive amounts of investment.
It also used to be that nine out of 10 artists had not released a record before we signed them. Now, many artists have already released records independently and may have had some level of success, because it’s never been easier to put a record out.
I think the barrier to being a globally successful artist is as high as it’s ever been, and it’s as hard as it’s ever been, it’s challenging for labels and artists alike. But the bigger initial barriers to entry, if you like, have fallen away.
Is that all positive, or is it a problem for a major label?
I think it is a positive thing, because it allows artists and their managers to be entrepreneurial outside of labels in the early stages. But I fervently believe that to achieve the kind of career success that most artists want, they absolutely need to partner with a label.
I mean, I would say that, wouldn’t I? But I really do believe there is no substitute for a record label with great resource, great expertise, great talent, ability to invest, global reach; there’s no substitute for that if you want a global career.
I think you can go from nought to 20 miles-per-hour yourself, but if you want to get from 20 to 100 miles-per-hour, I think it’s very difficult to do that without a major label.
Let’s talk about how your role has evolved in recent years, especially the move into film production. How did that start?
A number of years ago, Universal established a division called Globe, with a remit that included making TV programmes and documentaries.
I worked with them for some time, but then when Amy came along, it was outside of Globe, and through a connection of David Joseph’s, actually.
He knew the producer of Senna, James Gay-Rees, who came in and pitched the idea for a film about Amy Winehouse. As is David’s way, he works on impeccable instincts, and he was on board straight away; he was passionate about Amy’s legacy.
He sent James and I away to make a deal, to make it work, and over the next couple of years, the film started to come together. There were highs and lows within that, it wasn’t an easy process, emotions were running very high.
The film certainly didn’t pull any punches about some of the conclusions it made. A number of people were a little bruised by it, and those people were very vocal about that.
Some of them were people with whom we had very close relationships on a
catalogue level. So it was a sensitive project, but as David and I started to see some of the very early rough cuts, it was clear there was something incredibly special coming together. David was wonderful about ironing out and fixing some quite difficult dynamics that you can imagine came up throughout the process. And I would handle the sort of day-to-day relationships with James, looking after budget, making sure it was moving along, trying to iron out things I could iron out. And then this amazing film came out, we took it to Cannes, we went to the BAFTAs and the Oscars… It was something out of the ordinary for David and I. Most of all we were just hugely lucky to work with such incredible filmmakers.
You glossed over it rather quickly there, but let’s go back and ask what it’s
“We loved the book, we like to win an Oscar – or at least be part of the team of producers loved the idea and it behind a film that wins an Oscar? Well, oddly, there was a core of obviously resonated confidence even early on, because it was such a great film. with our catalogue.” We flew out to LA, thrilled to be there. And then I just remember being absolutely over the moon. It was phenomenal, David and I got a thank you from the stage, and it was just so different from what we did day-to-day.
How did 1971 come about?
Even before we got to the end of the Amy process, we were already talking to James about what we could do next, because I think we were all pretty clear that something special was happening. James came to us one day and said there’s this book, the David Hepworth book, and he wanted to do it as a documentary series. At this point we were kind of prepared to back James, Asif and Chris [King, editor/ exec producer] on pretty much anything. In this case, we loved the book, we loved the idea and it obviously resonated with our catalogue. We struck a deal, we looked at the budget. It was a more expensive project
than Amy, but manageable. And as with Amy, we were prepared to fully fund it, not to seek distributors’ money or pre-sell it, but to take the leap of faith.
We started talking to James in late 2017, and it took a long time, just because of the huge volume of material, and the scale of the project.
What was your role in that process?
Day-to-day would be James and his team calling me about schedules, budgets, problems. Trying to keep it on track, pulling in favours where we needed favours, occasionally prodding James about the budget.
And then where David was needed was pulling in some of the bigger contacts, some of the bigger names that were interviewed, using his address book, and also tapping into his creative overview.
I think David and I both recognised that we could encourage and nudge, but really what we were trying to do was nurture these amazing filmmakers. They don’t need our advice, they sometimes just need a bit of cajoling and some practical behind the scenes help.
How did you decide you wanted to move things on from the book?
To be honest, other than us all having read the book, and having optioned the book, we very quickly didn’t refer to it.
No disrespect to David, and we’re all fans, but this became its very own, very distinct filmed project. There are touchpoints between the two, but the series is a more expansive animal.
When did Apple TV+ come into the picture?
We started talking to a broad selection of streaming partners about 12 months ago. We narrowed it down in summer last year, and there were a number of interesting commercial discussions, as you can imagine.
In the end we were delighted to choose Apple, because of the Apple Music connection, and also, ultimately, they were the most attractive commercial partner.
With TV platforms, it’s not always necessarily about which one is the biggest, it’s which one can do the most with it and which one wants it the most – and that’s quite often the service that’s in the process of building a catalogue.
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How difficult – and expensive – was it to clear all the music right?
It wasn’t cheap, it was very time consuming, and it was quite difficult, because we were very ambitious about what we wanted to clear and how much we wanted to clear. That was a very big part of the process for quite some time.
Was there anything you couldn’t get?
Ultimately, there wasn’t; we found a way through things. Sometimes there was a compromise required.
Have you got any idea of how much music is in there?
I think there are 58 artists, and more than 150 tracks. For me, I think music and events were so closely intertwined, right? The music informed the events, the events informed the music. There were almost instant reactions to events by musicians. There was a rapid back and forth dynamic between music and what was going on. And I’m not sure we’re in that world today.
We’ve got seismic events happening, we’ve got amazing music being made, but I’m not sure I see as much connection between the two.
Music, by definition, is culturally relevant because it is culture. But its connection with societal events and political events, with some notable exceptions, seems to not be there right now.
Is there anything you can tell us about what the Amy/1971 team are working on next?
David [Joseph] and I have already started a new project. It’s going to be a feature length doc focusing on a hugely influential artist, but it’s early days and I’m afraid I can’t say who it is at this stage. n
Richard Antwi
Jojo Mukeza
Esther Lenda Bokuma
Daniel Beckley
Meet the Richard Antwi Scholarship graduates
It is now five years since the tragic early death of music industry lawyer, manager and entrepreneur, Richard Antwi. Following his passing a group of his friends established the Richard Antwi Scholarship, which champions Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals and is awarded in conjunction with the Music Business Management MA at the University of Westminster. It is supported by all three UK major record labels, music publishers, and several of the top independent music companies and law firms. MBUK meets the first three graduates, all of whom are now working within the music business – and all of whom are aiming high…
Jojo Mukeza pushed past a formerly uneasy relationship with formal education, secured his degree and is now part of the new team at 0207 Def Jam…
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how much of a difference the Richard Antwi Scholarship made in terms of providing opportunities?
I’m a Congolese-born British citizen. When I was 15 I was a huge fan of the producer collective Ruff Sqwad so I started making grime beats on FL Studio, and with a few close friends we formed our own producer collective, The Confect.
Fast forward a few years and I ended up achieving a Masters in Music Business Management, courtesy of the great Richard Antwi scholarship.
How did you find the course?
It was one of the most challenging things I had done in my life at the time. I never really excelled in formal education, so it was a whole different pocket I was in.
Two things stick with me: First, the people I met, the whole class of 18/19. There are some powerful thinkers in there and I’m sure many of them will go on to achieve big things in this industry.
The second thing is – and I need to preface this by saying I’m not really an advocate for formal education as I believe there are many different paths and entry points in this game – learning how to write in essay form and communicate my thoughts in such a style was and is something I am massively proud of.
What have you learned working at 0207 Def Jam?
The Richard Antwi Scholarship made a colossal difference and played a huge part in the opportunities that I have in front of me today. I have changed my narrative and it’s now possible to inspire others in my community. 0207 Def Jam, is one of the best labels in the business that understands the unique experience I bring and I’m able to fulfil my career and creative ambitions.
What has your mentoring experience been like?
I haven’t had a formal mentoring experience, but I’ve connected with people on the way who I would consider giants, that have shared crucial perspective and wisdom.
Matt Ross [Sent Entertainment], who helped set up the scholarship, was hugely supportive in providing insight on how the industry communicates on a business level. Sally-Ann Gross played a key role as my lecturer and her support through my studies is something I’ll always be grateful for.
Will Bloomfield [Modest Management], who is also part of the scholarship team, gave me time, which is very underrated, but very valuable. He would listen to all
my ideas, including the rubbish ones. I then met Char Grant [A&R Director at 0207 Def Jam] when I got into Universal. Her support has been invaluable. There’s so much happening all the time, and this industry moves at 200mph, but it’s important to be heard out and Char is a shining reflection of the team over at 0207. I also have to give a huge shout out to David Joseph [Universal Music UK Chairman & CEO] for having the foresight to support the scholarship in a real, tangible, impactful and meaningful way. It’s ground level change, far beyond an Instagram post “I’d like to be part of and a company box tick. the right kind of What are your ambitions? I want to share stories, listen to other change and people’s stories and build on my own stories. conversations.” I’m blessed because my passion for music and sound align with my work. I always enjoyed producing and I never thought it would lead me to an MA and then to working with some of the greatest people in the game at 0207. We are in a time and space where creators have to be well informed in the music business in order to adapt to the demands of the market and climate. I want to spend some time unpacking what that fully is for me, personally. There is much demand on the industry to change, to become a safer place for workers, to have mental health conversations and many other ethical and structural changes. I’d like to be a part of the right kind of change and conversations.
What’s the one thing that you think needs fixing in the music business right now?
I’ll always be a producer at heart, so that’s the fight I’m picking. I can see cracks in the relationship between the music business and producers; that dynamic needs repairing.
Esther Lenda Bokuma is a hotly-tipped artist in her own right (under the name Estée Blu) and is currently working at Universal Music’s Brand Partnership, Sync and Production division, Globe…
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how much of a difference the Richard Antwi Scholarship made in terms of providing opportunities?
I’m Esther, also known as Estee Blu, and I’m a London-born R&B, jazz and Afrofusion influenced artist, of Congolese heritage. I also work at Globe in the Brand Partnerships team at Universal and serve as a Sound Connections Trustee, with a focus on building career pathways for young people in the music industry.
In addition, I sit on the recently launched F-List board of directors led by former BASCA CEO Vick Bain (now known as the Ivors Academy). The F-List focuses on gender parity for women and gender minorities in music, with an intersectional approach.
My official journey into the industry was through birthing my artist persona, Estée Blu, around 2015. I have been compared to the likes of SZA and Solange by NME and supported by Help Musicians, the MOBO Awards and the Roundhouse.
I’ve had features on platforms such as Apple Music 1, COLORS, AfroPunk and Sofar Sounds, with nods from Jamz Supernova, Julie Adenuga, Kamilla Rose and Remi Burgz, which has been fabulous as an independent and self-managed artist.
I’d had offers for a few TV talent shows, management and a small independent label, but I’ve always been integral about how I grow my career, the contractual terms and the values of who I partnered with; if it didn’t feel right, I always trusted my intuition.
So I was happy to fund my own development, learn as much as I could and take things at my own pace. With a bi-lingual background, I qualified as a French teacher to continue to support myself, and then after about 18 months I moved out of formal education and into artist development as a course leader on a music diploma programme, facilitating the learning of other young musicians.
As that drew to a close, I was keen to discover more about career opportunities in the wider music business, and also sharpen my tools as an artist. In the summer of 2019, I saw Twin B [Alec Boateng, Co-President of 0207 Def Jam] post about the Richard Antwi scholarship on Twitter, and did some digging.
That same afternoon, I had a phone call with the Programme Director, Sally-Anne Gross, at the University of Westminster who told me more about the Masters in Music Business Management and the scholarship. I was sold and applied for both!
The Richard Antwi scholarship massively supported me in terms of financing the MA, providing me with a living stipend and also introducing me to the incredible scholarships committee, filled with friends and family who knew and loved Richard.
It redefined how I saw myself, my talents, my influence and trajectory as an artist. It also made me even more aware of the fact that artists are businesses, and it was important for me to expand my skills and integrate all my passions
and experiences in building a creative and dynamic career for myself. I don’t believe in the myth of the starving artist, and with the right resources, talent, work ethic, network and guidance, anything is possible in terms of designing the life that you want.
How did you find the course and what were the most important things you learned?
I’ve always been a naturally curious person ¬– and a bit of a nerd – and as this “It made me even Masters was actually my third degree and fifth University it definitely more aware of the exceeded my experiences of higher education. fact that artists are It felt like the perfect alignment of time and space to nurture businesses.” Photo: Yukitaka Amemiya
my interests, expand my network and accelerate. We covered everything from copyright and intellectual property, to A&R, music marketing and new technologies, with several music industry professionals visiting us on a weekly basis as guest speakers.
However, having to do a 10,000 word dissertation last summer was extremely challenging in what seemed like a never ending lockdown, at the height of the Black Lives Matter resurgence, particularly as I had chosen to investigate an intense subject matter, exploring the experiences of darker-skinned Black British women and their dealings with racism, colourism (discrimination against people with a dark skin tone in favour of those with a lighter skin tone from the same race) and sexism in the UK music industry. I also deep dived into Afro-futurism as a potential tool to circumvent inequalities.
Given the climate, that was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but I believe that it was a timely and necessary piece of work that uncovered the reality of being a dark-skinned Black woman in British music: the dichotomy of being highly influential but equally invisible and looking to independence and entrepreneurship to carve out one’s own sense of freedom.
I learnt that learning is a life-long process, so my research is still ongoing and I hope to be able to publish my thesis in paper or book.
How has your work placement been - and what have you learned from working at Globe?
Like many, I’ve started my role virtually and it’s been strange not having met the team in real life and not being able to go on shoots, which is a big part of the position.
But regardless of that, working at Globe has been a good experience. Individually, everyone is absolutely incredible at their jobs, so it collectively makes a stronger team, who work and deliver at such a high quality and standard.
I’m only about six months in, so I’m still learning, but I guess the main takeaway is the importance of brands in the music space, and how they each have varying objectives when partnering with artists.
That means we have to be meticulous in our research, creative in our offer and tailor things specifically, which means that no deal is the same.
What has your mentoring experience been like?
I’ve been able to virtually shadow almost everyone on the Brands team and learn about their specialist skills as we work on such a broad range and scale of commercial partnerships.
Outside Universal, my other mentors include Sally-Anne Gross, Matt Ross, Paul Heard [ex-M People/MPH Productions] and Will Bloomfield from the Richard Antwi scholarship committee, and it’s
comforting to be able to touch base with them regularly and still have their support beyond graduating last October.
What are your ambitions?
Since childhood, my ambitions have always involved honouring my creativity in whatever way that manifests. I’m not afraid of change, nor am I afraid to fail or start again, so long as I’m living in my purpose.
I live quite holistically, since having an experience with burnout a few years ago, so having a good work/life balance are key factors for me as I continue in this industry.
Music has always been my first love, and in the next 10 years I’ll definitely fulfill those artistic goals, putting all my years of learning into practice.
I’m also interested in further developing my youth outreach activity, as I know how hard it can be to navigate this industry when you first start out, have absolutely no clue what you’re doing and have no connections.
I’m going to continue to focus on creating more safe spaces, particularly for Black women in music, across all intersections. There’s still so much more to unpack in terms of our unique experiences in this industry, which are often related to the combination of inequalities due to gender and race. However, there’s also room to celebrate the contributions of Black British women in wider culture, and I want to carry on lending my voice, doing the research and internal work, platforming others and also championing the movement towards equity.
What’s the one thing that you think really needs fixing in the music business right now?
As mentioned earlier, the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, along with The Show Must Be Paused Blackout Tuesday moment, really put a lot of things in perspective for me. I did a panel with Mulika Sannie and Keith Harris OBE around that time and it was a very honest conversation about the conditions of Black people within the music industry, both behind the scenes and out front. It was and still is shocking when you start to dissect where power sits, which is disproportionate to the creative, cultural and spiritual contributions of Black people in contemporary music.
I recognise that a lot of difficult conversations have been had – and are still ongoing. A lot of learning and unlearning has taken place, which is great to see. But one thing that sticks out to me from the research I did on Black British women in music is how Black women are rarely on label rosters, not seen as priority artists and not in positions of seniority across the major and independent labels as well as the music trade bodies.
Black women want the same opportunities as everyone else, the chance to economically participate and take up space in the vast musical genres and popular culture they helped build and continue to shape.
For me, that’s the one thing that music industry leaders and the music business as a whole needs to address and fix right now, with real care and careful consideration.
Daniel Beckley is a legal scholar and multi-instrumentalist who has already benefitted from two internships and music industry law firms and is now working at Universal Music Publishing…
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how much of a difference the Richard Antwi Scholarship made in terms of providing opportunities?
I grew up in South London, from West African heritage. Since I was young, music has played a central role in my upbringing.
Most of my school years involved learning multiple instruments and performing at venues across London as part of the Southwark Youth Orchestra. I started producing at the age of 14, drawing influences from nineties R&B, soul and hip-hop.
I went on to study law at university and quickly realised that I wanted to apply the skills I developed there into a creative environment. The music business made sense, as it combines law, music and creativity, and I felt I could really add value to the industry.
The Richard Antwi scholarship has been a huge catalyst for creating opportunities within this extremely competitive and selective space, It has also provided me with a role model in Richard, whose story has motivated me to excel.
How did you find the course?
When I was first introduced to the course by the scholarship team it was described as a bridge between the academic study of music business and the business itself.
For me, I think it did just that. I became much more familiar with how the industry is structured and the fundamental issues that the industry is currently grappling with.
The most important things I learned were how to think critically, understand the fundamentals of music copyrights and how to express creative ideas in music.
I also learned that success in the music industry is very intentional. Talent is only the first ingredient to an artist’s success, it takes a lot of planning, investment and a dedicated team of people who understand the business to break an artist.
How has your work placement been - and what have you learned from working at UMPG?
It’s been eye opening. I’ve had a broad experience of the many interesting and challenging things that keep a major publisher busy.
Initially, publishing was a grey area for me, partly because there are so many layers involved. For example, you have the core function of administering copyrights and collecting royalties on behalf of writers, while also creating commercial opportunities through sync and digital licenses.
So, the opportunity to work across
multiple departments has really improved my overall understanding of the key areas involved in this area of the business.
What has your mentoring experience been like?
The mentoring experience has been really beneficial for both my personal and professional development. The likes of Matt Ross and Will Bloomfield have been incredibly generous with their time, freely providing counsel and support. It truly feels like an extended family of people who care and want to help you navigate a meaningful “It provided me with a career in music. I think what I have learned the role model in Richard, most is the importance of keeping good relationships, being consistent whose story has and always feeling encouraged to express your ideas. motivated me to excel.” What are your ambitions? I want to create impact and become a forward-thinking music executive. In 10 years, I would like to be president of a major music company, building a successful and culturally significant roster. I would also like to be able to create opportunities for other young people that share similar backgrounds to myself.
And what’s the one thing that you think needs fixing in the music business?
I think diversity and representation is key across all areas in the music business. It makes sense for executives to better reflect the talent they look after and initiatives like the Richard Antwi scholarship are helping to address this. I’d also like the music business to be more proactive than reactive. We need to be ahead of the curve with technological advancements which have the potential to be disruptive in the future.
