Howard Rosen Promotion Inc.
by ICX
Howard Rosen Promotion Inc.
Howard Rosen
President
Address: 5605 Woodman Ave., #206, Van Nuys, CA 91401
Phone: 818-901-1122
Fax: 818-901-6513
E-mail: info@howiewood.com
Website: www.howiewood.com
InsideCx: How did this company come about?
HR: After being in the business since 1969, when I started at the mailroom at Bell Records, which later became Arista Records. In the very beginning we had a ton of great clients ranging from the Fifth Dimension to Mountain.
I came out here to Los Angeles in 1977 to work for Casablanca Records as senior vice president of promotions. After three years, I became president of Bearsville Records. I learned a lot of skills over there. I became intellectualized on the business side. I came into the music business and then I learned the business of music.
I left there because Mo Austin recruited me to be the senior vice president of Warner/Reprise. I spent a number of years there and I had an opportunity to move to Motown to be the senior vice president of promotions there. I helped with the marketing and A&R of a new company called Morocco. That didn't last long, and since I wasn't doing what I wanted to do, which was to sign acts and get involved a bit heavier, I then went to A&M to be in charge of special projects.
After I left there, I thought there had to be a better way. I wanted to work for myself and pick and choose the artists. I would live and die by my own sword. A lot of times at labels you sign artists for other reasons than they are really great. I figured I could find interesting things.
InsideCx: How do artists get to the company?
HR: I've got a lot of friends out there who worked for me or with me. Some of them run companies and some are presidents of companies. They call here or recommend people to call here and we pick and choose which artists to go to battle with.
I manage a couple of producers. They have some reach and find some interesting people along the way. The major companies call us as well. People use us to help them with their acts that are already established.
InsideCx: How does the label work?
HR: We work both established and brand new acts. Working the brand new ones is really a lot of fun when you believe in what you've got. That's not to confuse being fun with being easy, but it's the ability to take something you believe has a shot and approach your friends to say, "This is a really great record. I'd love for you to buy this band."
I had a band that I really liked a while ago. I approached Lava/Atlantic and Universal. Both companies liked the music. They wanted it on the radio before they'd respond. So the manager hired us and we got the band on the radio. In a matter of a few weeks we had under 20 radio stations, but half of them were going Top 10 at night because of requests. The band subsequently got signed to Lava for more money than was originally asked.
InsideCx: How different is your procedure from the majors?
HR: The latitude one has while working for oneself is you can go online, you can go find things. When you're working for a record company, your job is promotion, marketing and sales. Here, your job is getting other things accomplished. We like doing that. There are surprises every day.
It's all a matter of contacts and people who were happy with what you've done in the past. When your name is on a bunch of albums and in credits, people find you.
InsideCx: How approachable are you?
HR: I love artists to get to me, because we're always looking for the next monster. You never know when it comes.
We get tons of stuff in the mail every day and we listen to just about everything. We have a New York office and a Los Angeles office, people who work with us here and listen to product very quickly. I'd like to say we listen to everything the first day it comes in, but there are days when you can't. In the first week that music comes in, it gets listened to, and it might be within the first couple of days.
