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Contains some strong language
No one was more shocked than singer-songwriter Amanda Ghost when she was asked to run Epic Records. She talks about what peeking behind the music-industry curtain taught her
"I have this dual personality where I get up every morning and I breathe music – but I also like the hustle and bustle of the business," Amanda Ghost says. "It's dramatically changed from when I started, but what hasn't changed is the culture of 'No'; the culture of, 'We're fucked. In the good old days we made some money, now it's all fuckin' over.' As an artist, I was very fascinated by the business, but my advice to artists now is: don't be fascinated by the business, concentrate on the music."
Cynicism, snark and small-mindedness have swirled around Amanda Ghost for years. Her career path has been jarring and unexpected: a singer and songwriter from London whose biggest hit peaked at No 63 in 2000, yet became president of a major label eight years later. Along the way, she wrote some of the decade's most ubiquitous singles, but the co-author of James Blunt's You're Beautiful also made leftfield solo records that melded classic songwriting with avant-garde electronica.
Her 18 months during 2009 and 2010 as the head of the Sony imprint Epic, based in New York, have been derided as a failure. Yet Epic almost doubled its market share during her tenure, even as the record industry's economics continued to crumble. Those who view her as a failed artist turned failed executive may be surprised by the people keen to work with her. Liam Howlett had her guest on the last Prodigy album and encouraged her to take the Epic job, and she will be writing this year with Florence Welch (she of the Machine) and the xx. Similarly, her views on the ailing industry will confound those who have assumed her appointment to the Epic presidency was little more than a sinecure for a corporate stooge.
'You've got to have perseverance' … Amanda Ghost.
