Industry Profile: Dave Lory

— By Jane Cohen and Bob Grosswiener

Dave Lory, senior vice president of Artemis Records, has an in-depth understanding of the music industry. He knows how it works from having worked in several areas of the business and grasping how they work together. He is also one of the very few music execs that has worked with every major genre of popular music including rap, country, folk, classical, jazz, pop, rock and R&B.

In April 1999, Dave was one of the first recruited to join Danny Goldberg's new venture, Artemis Records. Dave was responsible for creating the foundations of the company including the production department, A&R, international, publishing and job duties of employees, among others. Within seven months of its creation, Artemis had four albums -- rapper Kurupt, singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, hard rock group Kittie and Steve Earle -- on the Billboard charts in 2000, the first time in memory that a new record company had placed four albums on the charts in its first year; Kurupt and Kittie have been certified "gold." On top of this, the Baha Men's "Who Let The Dogs Out," was the biggest-selling, independently distributed album in the United States in 2000, having sold more than 3 million units in the United States. The Spooks single, "Things I've Seen," has been top ten in the UK, France, Sweden, Holland and numerous other countries. The label also garnered attention with its Grammy nominations for Rickie Lee Jones and Steve Earle's 2000 releases and more recently, for Jimmie Vaughan's 2001 release "Do You Get the Blues?"

As if that weren't enough, Dave also delved into A&R, specifically with Rickie Lee Jones and Jimmie Vaughan, produced the Steve Earle Special for Music Choice, the Kittie EPK and a long form video (which went gold) plus videos for two hit singles by The Spooks ("Things I've Seen" and "Karma Hotel").

In addition to his Artemis Records duties, Dave is also the chairman/CEO of Worldwide Entertainment Group, Inc., a venture he set up to do side projects that coincide with his work at Artemis Records. To date he has co-produced the Songwriters' Hall of Fame Dinner (2000-2001) and was the international consultant to Kid Rock for Lava Records. Dave was also elected to the New York chapter of N.A.R.A.S.' Board of Governors (2000 - present) and currently sits on the committee for the New York Heroes Dinner (2000- present). The dinner is held annually and rewards New York artists and music industry personnel for their work within the industry, while at the same time raising money for music programs for New York City schools.

Prior to going to Artemis and his conception of the Worldwide Entertainment Group, Dave was vice president of international marketing and artist development of Mercury Records. Throughout his time at Mercury, he helped break and revive the careers internationally of Cake, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Richie Sambora, Lionel Richie, Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams. Additionally, he turned both Shania Twain and Hanson into platinum selling international artists for the label, elevating the label from having just one platinum selling artist internationally (Bon Jovi) to three. In addition to these achievements, Dave also oversaw marketing, promotional and live tours, artist development and sales of all U.S. signed artists outside of the domestic U.S. market. On the domestic front he oversaw artist development, promotional trips and tour marketing of all domestic artists and all international acts coming into the U.S.

Dave's early entertainment industry experiences include the set up of DE-EL Entertainment Inc., a New York-based tour coordination company, which included management and consulting with an international scope, where Dave proved effective as a manager and as a consultant to corporations operating on a global scale. He was company president from 1986-1991 and chairman from 1991-1997. Among his accomplishments and highlights during his time was helping revive the Allman Brothers Band after a 10-year absence, and his managerial services were instrumental in breaking the international careers of Jeff Buckley and Sophie Zelmani.

A measure of his success is deeply rooted in being a plain, bona fide music fan. During his time at NYU, Dave moonlighted as a drummer, and even served time with the Charlotte Symphony in North Carolina. Additionally, he worked as a stage manager at the famed Bottom Line, spent some time paying his dues at Colony Records, an indie retail store, and even schlepped as a publicity assistant at the Howard Bloom Organization. It was there that his appreciation of diverse musical genres came into play as he worked with artists like Ratt, Kool and the Gang, Prince and Kenny Loggins. What's more, all of these initial experiences were completed while Dave attended NYU, studying toward a degree in the combined major of Music Business and Technology/Music Performance.

Dave is also one of the most socially active music business executives. He was a founding member of the Music Managers Forum, an organization that supports key issues for artists' and managers' causes within the music industry and with congress, and provides educational forums for up-and-coming managers. He also teaches in the music business programs at William Patterson and New York Universities, and is involved in NARAS' "Grammy in the Schools" program.

From his earliest experiences, through his work as a manager and international consultant to his present position as senior vice president of Artemis Records, Dave has earned a reputation in the music industry for artist friendliness, creating innovative marketing plans, breaking new artists on an international level and being both a motivator and mentor. It is because of these attributes that Dave has in-depth understanding of the music industry and how it works, which, in turn, has helped him to become a successful and respected music industry exec.

Do you miss managing?
I do miss managing, and I'm most certain that I will return to it in some form in the future. The whole idea of working with an artist from the beginning and giving them a career is one of the most rewarding experiences and one that I miss. I would say that is the utmost high. The lowest point is when a record company comes along and is so worried about having that one hit, and they do not care about a career (even though they all say they do), that you end of with a faceless radio artist with no identity in the press, or, they drop the artist all together and in essence, ruin an artists' career. Because you are at the label's mercy a great deal of the time, the frustration is not having control of this particular situation. We all need to remember in this business that although it is a product, we are dealing with human beings and lives. Other artists I have worked with either as a manager, tour manager/coordinator or consultant are Katell Keineg, Greg Garing, Dickey Betts, Savatage, Heather Nova and Ronnie Spector, among others.

What have been the highs and lows of your career to date?
Jeff Buckley had to be the biggest high and biggest low of my career. The ride with him and his uniqueness was the most awesome experience of my career. Having taken him to approximately 1 million units worldwide without a radio hit and off tour support from the label after one album meant he was always going to have a career for the rest of his life, even if he never released another album. That's so rewarding and our plan for record No. 1 from the very beginning. Very seldom does everything line up and work in our business. I hope I do, but I doubt that I will witness, nor work on a project like this ever again. Certainly never an artist like him. I truly believe he was the future of rock and roll and a kindred spirit from another world in many ways.

The low point was obviously the morning I was in Dublin when at 6:30 am I was told he was missing in the Mississippi River. After this, and dealing with everyone around me including my wife (who was his promotion manager at SONY Europe) was hell trying to keep everyone up every day. We were all going through a great deal and so was the world. Then there were the people trying to leech onto his name that I had the biggest problem with. There are too many things I had to deal with, and one day, perhaps I might write about it, but not now. I have always had a joke that the book would read: "Jeff Buckley, It's About the Music Stupid"! This is what Jeff and I always said to people and what they have all forgotten. This includes the person who wrote the book about Tim and Jeff or his mother who is out doing promotion tours all the time.

The books that have been written on Jeff have a lot of stories that are wrong in them, about how things happened. I didn't participate in any book or interviews (except one interview which I later regretted). I always said I did not speak about Jeff's personal life when he was alive and I would not do so when he passed along. This is not what he was about, but I'm sure he is laughing at it all now. I had to let a lot of this go as it is unhealthy to keep trying to protect him, as I could not do so anymore. This to me was the hardest thing to accept as when you are a manager, this is what you do day in and day out, protect your artist. I looked at his web site recently and there are things for sale and organizations that make it appear he was into certain things that to the best of my knowledge he was not. It's very sad.

My frustrations with the estate is that pictures are picked that he did not approve when there are pictures available that he did approve...When there is a live show, I know he wanted out - if ever anything live came out - that he mixed, produced sequenced and approved, but the estate goes in and remixes, re-sequences, etc., an entirely different live show because this is what THEY want and so on and so on...They all miss the point that it is not about them, it is about Jeff. Some people involved are failed actors, musicians, etc. so I have to think they use this to stay close with Jeff. I feel bad for them. I have come to a peace with Jeff and all this now. I listen to tapes of him and think about how lucky I was to have worked with him and call him a friend. The rest of it I just do not pay attention to anymore, its quite amusing however.

You have traveled extensively internationally during your career. How does the international marketplace compare to the domestic?
The international marketplace is a great deal more interesting and many more careers exist in the various foreign markets. Fan loyalty is a lot better so artists have a lengthy career. More so than in the U.S. The markets are smaller and word of mouth travels faster so the people dictate what they like (which they should) instead of MTV and radio, although if you want a mega hit this is what you need. In the U.S., the labels only think one thing --radio, radio, radio. There's no marketing anymore, no career development. Bands need great managers more than ever to provide this or their chances for success are slim to none. It's a shame, but this is what quarterly reports and stockholders do to artists and music.

First industry job
I was a musician. I was playing drums and percussion since I was in the third grade. My mother was a music teacher, so I was always around it. The first real job I guess would have been running the bands I performed in, however, while in college I worked at a retail record store and as an intern for the Howard Bloom Organization in New York. At the time, they were the premier publicity company in the business, and I worked on Prince's Purple Rain Tour, Kenny Loggins, Ratt and others. It was a blast!

Career highlight
One of my biggest highlights was when Bill Graham, the famous promoter, called my management office and was yelling at me about an artist I managed, Gregg Allman, who was performing a solo show too close to an Allman Brothers date in the San Francisco area. Gregg is a real musician and just plays whenever he can. Unfortunately, he does not pay attention to things like this, and Bill was very upset. I was smiling the whole time while Bill was yelling at me over the speaker phone. My assistant at the time could not believe I was smiling and I told him, "It's Bill Graham, I'm important enough that he is yelling at me, I'm in the business." A month or so later, Bill called me and asked if we could sit together and watch the show. Of course I said yes, and there was Bill Graham and myself stage right watching the show. What a moment. A couple of months later he died in a helicopter crash. I have a great deal of respect for him because he showed me a great deal of respect, even though I was not that established yet in the industry.

Career disappointment
Not being able to finish what I started at Mercury Records International. The Seagram's merger took place, and we really turned that department around. We were breaking artists the first 16 months, even though nine of those months were when that merger was happening. I had an amazing team with Pam, Heather, Tracy, James and Nicola, all of whom have gone on to bigger and better things. I was learning so much working with Jay Durgan and David Munns, that I'm disappointed that it ended so soon.

Greatest challenge
Starting Artemis Records from scratch with Danny Goldberg and having three gold and a platinum album in just the first year.

Best business decision
Going to Mercury Records after Jeff Buckley's passing.

Worst business decision
Nothing really. I've learned from every experience along the way, good and bad!

Best business advice to offer
Believe in yourself and never give up! If you believe in something, it will happen if you want it too!

Most memorable concert/event
Jeff Buckley at the Olympia in Paris, France.

Office paraphernalia
I have a man holding a crystal globe on his shoulders, which is how seriously I take my job internationally for my artists, that I have their music and lives on my back. Another item is a box that when you push a button, says "Hello, Hello, can you get me the hell out of here!" It is appropriate from time to time on a bad day.

Industry mentor
Richard Broderick, a professor of mine at NYU. He founded the careers of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, among others in the business. He taught me to see the world as the market and not just the U.S. Also, that the artist and the music comes first. I love that man!

Industry pet peeve
That the industry, mainly labels, come around every few years and say they are expanding or concentrating on A&R. Do they not realize that it all begins with A&R, and if they are focusing now on A&R, what did they do before? It's pretty amazing to me they would even say something like this. I believe if you place your focus on the music and the artist, the rest, namely money, will come. This is a major reason I believe our business is down the past two years.

Dave can be reached at 212-433-1839; e-mail: dlory@artemisrecords.com.

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