Record Labels Find Themselves In The Middle Of A Rubin Sandwich
According to the New York Times, Columbia Records has offered a co-chairman job to Rick Rubin, the barbate producer who’s crafted hits for the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, and Andrew Dice Clay. The catch? Rubin already has a job with Warner Brothers.
As it stands, Mr. Rubin’s associates said, any arrangement would still allow him to produce recordings for Warner artists. After initially displaying resistance to releasing Mr. Rubin, Warner appears prepared to negotiate an early end to its label deal with him, they said. Mr. Rubin holds certain bargaining chips too: in addition to future production projects, he has work under way for two of the label’s biggest rock acts, Linkin Park and Metallica.
This kind of tussle over talent, while nothing new in the music business, is now a measure of how prized relationships with proven maestros like Mr. Rubin have become as sales plunge and uncertainty reigns.
When it comes to scouting and signing new artists, producer-run labels have a spotty history. Mr. Rubin’s label, American Recordings, has a handful of discoveries to its credit over two decades, including the Black Crowes and System of a Down. But it has delivered few releases for Warner since he set up shop there in 2005.
“Spotty” is one way of putting American Recordings’ recent track record: While Neil Diamond, Tom Petty and Slayer all had mid-sized hits, you’d have to search far and wide to find anyone who cares much about the Vacation or the (International) Noise Conspiracy. We’re guessing Columbia is interested less in Rubin’s artist-scouting skills, and more in his hand-holding skills; after all, this is a guy who can soothe some of the biggest egos in the room, and who’s had a hit in just about every imaginable genre. We look forward to the Chris Botti/Cypress Hill remake of “Walk This Way.”
