Post by sunsetdriver on May 19, 2006 13:08:10 GMT 1
Taken from Music Week 26.04.2006 issue
Management
by Martin Talbot
Michael Jackson's new business manager Guy Holmes began putting in place the details of his new Two Seas operation last week.
Holmes, head of Gut Record for more than a decade, was last Wednesday confirmed as CEO of Two Seas Records, the joint venture established by Jackson with Ahdulla Hamad Al-Khalifa.
Holmes, who will retain his involvement in Gut in parallel, will oversee the making of Jackson’s new album and other business activities, splitting his time between London and Bahrain, where Two Seas is headquartered.
But the UK office will be run by general manager Nina Frykberg, who has formelrly worked in senior roles for Independiente, London and Mushroom Records in the UK. Holmes told Music Week that Frykberg will be his “right hand person”.
“Nina knows and understands the independent world and the major world, and she has international marketing experience, too. I am really pleased to get her,” Holmes says.
The UK company will oversee deal-making, marketing and promotion, he says, while recording of Jackson’s new material will be managed from Bahrain.
There, New Zealander Matt Tait, who has worked with Jackson over many years, will take on the role of studio manager. The operations in Bahrain include a state-of-the-art studio complex which has been built from scratch and includes “every single microphone Jackson has ever used”, according to Holmes.
Holmes says, besides establishing Two Seas’ infrastructure, his first task will be planning a strategy for Jackson’s music. Jackson has already started working on his new album, ready for a rough release fate of late 2007.
“We nee to decide how and precisely when we put the album out,” Holmes says. “We will be talking to major mobile companies and music companies around the world.
“We are going to look at all the different opportunities open to us. The world is a very different place today. This is going to be a totally multi-media project, perhaps bigger than any multi-media campaign that has been put together.”
Holmes says he is open to all possibilities in relation to a deal for Jackson. “It is about what is best for Michael’s career.” He says. It is understood that, despite Jackson’s high-profile falling out with Tommy Mottola at the beginning of the decade, the changing personnel and status of Sony BMG would not rule the major out of any possible negotiations.
Holmes declines to discuss any details of his new working relationship with Jackson, but it is understood that the pair have been talking about working together since they were introduced by mutual friends in July last year.
Holmes is an established figure in UK music industry, since first joining United Artists/EMI Records in 1979, later working for Arista and Island Records. He famously founded Gut Records in the early Nineties after discovering Right Said Fred and being turned down by a string of major labels. The act went on to sell 6m singles and 5m albums.
Over the intervening decade and more, Holmes has revived the careers of Aswad and Tom Jones, selling 2m and 5m albums respectively. And, in February, Gut was honoured as Music Week’s independent singles company of 2005 after a year in which it sold 700,000 copies of the Crazy Frog single. Holmes was also one of the founders of independent label association Aim in the late Nineties.
martin@musicweek.com
The big question
Is Guy Holmes the right man to help Michael Jackson get his career back on track?[/i]
Alan Edwards, Outside Organization:“This is a really smart move. It’s great that Michael has hired someone British as the UK is one of his strongest territories. Guy is a great all-round music person who understands artists and in particular the media – radio, TV and press, through to digital and mobile. It’s about time Michael had a comeback and he needs someone like Guy to sort it out.”
Paul Curran, BMG Music Publishing:“it’s a huge challenge for anybody to take on Michael Jackson for many different reasons, business-wise and creative-wise. But Guy is incredibly energetic and driven and will certainly see opportunities. The first thing is what Michael Jackson himself wants to do. He seems to have done an awful lot of fire fighting over the past three to four years and there’s not been an awful lot of artistic progress.”
Jonathan Shalit, Shalit Global Entertainment & Management:“For Michael Jackson, I think it’s a genius decision. Michael Jackson remains one of the greatest stars in the world and he’s got millions of fans worldwide. Whatever you think of him, he was acquitted of the charges against him and that should be respected. Having someone like Guy Holmes involved is a very wise decision; Guy’s a genius maverick.”
John Giacobbi, Wild West Management:”If anyone’s going to do it then it’ll be someone like Guy He needs a manager with a maverick vision and a willingness to try unorhodox things, rather than someone more corporate or someone who is perceived merely as a safe pair of hands.”
Shannon Ferguson, Yahoo! Music Europe:”Guy Holmes has demonstrated a true understanding of what music fans want with some amazing successes in the past year. Michael Jackson, despite his recent problems, is a rare talent with a peerless track record in writing global hits. He clearly faces an enormous challenge in resurrecting his past glories, but I think working with Guy is a necessary and positive step which may yet see him reinstated as the untouchable star we all surely remember.”
Gary Rolfe, HMV:”There is every possibility. For me it will depend on the quality of the songs: is Michael Jackson going to produce a record that is going to sell millions of copies worldwide? The best person to ask that is Michael Jackson. It needs to be a great record. It is all about the record and not having heard it, it is hard to say. But the guy does have a very loyal fan base.”
Here are the issue's scans (thanks to TSCM):
Enrico
Management
by Martin Talbot
Michael Jackson's new business manager Guy Holmes began putting in place the details of his new Two Seas operation last week.
Holmes, head of Gut Record for more than a decade, was last Wednesday confirmed as CEO of Two Seas Records, the joint venture established by Jackson with Ahdulla Hamad Al-Khalifa.
Holmes, who will retain his involvement in Gut in parallel, will oversee the making of Jackson’s new album and other business activities, splitting his time between London and Bahrain, where Two Seas is headquartered.
But the UK office will be run by general manager Nina Frykberg, who has formelrly worked in senior roles for Independiente, London and Mushroom Records in the UK. Holmes told Music Week that Frykberg will be his “right hand person”.
“Nina knows and understands the independent world and the major world, and she has international marketing experience, too. I am really pleased to get her,” Holmes says.
The UK company will oversee deal-making, marketing and promotion, he says, while recording of Jackson’s new material will be managed from Bahrain.
There, New Zealander Matt Tait, who has worked with Jackson over many years, will take on the role of studio manager. The operations in Bahrain include a state-of-the-art studio complex which has been built from scratch and includes “every single microphone Jackson has ever used”, according to Holmes.
Holmes says, besides establishing Two Seas’ infrastructure, his first task will be planning a strategy for Jackson’s music. Jackson has already started working on his new album, ready for a rough release fate of late 2007.
“We nee to decide how and precisely when we put the album out,” Holmes says. “We will be talking to major mobile companies and music companies around the world.
“We are going to look at all the different opportunities open to us. The world is a very different place today. This is going to be a totally multi-media project, perhaps bigger than any multi-media campaign that has been put together.”
Holmes says he is open to all possibilities in relation to a deal for Jackson. “It is about what is best for Michael’s career.” He says. It is understood that, despite Jackson’s high-profile falling out with Tommy Mottola at the beginning of the decade, the changing personnel and status of Sony BMG would not rule the major out of any possible negotiations.
Holmes declines to discuss any details of his new working relationship with Jackson, but it is understood that the pair have been talking about working together since they were introduced by mutual friends in July last year.
Holmes is an established figure in UK music industry, since first joining United Artists/EMI Records in 1979, later working for Arista and Island Records. He famously founded Gut Records in the early Nineties after discovering Right Said Fred and being turned down by a string of major labels. The act went on to sell 6m singles and 5m albums.
Over the intervening decade and more, Holmes has revived the careers of Aswad and Tom Jones, selling 2m and 5m albums respectively. And, in February, Gut was honoured as Music Week’s independent singles company of 2005 after a year in which it sold 700,000 copies of the Crazy Frog single. Holmes was also one of the founders of independent label association Aim in the late Nineties.
martin@musicweek.com
The big question
Is Guy Holmes the right man to help Michael Jackson get his career back on track?[/i]
Alan Edwards, Outside Organization:“This is a really smart move. It’s great that Michael has hired someone British as the UK is one of his strongest territories. Guy is a great all-round music person who understands artists and in particular the media – radio, TV and press, through to digital and mobile. It’s about time Michael had a comeback and he needs someone like Guy to sort it out.”
Paul Curran, BMG Music Publishing:“it’s a huge challenge for anybody to take on Michael Jackson for many different reasons, business-wise and creative-wise. But Guy is incredibly energetic and driven and will certainly see opportunities. The first thing is what Michael Jackson himself wants to do. He seems to have done an awful lot of fire fighting over the past three to four years and there’s not been an awful lot of artistic progress.”
Jonathan Shalit, Shalit Global Entertainment & Management:“For Michael Jackson, I think it’s a genius decision. Michael Jackson remains one of the greatest stars in the world and he’s got millions of fans worldwide. Whatever you think of him, he was acquitted of the charges against him and that should be respected. Having someone like Guy Holmes involved is a very wise decision; Guy’s a genius maverick.”
John Giacobbi, Wild West Management:”If anyone’s going to do it then it’ll be someone like Guy He needs a manager with a maverick vision and a willingness to try unorhodox things, rather than someone more corporate or someone who is perceived merely as a safe pair of hands.”
Shannon Ferguson, Yahoo! Music Europe:”Guy Holmes has demonstrated a true understanding of what music fans want with some amazing successes in the past year. Michael Jackson, despite his recent problems, is a rare talent with a peerless track record in writing global hits. He clearly faces an enormous challenge in resurrecting his past glories, but I think working with Guy is a necessary and positive step which may yet see him reinstated as the untouchable star we all surely remember.”
Gary Rolfe, HMV:”There is every possibility. For me it will depend on the quality of the songs: is Michael Jackson going to produce a record that is going to sell millions of copies worldwide? The best person to ask that is Michael Jackson. It needs to be a great record. It is all about the record and not having heard it, it is hard to say. But the guy does have a very loyal fan base.”
Here are the issue's scans (thanks to TSCM):
Enrico
