Dmitry Konnov, managing director of Universal Music Russia, shares with us the essentials of his job. He believes that ability to create mutual respect between all members of an artist's team is one of the core competencies that leader in music industry should have. He also stresses out the importance of creativity and energy within the team.
1. What is the most important when it comes to managing people?
The understanding of the fact that music business, regardless of what you're doing, is highly diversified. For example, Russian consumer thinks, we are just organizing concerts, for French consumers we are those who sell CDs. I am the one who does not so much sell CDs anymore. We sell copyrights. We don't organize a lot of concerts but regardless of what you're doing in this business you have to understand one thing, first - it's a teamwork. Even if there is only one person on the stage, even if you write only name of the artist on the album - this product is made by a team.
2. What is the right way to chose people in this situation?
In this situation you should chose people in a way that you won't end up with an "electro technician effect". Do you remember this old story by Zoschenko, where an electro technician turned off the lights in the theater while there was a photo shoot, because he had to sit in the corner? That is why people that you choose have to understand several things: first, we are a team; second, we work on a project that can be called Madonna or Marilyn Manson or whatever. It is very important because modern music industry is a business. Let's differentiate an expensive restaurant from a fast-food. Of course, we all want to eat only in good restaurants, however, the turnover of an expensive restaurant even if by a miracle it will receive four Michelin stars can never be compared to the turnover of a fast-food. Modern music industry is a quality fast-food. I am absolutely convinced that we do not bring any sort of negative impact because, being teacher by first profession, I strongly believe that all problems with kids come from their families. I have been saying it since long time ago when I was a class teacher of kids who were maximum five years younger than me. I was saying to their parents, who were probably of my current age, that it is useless to blame the school, as it is useless to blame the mirror if the problem is actually with your face. And in my current position I can say that modern music industry doesn't have any negative impact on young generation even if it is a fast-food.
3. Yet, it's still a fast-food...
Yes, and eat it as fast-food. Everyday we have to deliver content taking into account that the model of how people access content has been changed. Before they were guided by someone's advices, someone's recommendations - music television, music radio stations, music magazines, therefore, the quantity of offers in the market has been limited enough. Because no matter what people say about majors - big music companies - that they are monsters and get in the way of creativity, but in the reality, simply the quantity of offers has always been limited enough, because one person can like five, maybe ten artists, but physically can't grow fond of fifty, the person won't even remember them all. Nowadays, since we have Internet and traditional music marketing - when you had to work hard to start selling - is fading, everything happens a lot faster. People become stars faster, projects become famous faster and as fast they are getting forgotten, accordingly, the quantity that has to be presented on the market is bigger. I will leave it to music critics to decide whether the quality is getting worst. But once again, it is useless to compare the menu of an expensive restaurant to the fast-food. I am absolutely aware of the fact that we are working in qualitative, healthy, civilized fast-food. And, for that reason, constant updating of content demands constant appearance of new artists or new songs and albums from already existing artists. And all this is working only if you have a good team.
4. What qualities this team should have?
This team should understand two things: first, the fact that we are working for someone doesn't humiliate us in any way. We are not maids or servants. We are working together on a project that is personified in some concrete person. Second point is that no one is more important than another, meaning that to the question: "Who is more important according to Zoschenko - electro technician or opera singer?" - We answer philosophically - both are equally important. They are absolutely interdependent. Another important thing is of course creativity and energy. Because regardless of the name of the project we always try to work on it together. Sometimes together with the artist we have creative meetings, where we propose new unusual steps, decisions for artist's promotion. And, again, Internet and other new communication tools have given to the artist the possibility to check on what is happening with their career. And, obviously, no one can hold themselves from starting to ask questions, and we cannot refuse to give the answers, saying it's none of your business. And, since we just spoke about teamwork, in that case, it's pointless to start arguing with team member about such things. Because there has to be dialog and teamwork. There has to be creativity, innovations and energy. Honestly, when I once had four free of work weekend days in a row I felt myself a little bit lost. And it is not a very hard job. We don't unload trucks with refrigerators. It is a nice job with a lot of fun and I absolutely love it. And when people ask me if my work is hard, I always say that yes, it's extremely hard but, in the mean time, it's absolutely wonderful.
5. What is the most important thing when working with artists?
When it comes to artists, long time ago I heard this saying "no matter where you kiss the artist - it is always ass". That's the way it sounds. And, actually, there are artists who live up to this saying and others who're proving that it's not true. We are trying to work with people who have chosen the way of creativity thoughtfully. Sometimes we understand that we've worked together, we helped the artist and he helped us. We are not the Ministry of culture that does something absolutely for free, and we are not the foundation to support Russian jazz or anything like this. We are always trying to get some profit from our partnership with the artist. However, sometimes we separate with the artist, when we understand that, unfortunately, we see the volume of monetization differently. Meaning, that at some point it becomes clear that yes, we have earned something but in the same time we would prefer to make a dollar instead of dime. There are artists who internally didn't tuned themselves to big success. And this is absolutely normal. There are big Hollywood movies and there are independent movies that somehow coexist. And there is the same situation in music. There are artists who want to become famous, who want to generate stadiums of fans, and there are artists who tuned themselves on halls of hundred people. We are trying to work with both but, obviously, as a company we want to make profit. We are commercial organization. Here, I always give an example that when I have meetings with bankers we speak the same language - rate of return, margin - these are my terms.
6. What qualities an artist should have in order to become successful?
Among talents we are searching for people who want to become successful. Obviously, in the age of eighteen everyone wants to be successful. All girls want the national football team to like them thanks to their voices, and boys would like the same thing with all the girls in court yard. The second point where we limit ourselves is that we want people to bring something extra to our mutual product, something theirs. That is why we always look with great pleasure at people who in soviet tradition were called artists authors, when the person besides some vocal talent has a talent to create something. And if with our help it will be converted to his or her personal, creative and financial success it is great. And, you know, any relationship with an artist is like family. Unfortunately, specifics of record labels do not allow monogamy, meaning that there has to be more than one artist. They all are always jealous of each other, no matter where they are here in Russia or in other countries. But, nevertheless, if the artist has this sort of creative background, if the artist has passed the period of formation as a composer, author, poet than more often it's possible to come to an agreement. Sooner or later person starts to trust you, listen to you and you start to speak in the same language.
7. What is the challenge for people who become successful?
Certainly, in this business external presentation is very important. Actually, if you'll take a closer look, you'll see that yellow press always existed, and people always wanted to know who is sleeping with whom rather than the place in charts. It is absolutely normal. I think yellow press always existed. Now it just became more accessible. That is why external presentation is very important. What is going on in our industry? People first want to get on headlines. They just want to get there. But, as you know, no one will put an unknown face on the cover or headline. At first, you have to be satisfied with 32nd page or even 132nd, and then step-by-step you will be moving upwards. Afterwards, they start liking it. They have some sort of enthusiasm, because we always try to do that on the accruing: offer some media occasions, and also, we do not manipulate people, because the story "I'm a Karabas-Barabas and these are all my Buratinos" in the end will end up like in fairytales - with the revolt and bankruptcy. That is why, of course, when we have a dialog with an artist we are trying to understand how we are going to work, we're asking a lot of questions, and more honestly our potential artist is responding, easier it will be in future.
8. Do really all artists like this hyper attention?
Most of them, obviously, like it. At first, they like that someone has noticed their talent, then, they'll start liking that people are paying attention to her "qualities" or his abdominals and all the rest, then, they are getting tired of it. And this exhaustion often comes a lot earlier than when it could be justified. It's all great, but when you become public figure you cannot do all these nasty little things that people do sometimes. Or under your own nickname you can't just chat on everything in the Internet. You have a lot more limitations. If you didn't like the new album of an artist who is more famous than you and you are friends with him on Twitter you have to tell him the words of respect and not the opposite. And all this is actually breaking them down, regardless of age. Obviously, if the person is nineteen-years-old all this is happing in a larger scale, but, believe me, if the person is thirty-years-old the problems that he's facing at this moment are not getting any better.
9. How can you help the person to overcome it?
Here you have to find an approach and explain that it's part of the job. Because some artists still believe that all this is about expensive limos, apartments in the center, stadiums full of fans and that's it. Some sort of wonderful, illusionary life. And no matter how many TV-series national TV-channels are making about alcoholic and broken artists - stereotype is still the same. And I think that every generation should pass through it. Anyway, it is not like this and, secondly, all of a sudden people start to understand that they have to work not only when they go out on stage. No matter how long your concert is, it can be even two hours, preparation for and the follow on it are taking a lot more time, with all the trips, preparations of the stage, etc., even if you just started and only using one guitar. People are not prepared to it, when they are just starting their career. They are not prepared because it is the first time they get into such situation, and they start feeling some sort of emotional emptiness. And they are saying, "yes, I'm ready to go on stage, but there are always interviews and everyone is asking the same questions, and how can I take it, and why are they asking about my break-up when I just wrote this great song" and so on. And this emptiness appears. Usually, it's a syndrome of second year. In marriage there is a syndrome of third year, and here it's the syndrome of second year. And, coming back to what we've said about team, here, we don't have professional psychologists and the mission of the team is to understand why is it happening and minimize it by any means. Minimize it for that particular person, by simply helping to understand that after you are going to gym your muscles hurt, but you're still going there with some clear intention. Unfortunately, it's part of the job.
10. And what's about need for flexibility and creativity crisis?
Second thing is that we have to understand who we should be working with and with whom - not; what offers we should accept and which we should reject. Because when you're no longer the "hero" of 32nd page but already 3rd or even 1st, then you can already decline some offers. On the other hand, we should not forget that a lot of artists are associated with our company and when declining someone's offer of 2nd page we may lose 132nd. And after one artist there will be another one because there are several of them in, let's call it, production. That is why we have to explain to the person we're working with why sometimes he has to do something that, in his opinion, is no longer of his "level". I guess, that the specifics.
Another story is connected to motivation for the creativity. It's quite an objective story. In the market people are paying attention to the songs. Song is playing - great, I like it. Since, unfortunately, the level of piracy in our country is quite high, money that have been put into this song will never be returned, unless you have a forty-minute/ten songs program and your artist is touring all around the place. But if you are working with the person who writes his own songs and who is quite critical in the choice of materials, then you may have a problem that after first big hit you don't have any other songs. And then, of course, you have to somehow get out of this situation. It's good if the person is writing himself but couple of times we have been stuck with such "poor" authors who were giving us secondary products - just nothing was happening. That's why in that moment you have to either understand that OK, he can write whatever he wants and it maybe will be of any use but it will not be prioritized in work with the artist, we will have to search some material, and show this material to the artist, especially, if he is of a kind who can say "no, I will sing only my own songs". Because, he just can't write anymore. Sometimes that happens even if the person wrote one big genius song. I may be wrong, but I think that there is no even one average person in Russia who knows other songs of Eagles apart from Hotel California. On the other hand, in States they are award-winning band with 39 other great hits. This is a good example. Maybe one song could be enough earlier but, unfortunately, not now.
11. Should we take the stars' public lifestyle for real or is it just a part of the game?
There has to be healthy, a little ironic spirit in the team, because if people start to "play stars" here, than it means that we didn't get the right balance. Even we sometimes are taking limos, showing off brand clothes, etc. It's absolutely normal for certain situations but you should never forget that it's just a game. It's an important part of the job, it's a game. That's why in some moments you become a clown. You are demonstrating some clown tricks but at some point you are expected to do it. That's why inside the team there has to be respect, it should not be like as if we are sort of servants under some genius. Another story is that if someone here wants to demonstrate his ego, and sometimes it can be even electro technician, than it becomes clear that they got too much into the game. Here, inside the team we know exactly who is really who. Working well together? Yes, of course there is a process of getting to know each other. Sometimes it becomes clear that in order to make the project work we have to replace one person by another. Because people which are working together with the artist and it doesn't even matter who the artist is, it can be musician, or agent for some movie, or theater actor, should have respectful relationship. If you like the artist than it would be great but here it comes to the story that if you like the music - listen to it at home. We have to respect the person for what he's doing. And if the person feels this respect than it actually becomes most important motivation for those who are truly talented, or at least for those who have something to say. OK, let's not call it "real talents". It's quite a tricky category. If the person has something to say and is not doing boring stuff each year, than it's great and we will try to help him.
