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A&R veteran Ron Fair talks about surviving in the music business at Music Career Expo 2002.
By Rob Hochschild
Berklee.edu Editor
May 7, 2002
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Photo by Justin A. Knight |
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These are tough times for the recording industry, but things have never been better for A&M Records President Ron Fair. In the late 1990s, Fair signed Christina Aguilera, produced a string of hit records, and now ranks as one of the industry's leading executives. At a time when plummeting sales are shrinking record company staffs, Fair said there is still hope for people who aspire for the kind of success he has achieved.
"Major labels seem like a fortress, like the walls are up and they're impenetrable," Fair said during his keynote address at Berklee's Music Career Expo 2002 on April 6. "But the walls are imaginary. There's a tremendous need for people who want to be in [the business]. There's destiny involved, but it's also perseverance. If you have the burning desire, you can do it."
The key for students, said Fair, is finding their unique "connection point" into the profession. Citing the example of industry giants like David Geffen, who began his career as a mail clerk for the William Morris Agency, Fair said there are as many ways of breaking in as there are people who are hoping to do so.
An assignment for a Los Angeles music publication in 1981 helped open the door for Fair. After interviewing an RCA executive for the article, Fair was asked to apply for an A&R job with the company. Reluctant at first, he eventually landed the job and began the career he describes as "finding artists, loving them, believing in them, trying to identify that song, recording it, trying to make it into a hit."
After a few years at RCA, Fair moved on to Chrysalis, Island, and EMI, before joining A&M, where he oversees a talent roster that includes Sting, Sheryl Crow, and Bryan Adams. Earlier in his career, Fair worked with Billy Idol, Huey Lewis, the O-Jays, and Pat Benatar, and scored successes with a number of movie soundtracks, including "Rocky," "Reality Bites," and the seven-time platinum "Pretty Woman." Surviving the ups and downs of his career helped Fair develop a philosophy for hit making.
"Records use music and abuse music," said Fair, who is also an accomplished pianist. "There's no rule that said a great record is of great music. There's no rule that said great music makes a great record. A record is a concoction of timing, personality, sexuality, merchandising, promotion, hooks, beats, grooves. A hit is a distillation of elements put together in a unique way; half notes and silence and half magic dust."
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| Ron Fair roamed the room during a lively question-and-answer session. |
| Photo by Justin A. Knight |
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Displaying a vast knowledge of music and the business during his hour-long talk, Fair was confident and relaxed while addressing the hundreds of Career Expo attendees. He spiced stories from his career with a sharp sense for detail and biting humor. He stressed that he made plenty of mistakes along the way, but that he learned from all of them.
"He's the first person I met in the industry who combines musical expertise with business," said Music Business/Management major Justin Siegel, who arranged for Fair to be the Career Expo's keynote speaker. "Berklee does the same thing in the Music Business/Management Department, so I figured there was no better person to give this speech."
Siegel's connection to Fair is an example of the sort the speaker had talked about. Fair had met Siegel's mother during a health retreat in California and helped the student land summer internships with A&M and the Universal Music Group in Los Angeles. This summer, Siegel will work for Universal as its college representative for the Northeast United States. He hopes to work for Universal after he graduates from Berklee next year.
Fair said he encounters Berklee graduates in the music studios and business often, and reports that he is typically impressed with what he sees and hears. He once worked with father and son alumni Abe Laboriel and Abe Laboriel Jr., the bassist and drummer for a song on the "Reality Bites" soundtrack.
"You're in the right place," said Fair, referring to Berklee.
Immediately after his keynote speech, he invited questions from the audience and was asked to return to his philosophy on great music and great records. He answered it first by talking about music, and then, record production.
"I work with a lot of aspiring producers who have crazy ProTools chops that can transpose hamsters in E-flat into elephants in B-flat," Fair said. "The point is, do they have any taste? You've got to face your own demons in there when you're recording music and learn what to leave in and what to take out."
If his studio successes are any indication, Fair has faced enough demons to last a lifetime.
Ron Fair's speech, sponsored by the Music Business/Management Department, was the ninth annual James G. Zafris, Jr., Lecture. At the Career Expo, he also led a roundtable discussion called The Art of Record Production.
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