Big Machine Label Group and Scott Borchetta are the subject of an article titled “The machine behind Taylor Swift” in yesterday’s (Jan. 20) Financial Times. As Swift prepares for a string of dates in London next month, the British paper reports on Big Machine’s global strategy.
A key part of the strategy is artists making the commitment to tour abroad, as Swift has done three or four times a year since 2008. Fellow BMLG artists The Band Perry and Rascal Flatts are set for upcoming concerts in Europe. Meanwhile, the label group is priming The Cadillac Three for an international push.
“We have a mantra here that we’re right until proven wrong,” Borchetta told FT. “I want to give [international] listeners a chance to decide, and if they tell us, ‘You know what, we don’t like that,’ then OK, we’ve got it. I tell my artists all the time: ‘If you want to go just once, go on vacation. If you’re not going to come back, they’re going to forget about you.’”
The article also discusses BMLG’s groundbreaking royalty deals with radio, and its use of streaming services. For example, the label group withheld Swift’s blockbuster Red from streaming for more than six months after release, but licensed music by newer act Florida Georgia Line.
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Sarah Skates has worked in the music business for more than a decade and is a longtime contributor to MusicRow.View Author Profile
