.WarnerChappell's A&R chief Ryanpress discusses signing Lizzo, current music trends & more.
, with "recognizing something in me that maybe I didn't know in myself" when it comes to his leadership role. "He told me that I've made it to a certain point in A&R, but if I wanted to have a career for the next 20 years, I needed to develop a skill set as a leader," says Press, sitting in his sunlit Los Angeles office. "I'm not looking at this as having big shoes to fill -- I'm just trying to create my own path.
What added pressure -- if any -- have you felt as a black executive navigating your career in the music industry? That actually played a part in my title as I was negotiating my next role. I didn't want to be confined to just urban music. I felt the contributions I had made were universal. It goes back to how I was brought up: The Temptations were a pop and R&B group. I definitely carry the thought that I need to do and be more as an African American in this position. I honestly feel like I'm going to be judged differently, unfortunately.
As the business has grown, companies and investors have become more interested in publishing. On a scale of 1-10, how competitive has the publishing industry become? Ten. Everyone is a publisher now. I think to a certain degree it's unfortunate for songwriters, because people that aren't experts in this have become capitalists in a way. They become more about the money and not about songwriters and his or her talent. There are a million publishers at this point, and from that perspective, it's harder. Ten years ago, there weren't that many publishing companies or that many indie companies.
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