Joel Klaiman
Joel Klaiman is a product of that hot group of Alternative promo execs that cut their teeth in the nineties when Mod Rock was all the rage. Klaiman was also a part of a more select sub-group of the same crew who advanced up the promo chain of command to the top slot. Today, Klaiman leads a newly re-tooled Universal Republic’s promo squad, a team who already claims premium victories breaking artists like Hinder, Amy Winehouse and Colbie Caillat.
Fresh from Syracuse University in 1990, Joel Klaiman started his music industry career working for Frank DiLeo Management. Klaiman’s first label job was born out of his gig with DiLeo, landing at Savage Records where he was dubbed the Alternative guy at a time when the Alternative format was taking the industry by storm.
In ’93, Joel slid over to EastWest Records in the Alt department and a subsequent merger with Elektra found Joel continuing to ride the Mod Rock wave as VP/Alternative. In ’96 it was off to the Sony building. He started as VP/Alternative for 550 Music and ten years later departed as Epic EVP/Promotion.
In the spring of 2006, when the Universal labels split, Universal Republic head honcho Monte Lipman came calling and appointed Klaiman SVP Promotion & Artist Development.
eQB presents excerpts from the FMQB October Magazine Cover Story featuring Universal Republic SVP/Promotion & Artist Development Joel Klaiman
On the Alternative promotion environment he was reared on in the nineties…
At that time Alternative stations had tremendous ratings. You could break a record pretty quickly with format leaders like KROQ, KNDD, 91X, Q101, WBCN and ’FNX. It was a time when Alternative stations were playing a lot of new music. This environment was great for anyone in Alternative promotion during that time period.
On lessons learned early on from that promotion environment…
The thing I learned most was the value of small victories. It didn’t matter what size market, if you had success and got something to react, you could spread it. It was a real starting point for a lot of those artists and careers. The Alternative format was selling a lot of music at that time, and it became a great launching pad for some big Pop acts.
On the opportunity to work in Pop promotion at Sony…
At the end of last decade, Alternative began to lose a little ground. (550 Music President) Polly Anthony recognized that I was doing a good job and realized I could work in other formats. We also had a lot of Pop artists we were working at the time. I was fortunate to help break Celine Dion,Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Polly and (550 SVP/Promo) Hilary Shaev, asked me to jump in the Pop world and I was glad to do it. I loved it.
On the differences in promoting Pop vs. Alternative…
At the time Alternative wasn’t as hit oriented as it is today. Granted they were looking for hit records, but not as they are today. If you had some credibility from a producer or some touring or press, you could get a launch at Alternative. At Pop, I learned pretty quickly, it was really all about the hit record. Was it a hit or not? It seemed like you can orchestrate a Pop hit pretty quickly with the right song. Whereas at Alternative it was a little bit harder sometimes to get entrenched and accepted at radio without some of the cred.
On the furious pace of the Sony building…
That building has always moved at a very fast pace. Some of the best promotion people have come out of that building. The leaders at the time, whether it was Tommy Motolla, Donnie Ienner or Polly Anthony, all had experience in promotion. And at the promo exec levels, with the likes ofJerry Blair and Charlie Walk, you saw the tenacity in their promotion style. They had all come up through the ranks there, myself included. So you learn that in order to survive day to day you need to quickly adopt that same fierceness. It’s practically bred in the building.
On the most pronounced changes in promotion over the past five years…
It just feels like it’s harder than ever at radio today. A lot of it has to do with callout and the way callout is being used, and the limitations of programmers on taking chances. There are fewer slots at radio. I understand there’s more pressure than ever to deliver at radio during a time when listenership may be down somewhat. We are experiencing similar pressure. The two industries are looking over their shoulders in some ways. That’s not the healthiest environment to be creative.
On the changes in the label promo model…
The independent promo model has definitely changed drastically. Much of the old model was counter-productive to the fostering of credible relationships, but there was also a portion that was constructive. There were some real relationships out there that could help accelerate your read on a record and identify if you had a hit. Couple this with today’s layered corporate programming structure equating to programmers having a lot of people looking over their shoulders infringing on the decision making process.
This has really led to the most significant of the changes, the art of taking chances. It’s practically been eliminated.
On the importance of presenting some kind of base to radio before a serious radio campaign…
More than ever radio looks for those stories, and challenges you to bring them a story. It’s so competitive. There’s so many records being worked and when it gets down to a few precious slots each week a story makes a big difference. We try very often to do that, but at times you can’t. Sometimes you have to create it and have that talk and be open about it: ‘I may not have the ultimate story here, but you love this song and we feel great about it. Let’s create a story together.’ You can’t do it every time, so you need to make it count.
On the heavy emphasis on callout research by radio…
I would love to see radio use callout less especially as technology changes making the methodology less precise. I hear a lot of times: ‘Well, we’re not doing music this week because I won’t have callout ’til next week.’ The record community would like to see more gut involved especially when there’s an incredible story in your own market. Why wait for callout to dictate whether you can make a decision or not.
On the most misunderstood aspects of his job as perceived by programmers…
That we’re always asking, expecting and wanting something from them. Oftentimes, it may be just about the information. What’s the feedback on some of the records on the air? What’s important to them? What kind of promotions do they have upcoming. It’s not always about right here right now. Depending on the station and the way that programmer was trained; some are smart and look to work well with the labels. Others kind of put their arm out and try to keep their distance, which I think is not the right approach, especially when both industries have some health issues.
On the one thing he would change about the record/radio relationship…
Accessibility. I feel we do a good job of communicating with radio at virtually every station. There are a few standouts that are just inaccessible, and sometimes ‘no’ is a better answer than no answer at all. Think of how much wasted time would be eliminated with the number of calls and emails you have to put into a single station.
On the Universal Republic approach to A&R…
It’s no secret that (President) Monte Lipman looks to see what the marketplace is doing, and between Monte, (SVP) Avery Lipman and (SVP/A&R) Tom Mackay, we have an excellent A&R brain trust.Looking at records and watching everything from all the possible online activity, radio activity, myspace, you name it, and their gut weighs heavily as well. But if you look at our artist projects from when the labels were split, they’ve hit doubles, triples and homeruns – whether it’sBaby Boy, Shop Boyz, Amy Winehouse, Colbie Caillet or Hinder. In breaking three new artists, we are very happy with our first eighteen months
On how Monte Lipman has influenced his perspective on the business…
Given all the negative energy that has surrounded our business, Monte has a “no-victim” attitude. That to me is completely refreshing, because there are people who are out there who feel victimized by the ongoing struggles of the business. Monte will just never let that happen. It’s always about a new approach, finding another idea, a different idea. It’s great to have complete support from somebody in his role.
** QB Content by Fred Deane **
