Rick Rubin’s Magic Beard: Artistically Amazing, But Lousy With Business

Nearly everyone (well, except these guys) has nice things to say about Rick Rubin, music producer and career rehab specialist. However, a New York Daily News item gives the idea that he might not have been the best choice to help steer the ship at Columbia Records.

When the deal was announced, there was naturally some discussion of what role Rubin would play at Columbia; the label announced he would “form a dynamic and creative executive partnership” with current chairman Steve Barnett, but no one was quite sure what that meant for Rubin, a man with a very busy production schedule. According to the News, the concern was well-merited:

“How is he going to have time to do the business [side] when he’s in the studio?” one source asks. “That can take months.”

Rubin remains a bit of a mystery. Exuding a Zen calm, the onetime vegan nevertheless was reported to have dated a porn star. Mike D of the Beastie Boys said he loves “wrestling and porn” – which doesn’t make female staffers happy.

It doesn’t help that Rubin, who was raised here but has a 1923 estate in L.A. and a home in Malibu, won’t come to New York. Indeed, when we called Columbia, no one was able to say what Rubin’s exact title is.

Stringer just refers to him as a “creative genius” and others call him a “music czar.”

“He hates to fly, so entire departments have to fly out to L.A. to see him,” says one insider. But Rubin just put former exec Mark DiDia from Rubin’s own label, American Records, in charge of day-to-day operations.

While loving porn is no particular rarity among record execs, bringing in staffers from American Records might not be a great sign. American had its share of hits (“Baby Got Back”, the Black Crowes, Tom Petty), but the label is known equally for leaps of artistic fancy, novelty records, and racking up massive debts for its artists. (For example, The Jayhawks often it known in interviews they were nearly a million dollars in debt to American.) Also, how can someone be expected to run a record label while making Metallica seem interesting–which, in 2008, is beyond a full-time gig in itself?

Rubin’s rise taking hits [NY Newsday]