Originally published on March 06, 2009

Luke Lewis

Universal Music Group Nashville
Chairman/CEO

Seasoned label exec is bullish on country music, the album as art form and fair compensation for artists and songwriters

Luke Lewis is chairman/CEO at Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN). The label group includes MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville and Lost Highway and is home to such acts as George Strait, Sugarland, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, Hayes Carll, Josh Turner and Jamey Johnson, among others.

How did you get into the record business? How long have you been involved in country music?
I started my career as a clerk in a record store, worked for regional record distributors for a few years, was the Southeastern editor for Record World magazine for a year and went to work for CBS Records in 1977. I worked a lot of country records while at CBS but didn't immerse myself in the country industry until 1992, when I moved back to Nashville to run Mercury Records.

You just signed a new multiyear deal at UMGN. What do you plan for the label's future?
I am blessed with an amazing roster of artists and co-workers at UMG. I don't have a five or 10-year plan. I wish for that kind of vision, but instead I just focus on the immediate future and hope to provide a healthy, productive and lucrative environment for our company and its partners.

How do you see the record business changing in the next five years, and how you think the label can best address those changes?
I don't know what the record business will look like in the future. I do know that there is an enormous appetite for music in the world, and hopefully it can continue to be monetized to the extent that artists and songwriters can be fairly compensated for their work.

To speak specifically about country music, I am certain that it will endure. It is a uniquely American genre that speaks to matters of the heart. It's folk music: American folks.

I am also a believer in the album as an important art form. Some people want to write it off these days. I don't think so. It has lived next to the singles business for over 50 years. They both have viable constituencies.

Talk about Lost Highway. It's not a country label—how does it fit with UMGN's mission?
Lost Highway was created as a home primarily for singer/songwriters who are not radio-driven. Their albums are more difficult to market and sell than mainstream country records that have the benefit of massive radio exposure. We have released over 50 albums in eight years—all were released on vinyl—and have had over 50 Grammy nominations. It is an incredible catalog and has remained profitable every year. It isn't easy, though.

The Jamey Johnson project isn't a straight-ahead country record. What was it that caught your attention and drove you to take a chance?
You say the Jamey Johnson project is not a straight-ahead country record. I beg to differ. To me it's a definitive country record: a concept album full of great songs delivered as honest and emotive as any I've ever heard. It's not shiny and perfect like most contemporary country albums, but that is part of its charm. The Mercury promotion staff did an incredible job convincing radio to take a chance on the record.

We haven't heard from Shania Twain in a while. Is she coming back anytime soon?
Hopefully Shania Twain will have new music for us in 2010. She is writing and raising her son currently.

Country has a history of longtime, successful duos—the Judds, Brooks & Dunn—and now Sugarland is primed to fill that slot for the foreseeable future. What is so special about it?
Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush are gifted songwriters and performers, but as importantly, they are seasoned. They spent years honing their craft. The collaborative nature of their writing, recording and performing has a magic to it. They both have diverse musical backgrounds and tastes, and they are good, nice people. People at record labels dream of working with artists like them.

What are your thoughts about the state of the radio business today?
I have always loved radio. I just used to love it more. I think consolidation and research have done great harm. As the business climate has become more difficult, programmers have become more and more risk-averse and I don't think that works well in the entertainment business. It is certainly less "local." Playlists are too repetitive. Listeners are not generally told what they are hearing and it has lost its position as the place for people to discover new music and artists. The fact that there is a debate over performance royalties is a shame. It's unconscionable that content creators and owners are not compensated by terrestrial broadcasters. I also feel that to suggest that those rightful payments are a "tax" presupposes that payments to songwriters are also a "tax."

I still listen, though—a lot. And I have nothing but respect for the many passionate people who continue to try and make it better. R

Quote
'I have always loved radio. I just used to love it more. I think consolidation and research have done great harm.'—Luke Lewis