GETSIGNED.COM PRESENTS AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LUKE WOOD, A & R, DREAMWORKS What kind of artists attract you? What are you looking for? I am completely excited by and attracted
to songwriting. Whatever the genre of music the artists are working
in or whatever they're trying to accomplish, the heart of what I'm looking
for is songwriting. So whether it's heavy metal or hip hop or indie
rock I completely listen to progression and lyric. That, to me, is where
it all starts and ends. Do you have some sort of a checklist for when you're looking at a
band? Things in particular that you are looking for? No. To me it all starts with songwriting and gut. The same thing
from when I was twelve years old and my sister gave me Talking Heads
'77. For some reason, I had been listening to REO Speedwagon and Rush,
and suddenly I heard this record and had these weird goosebumps. I still
go off of the exact same sensation. I listen to music. I don't talk
on the phone all day. I don't just ask, "what's happening, what's
selling there?" I'm not research driven. I listen to music. And
so for me, I start to get that feeling like, "wow, that progression's
really turning me on and the melody's exciting me, the lyric's drawing
me in or saying something interesting." That's where it starts
and from there I start to look at other factors such as, is it a band?
Is it essentially a songwriter? Is there an audience for it now? Is
it too early? Would this be the right home for them? For me signing
a band is like a marriage. It's a very serious long-term commitment
and the bands aren't employees of record labels, they're partners. It's
a contractual partnership and so I really take that relationship very
seriously. Before I dive into something, do they like me? Do I like
them? Do they understand how I approach breaking artists and how I believe
records, their records, ultimately should reach people? Do I fully understand
what they want to accomplish in their career? Are we on the same page
basically? To me it's also really about personality at that point. Do you think that, being a musician yourself, you are more sensitive
to an artist? Completely. Absolutely. I had a very informal development deal with
Chrysalis in the eighties and I was signing artists to Geffen Records
in the nineties, so I've been involved with two major labels. I really
know the up side and I know the down side and I think having been signed,
having been making music and working with the two so much, I really
understand how much is on the line when an artist makes music. It's
not a casual thing, it's a really big deal. And I know that signing
to a label is your chance. That's your shot. Your first record is [made
up of] songs that you've been writing your whole life and it's a vehicle
for all your dreams and aspirations and you can't take that lightly.
And I think people sometimes in this business do take it lightly. Like,
you know I'd really like to make a record somewhere else or you know,
well that didn't work and three weeks later they're moving on. Because
I've been an artist and watched that happen from the other side I will
never allow that to happen to my artists. When you hear a band that you like what kind of process do you go
through? Do you go out and see them live or do you call them? I call them up. I work with a lot of people here who do go see a
lot of bands play live. I'll go out a fair amount. I generally will
call someone up when I hear something that is great and just talk to
them about their music and really say, you know, "I love that song.
What's going on there?" And just sort of talk about their music.
Then usually they'll say what they're doing with their career and they're
playing this show, that tour, they have this seven inch out, they want
to do this, they have this opportunity, etc. I usually call the artist
directly. I don't really go through all the industry machinery. It's
about calling up the songwriter or the drummer and saying, "You
know, man, that records great!" And sometimes it's not even about
signing them ever or in the next six months or in the next year. It's
just that I'm a real fan. You know, it's like let me know what you're
doing. It's not always driven by this is the first step towards doing
a demo. And then, alright we do a demo, am I going to sign you? Or am
I going to fly you to It depends on the genre. If you're looking at a hip hop artist or
a pop crossover, no, not at all. If you're looking at something that's
a rock and roll band, completely. There's a lot of things you can almost
get away with in production in terms of faking. But you can't fake [out]
a live audience. You need to feel that these people really believe in
what they're saying and are really in it because they love music. I
want people who all they care about is their vision or their song. It's
not about "getting signed." It's about making music. Who do you think who's out right now has good songwriting skills?
Who do you like? That is a really difficult question! (laughs) Is there anyone? People
are always writing good songs. Truth is, songs generally get on the
radio because they're good pop songs. The Smashmouth song that was a
hit was a good pop song. That hook was undeniable. There's plenty of
songs like that. The Harvey Danger song that we're hearing now, that's
a well-written song. It's a hook. I haven't heard the record but that
song is really good. How many artists have you personally signed in
the past month or so? I have signed two artists in the past year and
a half. Who are they? A band called Creeper Lagoon and a songwriter
named Elliot Smith. And was it the songwriting that drew you to them?
Completely. All about the songwriting. And I tend to actually talk to
artists for a really long time. I'm not someone who gets something,
falls in love with the record and says, "I want to put this out.
Let's go!" You know, call them next week. Like I said, it's such
a long term commitment. I actually became aware of Elliot Smith back
in 1993. The first time I was aware of Creeper Lagoon was 1995. I work
with people. I try to work with them creatively, talk to them a lot
about what they're doing and let the band grow. So that when they're
at the point that they're working with Dreamworks or any major label
we really have something to offer their careers. It's not premature.
A major label is not generally the place to actually learn how to play
a live show. You shouldn't be doing your first tour supporting your
major label debut. If you're doing that, something's really wrong. I
signed a band called Girls Against Boys with Jim Barber to Geffen when
I used to be at Geffen and that was a band that had already been together
for ten years. How long is it usually between the time that you're interested in
a band and the time that you actually sign them? Honestly? (laughs) It averages out to about a year and a half. I'm gonna bum
people out! They're going to really love that! (laughing) Yeah, he called
me and I've only got eighteen months to go! Exactly! And one thing that
it's really important to articulate is that it's not any conceit on
my part or a power trip or a feeling as though I've got plenty of time
so they can wait. It's really about that I'm fortunate that I get interested
in music really early. I'm not interested in stuff that's already produced.
It's a done record, they're shopping a finished record. Do you want
to put it out? All that stuff usually just doesn't connect with me.
I'm usually more drawn to the weird four-song demo or the seven inch
or seeing some band open up for someone on a Tuesday night in Is 'overnight success' a myth? I think overnight success is certainly possible because we're right
now in such a track-driven environment and in radio there's no heritage,
no loyalty. It's all about their quarterly book and driving their ad
sales. And so obviously, you know, if you have that one song that connects
with a lot of people like Matchbox 20 did with their first song, then....
But the problem is that bands can't focus on that one track as a vehicle
because one in a thousand is going to be the quick road to financial
security and opportunities to tour and things like that. Ultimately
that is very short-sighted. I think artists should always try to build
careers because you're going to have a catalog of records to sell; you're
going to tour and make income that way. You're going to actually sell
merchandising because you're going to have a fan base. That is the fundamental
economics of our business that I think a.) makes the most sense for
record labels and artists and b.) it is the most rewarding for artists
because then they get to do what they're doing for a long time and really
reach a lot of people. So somebody can have overnight success but I
don't think that should be the goal because what happens after that
can be pretty scary. Which would you rather have – a band that will sell a lot of albums
on their first release and maybe be forgotten the next one or a band
that sells modestly over a few albums but has a strong following? Let's say Band A sells 3 million records on their first release and
then does 1 million and then disappears versus Band B which does 50,000
then 150,000 then 500,000 then 700,000 then 1 ½ million. I'll take Band
B any day. It seems like now more labels are going for the Band A scenario. Do you think that Dreamworks, as a label, is looking more for Band
B or just you? Dreamworks is looking for careers. We're a young label and we're
only as good as our artists and I think everyone here shares that ideology.
You know, this company is being built by David Geffen who was always
about artists and Mo Ostin who founded Warner Bros.' Reprise, basically,
and built it. [We also have] Lenny Waronker who built that company with
So you're not under pressure like a lot of A&R people are to
find that one quick hit? No. I'm under pressure to find the slow-build band. Which is why
I sign very few. I have to have that I-can't-sleep-at-night-feeling
over an artist. If I hear something that I think will go on the radio,
but it's not keeping me up at night and not giving me goosebumps, then
I won't sign it. And even if it's something that's already on the radio,
I won't make that just pure financial decision. You know, ultimately
the kind of deal I make for my Artists is for a decade. I have to make
sure that I'm still willing to fight every possible fight to do what's
best for them ten years later. What is the most challenging thing about being in A&R? Finding things that give me that "feeling." I can only
speak for myself and I only hope that other people like what I like.
That's all I can do. It's as simple as that. I'm really fortunate to
have a job where I'm working with new artists and I'm around music all
the time. But I don't pretend to know what everyone in the country should
be listening to or what should go on the radio. I hope I know songwriting.
That's what I hope I ultimately know. Are you currently scouting for talent on the Internet? Yep, quite a bit. I've always been a big fan of using new technology
and making it work for whatever you're doing. As soon as I read something
interesting about a band I'll go do an AltaVista search on it immediately.
I don't listen to [streaming] music because I'm not that fond of the
current delivery systems for music online. Although it's fine if it's
going through my stereo. I don't think it's fair for a band to spend
five weeks recording three songs and then it gets compressed down to
hearing it through mono. Generally the delivery is not suitable and
I know from the side of me that makes records and also having been a
musician it's not fair to judge somebody based on that. I'm more likely
to give them a call. I'll read about them and then say, "I'd love
to hear your record, can I buy it somewhere?" Or I most often will
just buy records myself. Most artists have no idea that I'll just go
right to CD Now and just buy something. So I don't feel a need to get
things for free or to raise someone's expectations by always calling
them up at home. Besides the internet and seeing bands play live, how else do you
get turned on to new artists? Well, I might hear about them initially from a print magazine or
I'll hear about them from a promoter in Luke, what kind of trends do you see emerging right now in popular
music? I think music right now is somewhat in-flux and in transition and
because of that it's a really exciting time. I don't think there's any
particular dominant trend. I mean, right now if you look at sales it's
really predominantly urban music and soundtracks, but everything is
cyclical and works in phases. I still think there's a lot of good rock
and roll out there and there's a lot of good urban music that's not
being played on radio and there's a lot of things that are always popping
up when you least expect it. So I don't think there's a certain genre
of music that I think in the next three years is going to be big or
a certain sound that is going to come back. I do think there are perennial
things. I think you'll always have rock and roll. You'll always have
hard rock, which there seems to be a lack of at the moment, but that's
something that I think is always going to speak to people and I certainly
miss it right now. So I think the band's that are succeeding are the
ones that are saying, this is what excites me. I want to make this music
rather than worrying that they don't sound like what's on the radio
right now because I think the original is always the best. Can you give us an idea of what a typical advance for a new rock
band is like? I really can't because it depends on the deal and the environment
in which a band is signed. Basically, the idea of a record deal is that
the advance, hopefully, will allow them to pay off some debts and to
live for a while and to make a record. You can make a record with anything
from $10,000 to half a million dollars, so really it depends on what
is appropriate for that band--what they need and also the environment
in which they're signed. How competitive it is, what genre. Obviously,
it costs more to make certain records than other kinds of records. A
three piece band that is doing very straight up rock and roll and plays
a lot live can make a pretty quick record as opposed to someone who
wants to go with a famous producer and is just a singer with some songs
and they want to make this electronica record that may take longer.
Or they may want a 60-piece orchestra, you know? It depends really.
To me it's all driven by the music. If the music needs a 60-piece orchestra
than it gets one and that's expensive. If it just needs to be a quick
record made in their hometown because they need something to tour on
and they want to build off that and wait a year before they make a more
commercial record then that's cool, too. Are bands usually responsible for their studio time or does that
come out of their advance? The standard is that studio time is paid for out of the recording
advance. It's an advance on the recording fund. So the entire session
recording from pre-production through mastering is paid for out of the
recording fund which is advanced to the band and administered by the
record company, but sometimes it's administered by the band. It really
depends on the situation. You also pay the producer, you pay recording
fees, tapes, rentals, and travel. Do you recommend that bands get management and other people in their
"team" together early or do you think that that is something
they should wait on until later in their careers? I think the ideal approach is to try to build as much as you possibly
can without management and without an attorney in terms of the first
year of so of a band's life. I don't believe any band should form on
July 1 and say to themselves, "by next summer of '99, we'll have
a record deal and we'll be in the studio." Occasionally that happens
and sometimes it's the right thing but it's a lot of work and what you
develop by touring and by playing together as musicians and getting
to know one another only helps you make a better record. The Beatles
played two sets a day in _________________________________________________________________________________ |