SAM RIBACK ON GRAMMY NIGHT, O-ROD AND STEERING CLEAR OF THE TRAPS
Sam Riback doesn’t stop. After flying straight from Vegas to Portland for the opening night of Olivia Rodrigo’s first tour, Interscope Geffen A&M’s Co-Head of A&R hops on the phone with HITS. Before he steps backstage, he discusses Geffen breakout O-Rod’s earth-shattering year and Best New Artist win, Darkroom/Interscope star Billie Eilish’s back-to-back awards-show looks and what the future holds. Considering how we had to badger him into an interview, we’re sure our future holds a restraining order.
How was Grammy night?
Vegas was a lot of fun. Some people were wishing it was in Los Angeles, but they switched it up and I thought they did a really nice job. Trevor Noah was great. It moved and flowed really well. The pace of it just felt way on point. It was so rewarding to share such a great night with our artists and partners, especially Olivia, Gaga and Billie. They are three incredibly diverse and strong female voices in this industry, and their talent and mutual respect was on full display at the Grammys. It made me really proud of the work everyone at IGA does.
Olivia won Best New Artist in unprecedented times. What’s more, in a category that has a loose definition of the word “new,” she actually zoomed to stardom with her very first single. Explain the significance of that.
I was talking to Olivia today about this award and just how much she has accomplished in a little over a year since SOUR came out. We released this project all throughout the pandemic. She was signed in the pandemic. The album was made in the pandemic. A large portion of her development and career has gone down without a lot of the things that usually happen in a traditional campaign. The entire time this body of music has been in the world, she hasn’t been able to feel the full energy of the fan experience and the communal nature of live shows. So the fact that it’s purely her art that led to this culmination is just amazing.
How has breaking an artist like Olivia changed in the last two years?
Some principles change; some stay the same. With Olivia, it’s all about her talent. She has every one of the classic principles that fuel the most special artists. As much as people want to look to a reinvention of some sort of wheel—and what we did totally differently—I go back to the songwriting ability, which is second to none, the pitch-perfect vocal skill and her charismatic personality. They’re the tried-and-true things that we, as A&R people and labels, look for—and Olivia has them all.
Sure, there was some trickiness with the amount of studio time we could spend, sending music back and forth via the Internet and talking about things from a distance, but it was relatively seamless as far as albums go. And since people weren’t really out and about, Olivia and Dan [Nigro, her co-writer/producer] were able to focus on writing. It was a unique time period. She didn’t have to go to all these various places and countries to promote the music. She could just go all in on putting together the album, working with [IGA EVP/Head of Visual] Michelle An on the creative team, digging into the visual representations and videos, actualizing SOUR Prom and everything we built.
What are your thoughts after her and Gaga’s wins?
We were fortunate to have multiple artists nominated in various categories. Just look at the cultural importance of “driver’s license” and SOUR; there’s not a generation that wasn’t touched by them. It’s an amazing feat for a brand new artist to win three Grammys with a debut album. SOUR came out in May of 2021!
We couldn’t be happier for Gaga and Tony Bennett, who made yet another timeless album; it’s amazing to see this work rewarded. Gaga’s performance was truly beautiful and honored her and Tony’s special friendship. There were a lot of great talents this year, and they also expanded the categories from eight to 10—which is interesting when you think about how that might have shaken out the vote.
What’s next for Olivia? Is there any talk of new music or is she going to take a break from that process while she tours?
She’s always writing and thinking about concepts. I don’t think that ever stops. Before she hit the road, she had already started working on some things. But now that she’s finally out of awards season, I think she’ll be able to live some life and have some fun with the touring experience—and probably generate a bunch of new ideas by being out there. Her writing muscle is always working.
What’s the secret to continued success in the industry these days? Billie completely dodged a sophomore slump. Happier Than Ever was critically adored—and I’m sure Olivia has the chops to knock it out of the park again—but the second album is always daunting.
Olivia’s just one of those artists who, herself, sets the bar so high. Despite whatever pressure she’s feeling—or whatever motivation there is around her to deliver the best second album—she will rise to the occasion. There’s no outside influence that’s going to coerce the best second record out of her. Olivia has so much drive and dedication that I have no doubt she'll avoid those traps. The fact that she’s already focused on what she wants to accomplish with the second record—and thinking about how she’s going to achieve that—shows me she cares enough to make sure that what she does next is of real significance.
Traps? What kind of traps?
For one, you always hear that saying, “You have your whole life to write the first album, and you have a year to make your second.” Artists can lose track of the process—of how they got there in the first place. I don’t feel any of these concerns with Olivia as she has such an amazing knack for rising to every occasion. Her second album will be no different. As a songwriter and all-around creative, her artistry will lead the way.
Billie had a huge couple of weeks, with her Oscar win and big performances on both awards shows.
I know Billie is beyond proud of what this album represents to her and this period in her life. The album is titled Happier Than Ever, and I think she really is the happiest I’ve ever seen her in her career. To see Billie and FINNEAS win an Oscar the Sunday before and then give such a standout performance at the Grammys just cemented that they’re here for years to come. They’re reaching new heights creatively and continually being honored by their peers—while remaining incredibly gracious.
What are you focusing on now? Are you signing a lot?
We’ve got a lot of great music. Cuco just finished making an album in Mexico City, which is exciting. We have incredible new albums from Role Model, Alexander 23, Jawny and Dermot Kennedy coming. FINNEAS is starting to make some new music, and I’m thrilled to dig in with him and see what his next musical journey will be.
We are really excited about new signings like Glaive, Ericdoa and Midwxst, who have all been collaborating, touring and building a nice scene together. The culture they are creating feels like the next big movement.
