Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 28, 2003|Volume 31, Number 20

One of the recording industry's youngest executives describes his career at master's tea

Mike Caren knew he was taking a big risk when he negotiated a record contract with the Kentucky hip-hop group Nappy Roots.

But that deal has proven to be a risk that has paid off, said Caren, vice president of artist and repertoire development for Atlantic Records, at a Morse College master's tea on Feb. 20.

The group has since sold one million records and was nominated for two Grammy Awards this year.

"No one else thought they would have any chance," commented the 25-year-old Caren, who spoke at the tea about his career as one of the youngest executives in the recording industry. His talk was co-sponsored by the Yale Entertainment Society.

In introducing Caren, Morse College master Frank Keil noted that the Atlantic Records executive has signed six musical artists whose first releases with the record company went gold or platinum.

As Atlantic's vice president of artist and repertoire development, Caren says he has the "closest relationship" with the label's artists. In addition to seeking out and discovering new artists, he signs acts to the record label, hires the producers and engineers to work on their albums, advises them on song-writing, and approves the "final package," Caren says. He also serves as a producer and has a role in the editing and mixing of records.

Among the artists he has worked with are Courtney Love, Trick Daddy, Trina, Twista and Whitestarr, and he has worked on the soundtracks for "Dr. Doolittle," "South Park" and "Any Given Sunday."

While about 1 in 10 "acts" on major labels are successful, Caren says that he has had much better luck: About half of the artists he has signed to Atlantic have been commercial successes.

He said that he looks for musical artists with charisma and good song-writing skills and who are hard-working.

"The people who are going to make it are the ones who are doing things
for themselves," explained Caren. "The most common factor is drive and determination."

For example, Nappy Roots, a group whose members met as students at Western Kentucky University, had gained a large regional following by producing its own records and distributing them at record stores, he said. Caren recalled how he first saw the group making an album "with one keyboard in back of a record store on campus" and was impressed by the band's work ethic.

The record company executive became involved in the music industry as a 15-year-old high school student, when he helped create a radio station at his school and served as a disc jockey. He began contacting record companies in Los Angeles in an attempt to obtain free records to play on the station. Eventually, he started his own home-based record label. He was later invited by small record labels to help with marketing at their companies.

After high school, Caren enrolled at New York University and was offered a job in marketing at Atlantic. He was employed full time at the record company while working toward his degree. At the same time, he signed artists for a small record company he ran out of his dorm room.

After having a role in the rap artist Twista signing with Atlantic (her first record with the company sold half-a-million records), the company offered Caren a job in Artist and Repertoire Development.

Since he's been in that position, Caren said, "each act I sign I try to take a bigger risk with."

He told his audience that one of the most appealing aspects of the record business is its many opportunities for experimentation.

"It's great because no one has the right answers to everything; there's always hundreds of opinions," he remarked. If the music is good, he added, "there aren't limitations -- it's a matter of getting it to the right people and then getting it out there."

Noting that the acts he signs are not necessarily the same musicians he listens to for pleasure, Caren said that his job has sometimes required him to work with artists whose music he doesn't particularly like.

"My favorite bands don't sell a lot of records," commented Caren.

While acknowledging that the ease of getting (and pirating) music electronically has resulted in declining record sales, Caren says that he thinks "it's a great time" for the music industry.

"It's all opportunity now," he explains. "I can only see positive possibilities."

The young executive had a less positive opinion of fame, he told his audience.

In fact, he noted that he turned down an invitation to serve as a judge on the television program "American Idol" not only because he thought it "would probably destroy" his career, but also because he has no ambition to be famous.

High rates of drug use and a quest for fame that overpowers a love of the musical craft are just some examples of the downsides of being in the public spotlight, Caren said.

"I see what fame does to people," he remarked. "You give up part of your life. I would never want to be famous."

-- By Susan Gonzalez

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