The legendary Motown Records and Universal Music Enterprises are celebrating the famed label’s 50th anniversary with year-long promotions and releases, including a series of online podcasts featuring rare and intimate conversations by many of label’s acclaimed singers, producers, and songwriters.

The first podcast episode featuring Smokey Robinson aired January, 12 2009. New episodes will debut bi-weekly, with segments including: label founder Berry Gordy; Nick Cannon; the late Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops; The New York Times columnist Frank Rich; the Temptations’ Otis Williams and the late Melvin Franklin; Stevie Wonder; Levi Stubbs and Lamont Dozier (of H-D-H fame); KCRW’s Garth Trinidad; Diana Ross; songwriters Pam Sawyer and Marilyn McLeod; hip-hop pioneer and Universal Motown artist Q-Tip; and songwriter/producer Dozier.

Other upcoming segments will include Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, the Commodores, film director Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill), and songwriter Diane Warren.

As part of the year-long celebration, Motown released a 10-CD box set, “Motown: The Complete No. 1’s,” this past December, which included more than 200 classic songs from 50 Motown artists, plus a 100-page photo booklet with rare images and an introduction by Smokey Robinson. 

In addition, the label just released “NOW That’s What I Call Motown!” (January 13, 2009), the latest compilation in the hugely successful “NOW That’s What I Call Music!” series.

According to Billboard.biz, Sony Music Entertainment began cutting staff yesterday (January 15th), which included Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua, President of Urban Music at Columbia Records, as well as urban marketing executive Al Branch.

With Joshua’s Columbia departure, it is unclear who will head the label’s urban department, or who will handle the up-coming projects of Jim Jones (”Pray for Reign”) and the Clipse; both are acts signed by Joshua.

Following his post as Senior Vice President of Urban A&R at Atlantic Records in 2006, Joshua was recruited to Columbia by label head Rick Rubin, beginning his tenure at the label in July 2007.

Joshua got his start in the music industry working as an A&R at Roc-A-Fella Records, where he worked on the projects of Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Kanye West and Freeway. He is also the co-founder of HipHopSince1978, where he manages recording artists Lil’ Wayne, Kanye West and producer Just Blaze, with his partner Gee Roberson.

Branch also worked with Roc-A-Fella Records and HipHopSince1978.

Former Atlantic Records and Warner/Chappell executive, Chris Hicks, has been appointed Executive Vice President at Def Jam, taking over the vacant position that became available following the death of Shakir Stewart in November of last year.

Hicks joined the Warner/Chappell staff as Vice President, Urban A&R in 2004, and was later promoted to Senior Vice President, Urban A&R for Atlantic Records and Senior Vice President, A&R and Head of Urban Music for Warner/Chappell Music in April 2007.

Hicks founded the publishing company, Noontime, in 1997, where he identified and developed numerous artists, including writers Brian Michael Cox, Jazze Pha, Dave Young and Teddy Bishop. At Warner/Chappell, he was an important figure in striking publishing agreements with T.I., Lil’ Wayne, Yung Joc, LeToya, Eric Hudson and Lloyd, in addition to helping re-sign Timbaland and Dr. Dre.

On April 4th, hip-hop icons and rap pioneers, Run D.M.C., are being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Cleveland’s Public Hall. The group’s induction makes them the second rap act to be voted into the Rock Hall, following  Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five in 2006. 

Independent record labels and urban artists have had successful relationships with one another in the past, but as Hip-Hop and R&B transitioned into the mainstream, the thought of an artist signing with an indie didn’t sound quite as appealing as it once did. But things have suddenly changed and Koch Records is a major reason for the resurgence of artists seeing the value in signing with smaller record labels.

In the past five years, the label has produced some of urban music’s most recognizable hits: “Sexy Can I” (Ray J); “Baby Girl,” “We Fly High,” and “Byrd Gang Money” (Jim Jones); “We Takin’ Over,” “I’m So Hood,” and “Brown Paper Bag”(DJ Khaled); “Walk It Out” (Unk); and “Blow Your Mind” (Styles P). A&R Department decided to speak with the man responsible for putting out those records, Alan Grunblatt, Executive Vice President of Koch Entertainment, to get his perspective on Koch’s position in the marketplace, the business model of the label, and the current landscape of the music industry.  

 How has Koch positioned itself as a credible competitor to major labels despite not having as many resources?

Our sort of theory is Koch is really the equal of the major labels. We’ve broken Jim Jones, along with DJ Khaled; Ray J. So really there’s no difference between us and the majors; there’s no difference in the resources between us and the majors. It’s just purely a definitional thing.

What is it about Koch that has attracted so many commercially viable artists to sign with your label?

We don’t really over A&R the projects with them. We do a lot of deals with the artists’ labels and stuff. And like ninety percent of the cases we really rely on the artists themselves to A&R the project. A lot of artists really like that and seems to be working out.

So I guess that falls into the type of business model that Koch employs?

Everybody has the same model in terms you need hit records to sell albums. How that relates to what the artists makes and stuff like that is sort of over-exaggerated because you’re spending so much to break these records and what it really does is it enables the artists to make so much more money on the other side. We certainly allow artists to have a lion’s share of the proceeds and to make a bigger profit, but it’s just really in today’s climate the promotional and marketing dollars are so expensive that that’s really the key point of the focus on it.

Has the rise in digital distribution affected the way your company approaches selling records?

Yeah sure, because it makes it more of a hit driven business. See album sales are really struggling, but if you have a hit, you can sell millions and millions of singles on iTunes. And that certainly changes … It made us more hit driven as opposed to signing like more culty kinda album artists.

Where do you think labels need to exert their resources in order for a project to see positive results?

You gotta get on the radio. Get radio going and get a video going.

You think at this point that’s still the primary focus?

Absolutely.

What about online?

You know online’s important but it’s really … it reflects radio and video. The artists who purely break online is not as big as everybody thinks—in my opinion. It’s part of the marketing mix but the most important things are having a hit record and having a video on.

I would say, depending on the advance, if an artist scans 25,000 units that can be a successful project. You know 25,000 units sold is a quarter of $1,000,000. That’s a significant amount of money; multiply that by ten that’s $2,500,000. 

Since the needs of your label differ from that of the majors, how does Koch assess a successful project?

I mean it’s a tricky question because that depends on how much the deal is. But I would say, depending on the advance, if an artist scans 25,000 units that can be a successful project. You know 25,000 units sold is a quarter of $1,000,000. That’s a significant amount of money; multiply that by ten that’s $2,500,000. If you have ten projects like that…

It seems that part of Koch’s appeal with artists has been due to the label’s creative flexibility as well as the potential for your artists to reap larger financial earnings from album sales. What is your view of the 360 deals?

It’s not something we really do because on the hip-hop side it’s very hard to take an artist’s touring income away from him and stuff like that. We like to do our deals, we like the artists to have other lanes to make money. So sort of like, it makes it a healthier relationship for us…

With record sales down, artists and labels are trying to find different opportunities to compensate for the decline. What are some of the ways that Koch is generating ancillary revenue?

I mean really it’s the digital side: CDs, iTunes, ringtones. Those are the main things. Sure you know like we work your music into movies, video games, stuff like that. But for us it’s really CD sales, digital singles, and ringtones. That’s what we really focus on.

Many of the urban acts on your roster already have a respectable name in the marketplace with an established fan base due to either their current or former affiliations with major labels. Is that part of your organization’s strategy?

You like to sign an artist with some base, as opposed to somebody who’s brand new. I mean, like even Unk who was a new artist was part of Big Oomp Records, had a big club buzz when we signed him. So we like to have the artist have something going on. Like, we’re never going to sign an artist cold like that. That’s not our philosophy. It’s not so much purely … like, they don’t really have to have records out, but there has to be a reason for us to sign them besides the quality of the record.

Is it a cost effective thing also?

For us it is, otherwise it would be way too expensive. Otherwise you would have millions and millions of dollars in making a record and we can’t afford that … Jim Jones is my partner; Cameron Giles was my partner. My successful deals was always … The best deals I ever did was I had Ruthless Records with Easy-E, Eric was my partner; I had Suave House with Tony Draper, Tony was my partner; I signed Three 6 Mafia, Hypnotize Minds was my partner. That’s how I really like to do it. This way you don’t have to worry about stuff. You get the record and then you deal with it. Hey look, it’s certainly working, like Cash Money is a great … Wayne’s the number one artist in America and that’s their example, and I’m sure Universal is very, very happy that they deal with Slim and Baby like that. So that’s our preference if we can, but sometimes it’s difficult to do that. But that’s how we really prefer it.

  

At a young age, Claude Kelly knew that one day he would become a fixture in the music industry, presumably as a singer. He was so steadfast in pursuit of his dream that on Saturday afternoons, along with his cousin in tow, he would travel around New York City collecting the names and addresses of various record labels, fantasizing about the day when he would wow executives in those exact offices. All grown up, Kelly’s childhood premonition of dazzling industry personnel with his musical abilities has come true, although part of his dream is still being momentarily deferred.   

Emerging as one of the new rising songwriters in popular music, the 27 year-old Lower East Side native has turned a bleak beginning into a very promising future. Back in 2003, after returning to the Big Apple following his graduation from the prestigious Berkley College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, the then neophyte songsmith reconnected with some old friends who were actively pursuing music when he was pitched the idea of songwriting. Despite not having any prior experience or even any real interest in being a writer, Kelly decided to try his hand, stating: “I kinda fell into writing. My main thing was really being an artist, and I just kinda realized that being an artist doesn’t pay the bills until you get signed.”

His professional path immediately changed directions when he secured his first song placement for “Take Your Time,” which was included on Bathing Ape founder Nigo’s compilation CD, “Nigo Presents: (B)ape Sounds.” The boost in confidence from his initial song placement led to other projects, allowing Kelly to develop his talent as a songwriter. Using each project as a stepping-stone, Kelly eventually established a relationship with Akon, where the two forged a musical bond rooted in respect and admiration for each other’s musical capabilities.

The first public Akon-Kelly collaboration was Leona Lewis’ “Forgive Me,” off her platinum debut album, “Spirit.” Kelly’s contribution on “Spirit” heightened his profile, leading to the opportunity to work with two of music’s most acclaimed artists: Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. For both records, he again partnered with Akon, writing the lyrics to “Like I Never Left” (Whitney Houston) and “Hold My Hand” (Akon and Michael Jackson).

Fulfilling his childhood dreams, the budding penman reflected on the significance of his participation on the projects of two pop culture icons: “Those are two artists that I grew up listening to that were like—they were it. They were two black pop stars to me.” Besides the personal satisfaction Kelly enjoyed, he also understands the significance it has on his professional growth. “To have conquered both of those so early in my career is like—it tells me two things: it tells me that I’m doing the right thing, and tells me that if it happened now that means great things are coming after that.”

Even though he is making headway in the music industry behind the scenes as a songwriter, his childhood aspirations of making it big as an artist still haven’t waned. Having written the lyrics for some of the industry’s most noted artists, he hopes his resume softens industry resistance when he decides to pursue a career as an artist, stating: “songwriting will basically give me the opportunity to do what I want as an artist, because now that I’ve proven that I can write for other people, there’s a lot of things I want to say that I feel only I can say.”

Claude Kelly’s most recent songwriting contributions can be heard on Brandy’s “Human” (“True,” “Camouflage”), Britney Spears’ “Circus” (“Circus,” “Shattered Glass”), and Akon’s “Freedom (“We Don’t Care”).