STEVE BARTELS: THE ART OF THE CROSSOVER MOVE

By his own admission, Steve Bartels is highly excitable. “I always have a lot of energy; that’s my style,” he says, speaking rapidly into the phone from his New York office. That’s a good thing because, as CEO of Def Jam Recordings, Bartels oversees a roster that includes such big talents and equally big personalities as Kanye West (“Every time I talk to him, I learn something new,” Bartels says), Frank Ocean, Justin Bieber and Iggy Azalea, as well as up-and-comers like YG, August Alsina, Jhené Aiko and Alessia Cara, of whom Taylor Swift recently tweeted, “You’re amazing!”

In April 2014, UMG dissolved the Island Def Jam Music Group, deposing its head Barry Weiss and separating the Def Jam, Island and Motown labels. For Bartels, who formerly worked at A&M, Arista and Island, the change led to his re-organizing of the team while simultaneously pressing the pedal to the metal in a determined effort to revitalize the iconic label founded by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons in 1984.

With new albums expected by the end of 2015 or in early 2016 from West, Ocean, Bieber and Rihanna—who’s now a Roc Nation artist but will still be worked by Bartels’ team—the veteran exec talked to HITS about the new acts on his label, his team and how his background as a DJ helps make him a better record company head.

Let’s start with a subject everyone is talking about. What are your initial thoughts on Apple Music?
When a company with a war chest like Apple makes a significant investment in music, it’s ultimately a win for everybody. How that all sorts out, I’m still waiting to see. Any thought that goes into how people can be exposed to more music, I’m all for it.

What effect do you think Apple Music will have on Spotify in the U.S?
That’s still to be determined, but these services each have their own business model. Tidal has a cool business model; it just needs some time. All these services increase the importance of music, which is obviously a very good thing.

As a former DJ as well as well as a major-label head, what’s your assessment of Beats 1 so far? Do you think it has the potential to move the needle, and if so, in what ways?
I’ve always loved when programmers are governed by passion, creativity, gut and daring to be different. Beats 1’s unique and adventurous perspective, from their free-form playlists to their all-star on-air talent, is proving to be noteworthy and inspiring. We’re still waiting to see how spins will be categorized in terms of rotation category. But if Beats 1 continues in its current trajectory, there will also be the opportunity for listeners to catch new artists front and center in a unique manner.

Moving to your world, are you where you want to be 15 months after IDJ was split up?
I think we’re in the place where we are now moving forward. You have to understand that when you pull apart companies that have been together for such a long period of time, with the artists’ relationships you’ve formed, and they go to another company, you have to then grow the label forward. It isn’t like all of sudden there’s this unique moment where it’s “OK! Everything’s fine!” You have to take a real hard look at what the game plan is, assessing the landscape and allowing some of the artists to come forward, as well as making sure your top-line stories continue to hit their own trajectories. The way I see it, we’re still in that process.

Is Def Jam’s standalone status a minus or a plus?
We have a full-service label. We’ve had to touch a couple of points along the way; obviously, hiring Faisel Durrani as our new Executive VP and GM has been a great step forward to help the processes and enhance the center of the company, and that’s something that we didn’t really have here before, so those things are starting to come together.

What’s your working relationship with Lucian Grainge and Michele Anthony?
When I’m in LA, I meet with Lucian to go over objectives and strategies, and we stay in touch with conference calls. When Michele is in town, she attends department meetings and is a great resource.

What are you looking forward to as the label moves into Q3 and Q4 of 2015?
Since the split, what we’ve really tried to nurture here is Rick and Russell’s philosophy when they started this company over 30 years ago—a true independent spirit of artist development. If you look at the artists who broke through just last year—Jhené Aiko, Logic, YG, August Alsina, Iggy Azalea—that’s now moving into this year’s growth with our new artists like Alessia Cara, Vince Staples and Lil Durk, so we’re having some great moments with the artists. We have a roster of celebrated superstar artists as well. Some of them are working on their seventh or eighth albums, but the artist development process in conjunction with that is very exciting for me and the whole team here.

What mandate have you given Dion “No ID” Wilson [pictured at left] about growing the label?
No ID and I probably speak five or six times a day, sometimes 10 times a day. We talk about everything in the company in terms of the creative part of the process, and we back-and-forth each other on what we’re signing, what we’re working on, what we have to deliver, choosing the singles and the back-end information. The addition of Faisel, who helps with the process of delivering the trains to the station, allows me to be more free-spirited and big-picture, to be able to go out and take care of our artists in the comprehensive way that they’re looking for, and the same for Dion in terms of getting great music made.

You’ve signed Alesso and Axwell Λ Ingrosso in the last year, moving you deeper into EDM.
We signed them through our relationship with [ATM’s] Amy Thompson, who worked on Kanye’s Yeezus with me here at Def Jam. Kanye had hired her as a creative consultant. Frankly, for Def Jam, it doesn’t make any sense not to be in that business in the right way. Def Jam’s always stood for respecting the DJs over the years—the logo of the company is a tonearm and a turntable, after all. So I felt it was a great fit for us. We already had Afrojack here, and we saw the move as a nice opportunity to put the big machine behind some really high-quality artists.

A lot of people think DJs are the superstars now.
I’m about great music and quality artists, but I’m also about having patience, and when you have those three things together, anything is possible. The touring business is at an all-time high now. The challenge is, how do we connect ourselves to that, and how do we actually do that the right way where we can provide value for someone who may not have had a label behind them in the past, but they’re like machines on their own? Of course, Axwell Λ Ingrosso have had tremendous success being part of Swedish House Mafia, but in general, it’s just a matter of continuity.

Are you getting a piece of their touring?
We’re in a good business situation with the guys, but I can’t get into what pieces we have or don’t have.

What’s going on musically with Justin Bieber?
Bieber’s got a great song out right now with Diplo and Skrillex, “Where Are Ü Now.” It’s given him an opportunity to try something creatively that he really wanted to do. Scooter Braun, his manager, and I talked about that a lot, and I think it’s setting him up nicely for his upcoming moves. I’ve heard new music; it’s really good, and that serves to take some of the pressure off of him. He’s been in a fishbowl, with everybody trying to figure out what he’s going to do next, and when new music is coming. I have high hopes for that this year.

In addition to Justin, Iggy Azalea seems to be having some public growing pains. What did you think when you heard she was canceling the fall tour after having postponed it from the spring?
I think it was more of a timing issue. She’s working on new music right now. She’s extremely talented, so going out there with new music and touring behind it is obviously the right play. It’s been a long, grueling process for her, and she’s eager to get in the studio and start recording her next project. Once that all comes together, I’m confident everyone will completely understand.

In addition to Amy and ATM, you have relationships with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music and Jay Z’s Roc Nation. Are you looking to partner with more labels, or do you want to develop more in house?
I’d like to do both. Certainly, we want to develop our in-house artists, and we have an outstanding A&R staff that’s brought some great artists to the table. When there’s a creative partner who wants to work with us on an artist, I’m open to that as well, as long as it’s artist-development-friendly, has iconic potential and is culturally forward-looking. That’s our mantra.

Def Jam is very strong in R&B, rap and urban pop. Are you interested in expanding more into rock or pure pop?
I’m interested in expanding in the right way. You can’t just hang your shingle up and say you’re in a particular genre; you have to show why you’re there. Some artists actually deliver in those areas—Bieber certainly did, and I strongly believe Alessia Cara is going to be very potent in the next six months.

You picked up Leona Lewis for the U.S. following her departure from RCA and after Island U.K. signed her. What about her made you feel she belonged on the roster?
I always felt she was talented and had something to say. And when [producer/songwriter] Toby Gad came in and played me some music early on, I was blown away. The two of them together are a perfect fit. They get each other; they write and produce together; she has her point of view. I think that when you hear the music, you’re really going to understand what I’m saying.

Mariah Carey left Def Jam to reunite with L.A. Reid at Epic. Is that a better fit for her and what lesson did you learn from her last album, Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse, which did not perform as well commercially as hoped.
I had great success with Mariah in my career. In 2005, we had an amazing win together with The Emancipation of Mimi. But when she made the decision, as we did together, to [move to Epic], I understood it was something she needed to do. Mariah and L.A. have a great relationship, so I think [reuniting with Reid] was what she was looking for at that point in time. Whenever we see each other, it’s very warm. We have a great history together. Mariah has never shied away from growing as an artist and experimenting with new collaborators. I have the deepest respect for her legacy and talent.

You come from a promo background. Does terrestrial radio still feel important to you?
Terrestrial radio is extremely important, and we look at our social, digital, marketing and publicity initiatives as a wellspring of information for terrestrial radio in terms of getting things to a point of familiarity, and then crossing that airplay back into our marketing push. Radio is a central part of our overall marketing strategy and will continue to be.

Much of Lucian’s focus is on data collection and analytics and the value those tools have. What about you?
My focus is very much on data and analytics. Shazam provides us with a strong tool. I look at many different aspects. I have people here who feed us great data—conversion-ratio information, where consumers are buying in from, what people are telling us. And that really helps us—it gives us great information to go back to the artist with. So whether it’s Shazam, sales or streaming info, or how many playlists an artist is on, all of that information is useful to us.

How do you make sure that the data doesn’t overrule your gut instinct
Working with Jay Z, L.A. Reid and Clive Davis over the years—and now Dion—has given me such a sense of the value of your gut. It makes you want to take chances on things, to take a shot. There’s a strong argument to be made for data as part of your overall strategy—but not as the sole strategy.

You worked with Clive at Arista. What’s the most important thing that he taught you?
He gave me an opportunity that is very hard to get in today’s business: He pulled me out of an area of expertise—I was working in promotion at A&M—and he gave me a job working next to him that allowed me to learn every aspect of a music company inside and out. That experience provided me with aptitude and knowledge that I wouldn’t have gotten if I had stayed in one area of discipline. I look back on our time together very fondly.

How do you think your background as a DJ helps you do your job today?
The DJ job was great because I worked in clubs until 4 or 5 in the morning, so hanging out with artists late at night comes naturally to me now, because I’ve done it my whole life. There’s a certain energy and flow in DJing. Part of what happens in the nightclub is you want to turn the club over so that the bar does a lot of business. And I constantly look at myself and at our team and ask myself, how do we move the room so more people come to it? How are we getting the message out? •