From his perch in Capitol Records’ tower in Hollywood, David Iscove explains to Larry Jaffee how he anticipates further digital innovation from the EMI archives under impending Universal ownership.
On the web you are quoted as saying, “The days of passive listening are over. Music is and should be interactive”. Can you elaborate on that?
Yes, that came from my mouth, and I absolutely believe it. That was a direct result of working on the Guitar Hero franchise. I oversaw all the technical integration of licensed music for Guitar Hero. We were the first mass media licensing opportunity that used audio way beyond a stereo mix. The user plays along to the instrumental part of the track, giving the feeling that he or she is really creating this audio part and inside the mix. The majority of sales were to the non-musician. Everybody wants to play air guitar or imaginary drum sticks. We opened up gaming to the casual market in ways that were never achieved before.
Weren’t the major labels hesitant to allow their music be used in games?
Sure, when we started we had to re-record the songs. But as we paid royalties on the publishing and they saw the success of the game, they started licensing recordings to us. We were constantly educating artists on how we would use their material. We opened up a genre of content (classic rock) to new generations and completely revitalized that genre.
What would be other examples of music’s new-found interactivity?
There are new technologies – new means – of expanding the experience of music beyond listening on headphones or a CD player or turntable. Some software and apps are not even game specific. They’re interactive tools that can be used for education, music history, or music appreciation, and create immersive environments.
Do your colleagues at EMI responsible for selling CDs and digital downloads feel the same way about the shift of how people now relate to music?
EMI, in general, has a very open proactive attitude towards embracing new technologies. Guitar Hero was such a big success for EMI. We all benefited and made money. We opened up music in ways that hadn’t been done before from both licensing and production perspectives. Everybody at EMI across the board appreciates that new attitude.
Your new job goes way beyond game development. What attracted you about the archival responsibilities at the label?
Typically, the archive had been this back-end destination where for the remainder of its shelf life it collected dust and died. Guitar Hero demonstrated how the catalogue in storage can be exploited at will. We were the first game that woke up labels to give access to that archive. Going forward it helped determine the new deliverable requirements. Now we can get access to the multi-tracks and each step of the [recording] process in an artist’s career – from signing that first contract, doing the first demos, videos, photo shoots, the mastering session. Each of those assets has the potential for exploitation. If we can proactively bundle those assets in a way that can be leveraged successfully the better chance the artist has to succeeding. My skill set has been leveraging digital assets post-transfer.
How important are the assets sitting in the vault to the labels’ bottom lines?
They’re our lifeblood. Unfortunately, there have been years of bad practices, seeking quick and easy financial turnaround. The appreciation of fidelity is paramount to moving forward. People can now identify when something sounds bad. In the case of back catalogue, we’re going back to old analogue recordings and transferring them to the highest resolution standards. So we’re creating a digital repository, and anticipating any future content requirements.
Why did you leave Activision for EMI, which – as well as the major labels in general – had been going through so much uncertainty in recent years?
To be honest, I never thought I would jump to the label side. As a client, I established a great rapport with the people at EMI, which is really taking a forward stance in recognizing that times have been tough for the labels, who have struggled. But if we embrace a proactive attitude in facilitating new business models, we can all succeed. When I joined EMI in late September, I knew a potential sale was right around the corner. I wanted to jump on the ship.
Was there a sense of relief in your office when the deals for EMI’s assets to Universal and Sony were announced?
We feel great about the deal. But we legally can’t get together with Universal until the regulatory hurdles are leaped, which could be several months away. So in the meantime, we’re proceeding with business as usual. We’re not sitting back waiting for us to get picked up by our new parent. Our ideal scenario is to get EMI as such a well-oiled machine that the attitude on Universal’s part will be: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
How did you become chair of NARM/digitalmusic.org’s Apps, Music & Gaming Work Group?
I talked to digitalmusic.org director Bill Wilson prior to joining EMI. After I started my new job, we had one phone conference between label representatives and game developers, and I was the only one who had experience on both sides, so it made sense for me to chair it and facilitate the conversations that come out of it. The work group’s aim is to engage gaming companies and app developers to create better systems for including music in their products and to facilitate relationships for advance content licensing. We’ll meet every six weeks or so.
Any truth to those rumours that the labels are killing the CD in 2012?
I’ve heard that rumour, but don’t know anything specifically if it’s true. The [cloud] infrastructure for digital transfers is huge now. The need for individual record – or even file – libraries is over. People don’t feel the need to own or possess content; they want to stream it and simply want access to it. The audiophile listening community is not CD-focused at all. There’s something to be said for an immersive experience, such as the days of opening an LP, and you just stared at the album artwork, liner notes and read every detail. We totally lost that in the transition to digital. I think the only return to ownership mentality of content would have to include that immersive experience where the user could get lost in this fantasy world. CDs have had an inevitable decline of sales. I don’t think it’ll drop to zero but it will balance out because there will be a core group of people who will always buy CDs.
David Iscove is the Director of EMI North America’s Works Hub Initiative, the company’s archival digitization strategy for both catalogue and frontline assets. He previously worked at Activision Publishing as senior audio assets specialist for the Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, and Band Hero video game franchises. Iscove chairs digitalmusic.org’s Apps, Music & Gaming Work Group. Digitalmusic.org is the home for the digital initiatives of NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers).
www.capitolrecords.com
digitalmusic.org/work-groups/music-gaming
