In the music streaming space, the entire catalog is going to be available and it’s going to be a complete listening environment than Netflix. I’ve been in and around the technology in an early phase. Get started . XXL: Let's talk about your first job in music. When Ghazi Shami started his music distribution and publishing business in 2010, he knew he wanted his company’s office to be in San Francisco. EMPIRE has not come without its share of trials, however. Mentoring is an ear to listen and a brain to pick. You’ve done so well with finding regional artists who are on the cusp of breaking out. Universal Music Group announced today it has entered into a multi-year deal with independent distributor EMPIRE, the company founded by San Francisco-based executive Ghazi Shami in … However, as the number of traditional brick-and-mortar music retailers began to decline, and CDs became ancient artifacts, the push for acts to get their music to online retailers and streaming sites became imperative. “At times I might have been overly passionate about things that I did,” Shami says. I felt like I had a wealth of knowledge that needed to be used to create a platform for a lot of people to prosper rather than keeping that knowledge for myself. Radio gets an audience, advertisers get to advertise and artists get to eat and make a living. Nick Cannon & Ncredible Gang. MUSIC D Smoke - Spotify Singles ... MUSIC Mozzy - My Ambitionz [Sing... MUSIC Cookiee Kawaii - Hey DJ [S... MUSIC Ellise - Feeling Something... MUSIC Young Dolph & Key Glock - ... LOAD MORE. 305.8k Followers, 1,000 Following, 2,692 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from EMPIRE (@empire) Not Without Challenges. Mentorship is all about that push in the right direction. From the very, very early beginnings I was fascinated by it. A lot of people knew about marketing, street marketing, street promo, handing out CDs and thumb drives, visiting your local radio station. I saw it really early. Building your own little empire?’ And I would just chuckle and keep it moving. "I think when you pay people on time the word spreads [laughs]. Today the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York City and Atlanta. I started making records when I was 14 my freshman year in high school. This isn’t just our job; we would do this if it wasn’t our job. Fender American Original ’60s Jazzmaster – 3-Color Sunburst #94581 (Open Box) $ 2,029.99 $ 1,929.99 featuring Lil Yachty is No. The reason was I worked in the streaming world in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when it was the dot coms in San Francisco. In 2010 Shami launched EMPIRE Distribution in San Francisco, CA. Check out EMPIRE Distribution on Beatport. But a lot of people didn’t have a firm handle on distribution, or distribution outlet or platform. Artists getting their music to streaming sites has become that much more important, especially for those who've parted ways with major labels and independent MCs in regional areas. Besides being popular rappers with solid fan bases in 2016, they work with Empire. In year one, it was retail and marketing. The next generation of music distribution Sell your music across ... K-Base Empire helps you get your music heard and monetized so you can focus on making it. From the grass roots level how do we work them to the program director? The success of Anderson .Paak’s album Malibu, D.R.A.M. From both a label and a distribution perspective, EMPIRE has no shortage of marquee artists on their roster. Read More. So being that by day I was running around and doing all these technology jobs and learning about streaming and mpeg technology and embedding videos into webpages, mp3s, mp4s, m4as and all these different technologies early on. This means that there are no repercussions if a client feels that their next release could be better serviced by another distribution company. With the help of EMPIRE, (whose imprint is visible on the song’s Spotify page) the two’s latest single, “All The Way Up,” went platinum is just six months, making it Fat Joe’s first Top 40 hit since 2008. Sign In. The international fame quest begins for the Nigerian revered rapper, as he officially partners with Empire music distribution, recordings and publishing company. And yeah, there are these great A&R tools and you can research YouTube, Instagram and these great analytics come through our dashboard and all that is amazing. Then I became an engineer and was one of the main engineers in The Bay. As it expanded, the company became an integral piece in providing support for like Top Dawg Entertainment - specifically Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80 album - and has championed releases from acts such as 2015 Cash Kings list honoree, T.I. While EMPIRE offers the same services, the company takes their relationship with clients from a faceless transaction to a mutual partnership. Initially, EMPIRE provided digital distribution to major streaming platforms and online retailers. Release and distribute your music to all major music services, get discovered by our record label or boost your independent career by upgrading to Pro. A lot of people are on the hunt for us and it’s really special to us that people really seek our service. EMPIRE is a distribution company, record label and publisher founded by Ghazi Shami. Now it's a go-to digital distribution company for independent artists and record labels to get their music … SANTA MONICA, April 25, 2018 — Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced a multi-year global agreement with EMPIRE, the San Francisco-based independent music company founded by Ghazi Shami, to provide strategic distribution services to UMG’s labels and artists to complement UMG’s existing global distribution network. For me, the whole company was…when you're in high school you take algebra class and plot a lot of dots on the graph and after you plot the dots on the graph it creates a picture. itular confusions aside, Ghazi Shami's company understands the needs of an independent musician, and offers exposure of a major label. That’s really what it was, building blocks of the company. We’re all really passionate about the music. When I got out of there, it was time for me to put together my company. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. One of the early indicators in the urban world was Muve Music, which was on Cricket phones. Early on, they weren’t and early on it was based on a lot of relationships. Titular confusions aside, Ghazi Shami's company understands the needs of an independent musician, and offers exposure of a major label. But I made a decision that this is what I’m passionate about and that same passion permeates through the company and that’s how we resonate within the artist's community. Welcome to Beatport. How do we set release dates and publicity with the release dates and wind the record down? This was my first experience seeing turntables or a mixing board. Ghazi Shami is CEO and founder of Empire Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle . Shami believes that there is no magic, or secrets, to their success; rather, “It’s a lot of hard work, effort, making phone calls, writing emails and trying to influence who have we have relationships with to believe in the artist the way you believe in.” Though Ritter and Master both agree that Shami’s long-standing relationships in the music industry are integral to the company’s prosperity. EMPIRE VP, Nima Etminan, with newly arrived plaques for releases from Lil Durk and Rich Brian. Ghazi Shami: That’s the thing; I never had a job in music. For me, it was all these different things in the music industry, [they were] just dots on the graph and the more dots you put on the graph, the more concise the picture you paint. But rather than losing artists to competitors, their transparent, open-door policy has expanded their roster, and inadvertently pushed them to become as versatile as a record company. How do we get artists on tour, how do we do merch? SOCIAL. Copyright © 2021 EMPIRE EMPIRE The foresight for his digital distribution venture took advantage of the fact that consumers were spending less money on music and more time on the internet. “We really fight hard for placements [because] we want to be a home for great artists. In 2010 Shami launched EMPIRE Distribution in San Francisco, CA. I love the culture, I was raised in the culture. From that point going forward, it was just adding the more traditional record label services. Whether an artist sells 500 albums or 500,000, they should be housed in the same place and treated with the same level of respect.”. RELEASES. The 40-year-old former urban director at INgrooves talks to XXL about his history in the music industry, the importance of streaming and how EMPIRE is becoming a hub for hip-hop's top acts. Formerly the Director of Urban Music at digital distribution company INgrooves, Shami started the company 2010. Office Line : 036 219 5339. That kind of quickly ignited my whole passion for music and creating. By the time I was 18 I started to take engineering classes. How important is streaming for the company and how does it factor into EMPIRE’s growth? Where music industry veterans saw the rise in streaming services as a financial threat to the music industry, Ghazi Shami saw an opportunity. In 2015, the company engaged in a legal battle with Twentieth Century Fox due to the confusion between EMPIRE Distribution-branded products and services, and Fox’s music industry-based TV show, Empire. get your music into stores within hours. EMPIRE distribution is the premier, all-encompassing distribution company and record label. I knew that the primary challenge that independent artists had was distribution. I saw that happening really early and I think that model was kind of like the proof of concept…it happened in the video space long before it happened in the music space. Distribution is a crucial part of music promotion. That was the second phase. BLOG. But digital music distribution has taken the center stage. We’re in the music business, and that’s an amazing thing, but music comes before the word business. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 while the 2015 summer banger "All the Way Up" by Fat Joe and Remy Ma was a top 40 hit. So for me, I saw that as an early indicator. The irony is I really did build my own empire.”, © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. The local bootlegger, he was gone too. Empire Distribution is an American music distribution company and digital record label based in San Francisco, California (Bay Area). "I'll always run into someone that I'm doing business with and had very good dealings with and they share our stories with someone else and we plant a seed in that community and the word spreads," Shami tells XXL over the phone. I went to high school in San Mateo, that’s where the original Napster was founded. I think we still have a long way to go before we’re the best version of us. At its core, it’s a digital distribution platform that curates talent similarly to a record label. Authentic Empire Music Group is Helping Artists Succeed In The Music Industry. When they switched from CDs to downloads, they threw out CDs and downloaded the music to their iPods. So I knew all about streaming very early on in my music endeavors. “The most exciting about what we’ve done in the past six years is that there are no duplicate stories,” Shami says. EMPIRE’s business model is unique because it occupies a space between historical silos. “People would ask me, ‘What are you doing over there? What do Fat Joe, Remy Ma, D.R.A.M., Mozzy and Anderson .Paak all have in common? This is going to be awesome for the music industry and yeah, it's fraction to a penny on the dollar but it’s going to change user behavior. Anything in and around hip-hop I wanted to be a part of it. With radio, you don’t pay for radio. Essentially, EMPIRE's. Before EMPIRE recruited hip-hop heavyweights, Shami was a go-to audio engineer for Bay Area rap artists. It comes down to one thing for me. Very early on what I saw in streaming is that urban music is heavily pirated and heavily bootlegged. Close. Though proud of the independent roots of the rap scene, Shami believed more could be done in order for his hometown artist’s music to be heard by the masses. current framework allows them to be as hands-on as their partners want and need them to be. However, since the Internet came along, the distribution market has been continuously changing and it is of the essence for artists to keep up with these changes to get their music heard, their videos seen and the money coming in. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. How do we get the records to radio? Beatport is the world's largest electronic music store for DJs I think that’s an important component of it. Tweets by EMPIRE. With the help of EMPIRE, (whose imprint is visible on the song’s Spotify page) the two’s latest single, “All The Way Up,” went platinum is just six months, making it Fat Joe’s first Top 40 hit since 2008. great features for great music. We got more revenue? Here's how a music company in San Francisco is allowing independent artists to flourish. Many prominent companies and artists have partnerships with EMPIRE (see below), with music being distributed across platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Am… So I just want to continue to refine the company, grow the footprint, turn non-believers into believers, acquire great content, do a great job for our artists and leave a lasting impression on the music industry. I stayed in the production side of things for a good 10, 15 years and then at some point it just made sense to transition to more of the executive side of things. EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami and headquartered in San Francisco, California with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. As people are shifting to streaming music, we’re seeing resurgence in a lot of the catalogue and hit music from the past that people are re-consuming all over again; more money for the artists. I got a chance to catch up with the CEO of Empire Distribution, Ghazi while in Miami for REVOLT MUSIC CONFERENCE. Today, there are a number of digital distribution aggregators that present label-less musicians the opportunity to upload their projects onto online retailers. So when people went from tapes to CDs, a lot of people threw away their tapes and switched to CDs. 's ubiquitous "Broccoli" have both been defining releases. It was a decent movie offering and it was able to displace bootleggers and traditional storefronts. “I felt like they understood independent music better [than major labels] in terms of how flexible we needed to be, and how quickly we got things done,” says Dame Ritter, co-founder and former CEO of now-defunct independent record label, Funk Volume. Additionally, they’ve succeeded in regenerating the careers of matured acts such as Fat Joe and Remy Ma.
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