COURTNEY PHILLIPS LEFT UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP TO JOIN MEDITATION APP CALM AS HEAD OF MUSIC. ATLANTIC RECORDS PROMOTED JESSICA HIROMOTO TO SENIOR DIRECTOR OF RHYTHM PROMOTION.
improvement — especially in the agency business.
But you still do run into [prejudice]. I try not to let
that dictate who I am and what I can do.
Does age matter in the music business?
Ageism is definitely an issue. The key is recog-
nizing you don’t need to compete with the young
guys. You have to step back and let your ego get
out of the way. At this stage, my role has changed
a bit. I have the knowledge and experience that
young people don’t have. They need me. So let me
approach it from a different direction: to mentor
and help develop some of the new young exec-
utives. I owe my longevity to listening to young
people and keeping an open mind.
Rap rules today’s streaming charts. What
happened to R&B?
R&B in the ’90s was really big; rap was coming up.
The demographics have really changed because of
the internet, with younger kids focusing more on rap
and pop, which can be a quick burn. But to me, R&B
artists have more loyal fan bases — I have always
kept my hands in R&B and still represent Kem and
Anthony Hamilton, and work with Tamar Braxton.
As for streaming, the traditional R&B artists don’t
get streamed as much now. But there’s a new wave
of R&B that’s catering to the younger generation
of listeners, and we represent a lot of those acts,
including SZA, H.E.R., Ella Mai and Daniel Caesar.
It has been exciting to see this new wave begin to
grow R&B’s streaming numbers.
You were an early believer in Cardi B. How did you
know she’d be a star?
Cardi B was unique from the very beginning, even
when she was on TV. What separates her from
everyone else is that she has an opinion and she
stands up for what she means. She’s got a strong
personality, and people are attracted to that. A lot
of agencies passed on Cardi B. But you can just tell
when somebody has “it.” And when I met her for
the first time, I could tell that.
Endeavor recently postponed its initial public
offering, which had hoped to raise as much as
$600 million. What pressures are you facing
as a talent agency?
To me, the biggest issue right now is the Writers
Guild, which is trying to redefine the agency’s role
as it relates to writers in the business. That affects
all the departments — film, TV, endorsements,
sponsorships and music touring — we service
clients across the whole agency. Outside invest-
ment is good because it allows agencies to grow
and get into different areas like sports. Sports
sponsorships, the branding of venues, building
1. Tour books, including one from former
client Usher’s 2008 One Night Stand: Ladies
Only Tour. “Tour books have gone the way of
digital,” says Cheatham. “But I miss having
hard copies.” 2. Replica of Madison Square
Garden given to Cheatham after Justin Bieber
sold out the New York venue for the first
time in 2010. 3. A plaque commemorating
multiplatinum sales for Cardi B’s breakout
first single, “Bodak Yellow.” 4. Replica of a
rodeo buckle presented to him after Cardi B’s
concert appearance at RodeoHouston 2019
at NRG Park drew 75,580 attendees, beating
Garth Brooks’ previous all-time attendance
record by three people.
1
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venues around the world ... We’re really involved
in a lot of areas in sports.
If an act is going to sell its entire tour to one promot-
er, why does the act still need an agent?
The internet and social media have made it more dif-
ficult for us to operate because of the fact that artists
are easily reachable with one click of a button or a
phone call. A lot of people can get directly to talent.
To stay in the middle as the agent, you have to bring
more value to your client and be able to educate them
about things they’re unaware of. So if an artist goes
with a tour promoter, he or she still needs an agency
to oversee the deal structure. We know what the take-
out should be; we know how to scale the buildings.
We work closely with management and the
promoter as a team to benefit the artist in the long
run. Artists really need a full team around them in
order to maximize their earning potential because
we bring value plus endorsement and sponsorship
deals — which also can benefit the artist by under-
writing the touring course as well. Smaller acts
need somebody that’s going to get out there and
really grind out the dates early on when no one’s pay-
ing attention to them. In the past, record companies
used to have local promotion teams
in all the markets. We don’t have that
anymore. But agents have connections
in all the local markets, so we know
what’s going on. We know what
clubs to hire. We know where we can
put a client early on to help develop
him or her into a touring attraction
and music artist.
What major lesson have you heeded
throughout your career?
Don’t take it personally. In this busi-
ness, you care about and want to do
right by people. But sometimes that’s
not good enough for whatever reason.
We all look for people to say, “Oh,
you’re doing a good job” ... Some kind
of assurance that you’re on the right
path. However, especially in the ser-
vice business that we’re in, you can’t
always expect people to compliment
you on doing a good job. You have just
got to know you’re doing the best you
can for your clients.
“ I OWE MY LONGEVITY TO
LISTENING TO YOUNG PEOPLE
AND KEEPING AN OPEN MIND.”
OCTOBER 19, 2019 • WWW.BILLBOARD.COM 2 3
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