Billboard.biz Q&A: EMI Music Publishing's 'Big' Jon Platt



August 07, 2009 - Publishing



By Gail Mitchell, L.A.



Even while attending the 2009 BET Awards in June, EMI Music Publishing executive "Big" Jon Platt found himself in work mode. The president of West Coast Creative/head of urban signed rap phenomenon Drake to a publishing agreement in the chart-topper’s dressing room at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium.



By his own admission, Platt is a music… Continue

By Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur

It is pretty common knowledge that it is high time that the recording industry re-evaluate its practices and business M.O.



This is a direct result of the digital era, however I have an archaic response to the resurgence of the new indie and internet movement.



Record labels need to make the record deal worth something again.



Right now, with all eyes on the artist, the artistry, the sales and the business, the labels are going to… Continue

Top 20 Reasons Why Artist’s Don’t Make It In The Music Industry



by Retail Chick





20. BAD MANAGEMENT

If I had a dollar for every bad manager I met inside the music store, I would own a condo in Buckhead, Manhattan, and LA. Although every manager does not start out knowing it all, they should at least know enough so the artist will not get screwed. To all the new artists out there, ask your manager if they have any books on how to manage an artist in the music… Continue

THE BPI, which represent UK record companies, came out shouting about its latest successes in boosting legal downloads today, revealing a 65% rise.

The new figures show one in ten people bought at least one legal song online, with 110m single tracks downloaded.

And in a rather depressing statistic for musical innovation, Coldplay, Kings of Leon and Duffy were the big winners, each selling more than 100,000 albums online.

However, read between the lines and one thing is clear -… Continue

No lesson learned from T.I.



Sunday, May 24, 2009



It’s the season for graduations — for celebrating accomplishments, milestones and lessons learned. Whether kinsfolk have finished high school or seminary or kindergarten, families have gathered for food, drink and congratulations. But Atlanta rapper Clifford Harris Jr., whose stage name is T.I., is about to achieve a milestone less auspicious but equally important. On May 26, he will report to a federal prison in Arkansas to… Continue