A TASTE OF RAINMAKERS 2024: MONTE AND AVERY LIPMAN

We conducted the following interview with Monte and Avery Lipman after their Republic label’s blockbuster 2023. Since then, they’ve expanded their reach as the heads of UMG’s REPUBLIC CORPS, the label group that includes their own label and affiliated Mercury, Imperial and other imprints as well as Island (which itself has had a stunningly great year) and Def Jam.

Since this conversation, Taylor Swift has dropped the juggernaut album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT and Post Malone delivered his country monster F-1 Trillion, while Jelly Roll—thanks to a pact with Jon Loba’s Broken Bow—turned in his first set for the company; meanwhile, Morgan Wallen (via Seth England’s Big Loud), The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Noah Kahan, Metro Boomin’s projects with Future and Swift’s catalog have continued to put big points on the board and Island stars Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan have run the table. As the opening of the company’s new Nashville office underscores, Republic has quickly become a force in Music City, with country music at its hottest temp in ages. All of which has given the CORPS a commanding lead in current label market share. Indeed, a recent HITS Top 50 with seven titles in the Top 10 under the Lipmans’ umbrella was not terribly unusual.

The Lipmans, as students of the biz are aware, started the label in 1995, drawing up plans at the dining-room table of their tiny apartment on NYC’s Upper East Side. We asked the brothers about the secret sauce of their success, the state of the biz, streaming, radio, fan focus and more. They had a lot to say about what the coming year might hold, for their artists, their company and the industry as a whole. They also asked us if we would ever stop making Chumbawamba jokes. The answer was no. But the following excerpt from Monte and Avery’s Rainmakers interview is entirely free of “Tubthumping” references.

What’s your assessment of where things are at the company right now?

ML: We’re incredibly grateful for the artists and executives we get to work with every day. This past year was definitely gratifying, but we’re never satisfied; it’s our strength and our curse that we’re never satisfied. We’re already thinking about what’s next and how we continue to grow and go even bigger. We’ve never done a very good job of taking a victory lap. That’s not our ethos, to use a word Lenny likes to tease me about. It’s just about the focus and the determination. But most importantly, we are inspired by the incredible artists we work with and the music they create.

Let’s start with Taylor Swift.

ML: The success of Taylor Swift is absolutely unprecedented. The impact she’s made on the music industry, the touring industry, the film industry is unparalleled. From my perspective and experience with Taylor, her focus, determination and pursuit of excellence inspires the people who work with her. The imagination and discipline, as we go into every campaign, every initiative, starts and ends with Taylor’s vision, plain and simple.

She’s been delivering content at a staggering pace. How do you approach that?

ML: When we get the call, we’re ready to mobilize. There’s a tremendous sense of flexibility going into every campaign, and no detail is too small in terms of our discussions.

Another of the giant acts you’ve fielded in the last couple of years is Morgan Wallen. What can you say about him, as well as Big Loud and Mercury?

ML: You’ve gotta start with Big Loud, because it’s a strategic alliance. They are fiercely independent and operate with tremendous autonomy. And over the last couple of years with Tyler Arnold at Mercury, we’ve forged this relationship and are able to provide premium services to help expand Morgan’s audience around the world. The credit goes to Seth England, Joey Moi, Craig Wiseman and the team at Big Loud. They are the outliers of Nashville. When you talk about changing the paradigm of a business, the way they operate is incredibly inspiring. Because they have a fresh perspective on the marketplace and it’s clearly had a tremendous impact.

What are you seeing in terms of how audiences are discovering music?

AL: Discovery is definitely evolving to be more personalized. I think the infrastructure of the business has gotten a lot more accurate, so we don’t necessarily have to cast the widest net anymore; we can be more focused and still reach those core fans. Right now, it feels very much about the narrative, storytelling, making a connection. Streaming has done wonders for the industry, of course, but there’s more―what else is there besides a stream? A stream is great, but there’s a whole lot more an artist can provide to a fan. You see this in the resurgence of vinyl, which has continued to perform and grow, and obviously in touring and live experiences, which are resonating more strongly now.

Let’s talk about streaming. What’s your perspective on some of the recent developments regarding Spotify and other DSPs’ reevaluation not only of monetization but of what music is going to be prioritized and how that’s navigated?

AL: Streaming has been around for over 10 years, so it feels like it’s time for the business and economics to evolve; the business is different now from when streaming first started, so it’s certainly time to reevaluate. Innovating the way artists are compensated is just one example, and obviously, there’s a lot of discussion about that right now. My own sense is that there’s definitely room for improvement. But in terms of discovery, without question, you’re seeing—on a global level—a lot more localized, personalized activity and artist discovery.

Are you seeing any change in the influence of TikTok on the landscape?

AL: TikTok is a tool, a platform like many others, and we use it accordingly. It can’t feel forced—that’s something we’ve learned. Artists have to find their voice on every platform; it’s not one size fits all. But there’s no question that when something flies on TikTok, it’s a real runner.

Do you think there’s a change in the air with respect to how big a role data should play in A&R?

ML: A good example is Noah Kahan, who was signed by Ben Adelson at Mercury. That was nearly eight years ago, and Noah’s development has been good old-fashioned A&R at its best: identifying an amazingly talented songwriter, a storyteller, bringing him into the studio, working with the producers and curating EPs and singles and ultimately albums. And now you’ve got a candidate for Best New Artist.

And a huge record.

We’re proud of it. And again, when you talk about some of those third-party platforms, do they help make a difference? They make a contribution, no doubt, but there’s no one catalyst in that respect. The number one catalyst is that Noah Kahan makes great music.

Tell me something about your team.

ML: There’s a collective pursuit of excellence. We set incredibly high expectations, with a sense of accountability. The Republic staff, led by [co-Presidents] Jim Roppo and Wendy Goldstein, competes at the highest level. Kevin Lipson leads our global commerce initiatives and has delivered a record-breaking year. Glenn Mendlinger runs Imperial, and he’s done an extraordinary job specifically with our partners in South Korea.

Gary Spangler, who’s been with us quite some time, is the best in the game. Another essential player in the radio space is Mike Horton, who oversees hip-hop and R&B. Joe Carozza is absolutely key for messaging, as you well know. And we have some very strong executives who have recently joined the company, including Danielle Price, our executive vice president, who’s done an incredible job in a very short period of time and continues to help us sail into uncharted waters.

We also want to recognize the work of department heads Steve Gawley [biz and legal], Joe Schmidt [finance], Dana Sano [film & TV], Kerri Mackar [brands & ventures], Duro [A&R] and Donna Gryn [marketing], who work relentlessly to support the artist community.

It’s not lost on us that there are so many people we’re not mentioning who keep the trains running on time and are so important to the respective ecosystems they work in; it’s truly a group effort.

(The 2024 edition of Rainmakers will be published this fall.)