Originally published on April 29, 2005

Sat Bisla

A&R Worldwide
Executive VP/Creative & Media

Bisla shares an incredible amount of information regarding new music trends around the world and reports on record and radio happenings on a global scale.

Each week in R&R we feature a column written by Sat Bisla, Exec. VP/Creative & Media for A&R Worldwide. Bisla shares an incredible amount of information regarding new music trends around the world and reports on record and radio happenings on a global scale.

 

Beginning this Sunday and continuing for four days in Los Angeles, Bisla and his partners, Jim McKeon and Steve Smith, will be hosting MUSEXPO 2005. This gathering of international music decisionmakers will feature discussion of a myriad of issues, including the state of music, discovering talent and breaking bands, to name a few.

 

Getting into the business: "My mom and dad were from an East Indian background and had immigrated to the United Kingdom. They listened to East Indian music but also listened to stations like BBC Radio 1, which is a very diverse station that played everything from disco to punk to ska to reggae. I knew as a kid that I wanted to be involved in music or in film."

 

First real job: "My first gig was doing college radio in Fresno. That evolved into DJ-ing and mixing. I moved to the U.S., to Fresno, when I was 14. Fresno was nothing like the America I'd seen on TV. There was a void in the market for the music I'd grown up with, and I started pestering the local radio stations to play all this music they'd never heard. One day one of the jocks on the college station said, 'Come by and bring some of these records so I can actually hear what they sound like.'

 

"He told me I should go to school at Fresno State because, as a student, you could get a job at the station. That's what I did. Within a matter of months my show started getting really good response — so much so that the commercial stations started paying attention. My first commercial radio gig was working for Kevin Carter [R&R's CHR/Pop Editor]. I did a mix show for him for about a year, and that evolved into a gig working for E. Curtis Johnson at KRZR/Fresno.

 

"I pitched the idea to KKDJ/Fresno of transforming the heritage Rock station into an Alternative. I had no idea what I was doing, but the owner read the proposal, as did the PD, and they, surprisingly, said, 'We're going to go through with your idea and actually switch formats.' It went well for a while, and then the whole Nirvana thing took off. The station got sold and switched format, and I was out of work. In '95 I moved to Los Angeles to write for Virtually Alternative.

 

"In '96 a friend who worked at Interscope said, 'Our A&R department reads your column, and they follow up on all the bands. You should be in A&R, or at least do some A&R consulting.' I did that for a while and worked for a couple of independent companies. In '99 Nic Harcourt offered me a gig on KCRW/Los Angeles. I did that for about a year and a half. During that time I realized that the Internet was becoming a great platform to develop and discover talent, so I took my life savings and put together an online forum.

 

"Before I could launch it, I ran out of funding. Eventually, I was able to make the pitch to SFX, which had the Network Magazine Group. They were interested but were acquired by Clear Channel, who said, 'We'll do this, but we are only going to pay you for your expenses.'"

 

How A&R Worldwide was founded: "In traditional A&R circles you are either a manager or a consultant, and you are compensated for helping to make things happen — meaning you help a band get a record deal. Because Clear Channel owned radio stations, we could not participate in any futures, so we could not take anything from the artists. Plus there was the frustration of having to go through a lot of red tape to get things to happen. I decided that I'd be better off doing something on my own again. I had worked for Steve Smith for years, and he said, 'I'm willing to support you if you want to do this.' I basically put together the creative elements, and then Steve and Jim McKeon helped me with the business side."

 

Describe A&R Worldwide: "It is a global artist-discovery and -development resource. It discovers talent, develops it and then helps market and promote it. We do it on a global level. We look at every aspect of the music and the media businesses as a window of development opportunity for the artists we work with. Whether it's the video-game industry, film, TV, radio, the live-entertainment circuit or online media, it's all part of our development strategy."

 

Mission of the company: "We've become a destination for A&R departments, publishers, managers and music supervisors to discover music, but we also work with the artists and their representatives — whether that's management or record companies — to help them reach their goals. First and foremost, we have to be passionate about the music. If we're not into the music, we won't get involved, but once we assess that, OK, we're fans of the music and feel that we can help bring certain avenues of opportunity to the artist, we get involved. We only get involved in things we really feel we can deliver on."

 

Who they're expecting to attend the first MUSEXPO: "It's a very diverse cross section of music and media executives. We will have radio programmers from the international and domestic markets who are renowned for helping discover and break new artists. We will have film and TV supervisors; chairmen of record companies, both major and independent; and government trade organizations that represent the interests of creative-services sectors from various countries around the world.

 

"We will have some of the key decisionmakers in the live-entertainment business, from booking agents to promoters. We will also have a lot of media presence and people from the gaming and advertising communities who rely on music as part of their marketing strategy. Essentially, anybody from the global community who has a vested interest in music or artists as the lifeblood of their business is involved."

 

Biggest challenge: "Finding time to absorb all the information that's being sent from all different directions, whether it's online, in phone calls or through meetings. There are so many avenues of information that come to us. Also, finding the time to see great artists."

 

State of radio in the U.S.: "Terrestrial radio has to change its way of thinking. Listeners have access to music from all over the world via the Internet, and their music libraries are probably a lot bigger than the libraries of most stations. Radio has lost its passion. It's become more of a fashion statement. With satellite radio, the Internet and personal listening devices such as the iPod, the audience has a wealth of choice. In order for terrestrial radio to survive, it has to start building a sense of community and loyalty once again."

 

State of music: "It's healthy as far as the creativity and diversity. Looking at the global market, we're seeing an incredible wealth of great new music emerging from the U.K., Scandinavia, Asia and even here in the U.S."

 

Most influential individual: "The two biggest inspirations were my mom and dad. They instilled this passion for music in me. As far as the business is concerned, there have been a couple of people. One is Mel Medalie, who is based in the U.K. People in England call him the independent Clive Davis of the U.K. record business. He gave Will Smith his first record deal. He discovered and signed Dido, Faithless, Christine W and Robin S. He's the same person he's been for the past 25 or 30 years. He still has passion for music.

 

"Also, Andrew Phillips. Andrew is a former PD of XFM in London, and he really opened my eyes as far as looking at things in a much broader context and taught me not to be afraid to follow through on what I believe in and not to worry what anybody else thinks."

 

Career highlight: "The thing that makes me the most excited and the happiest is when I have an artist no one believes in and I've been able to make something happen for them that has a dramatic impact on their career, something that helps shape their lives and their music and then has an impact on the lives of the millions of people worldwide who go out and buy their record. Whether it's Dido, Missy Higgins or Keane, these are all acts no one believed in that I kind of went to bat for and fought hard to get people to pay attention to."

 

Career disappointment: "The biggest disappointment in my life is that I lost my father seven years ago. He was murdered, and that was the most difficult time in my life. He taught me so much, and I wish I could have told him how I felt about him and how much of an impact he had on me. I never really got a chance to thank him in words. I know he knew from my reactions that I really appreciated him, but I wish that I had had the chance to tell him."

 

Favorite radio format: "Hip-Hop, NPR, Alternative, Rock or Pop. For me, it's about the songs."

 

Favorite television show: "Fox Sports World English Premier League Soccer."

 

Favorite song: "When my father was killed there was a song that is actually an instrumental, 'Clubbed to Death,' by Rob Dougan. I kept listening to it over and over again, and it helped me come to terms with the loss of my father."

 

Favorite new artist: "Cass, who signed to Island. Her record is going to impact the global market in a very positive way."

 

Favorite movie: "It's an Indian movie that I could never pronounce for the life of me, but it's called Nankh Narn Jahaj."

 

Favorite restaurant: "Cravings on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles."

 

Beverage of choice: "English tea."

 

Hobbies: "Soccer, listening to music, traveling, reading and just being with my family and spending time with my kids."

 

E-mail address: "sat@anrworldwide.com."

 

Advice for broadcasters: "You have the ability to influence and shape the lives of your audience, and that's an immense power. You need to keep an open mind and remember that the audience thinks without blinders and follow the same protocol. Don't limit your ability. Use the power of radio to inspire and build a sense of community and loyalty, because it has been proven that if you truly believe in something that can really connect to people on an emotional level, you will get a great reaction. You can balance art with commerce, but broadcasters need to remember that all the audience cares about is great content."