Scott Borchetta’s New Songwriting Deal Means More Pop In Country
In yet another landmark deal, Big Machine Records founder and CEO Scott Borchetta has commenced a joint venture in the songwriting realm with the pop world’s Dr. Luke. A songwriter and producer, Dr. Luke’s publishing company boasts 30-40 big names in the pop world–names like Katy Perry and Ke$ha. The objective of the joint venture is “to allow the two companies to co-publish songwriters with the goal of bringing country and pop writers into each other’s realm.” In other words, the deal will likely mean even more pop on country radio, as pop songwriters and producers collaborate more intimately with Big Machine’s growing roster of country talent.
The seeds of the deal were planted when Scott Borchetta suggested Big Machine artist Taylor Swift collaborate with songwriting producers Max Martin and Shellback on her latest release Red. The relationship resulted in two multi-platinum mega hits: “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.” As Billboard states about the deal:
The goal for both teams is to keep an eye open for the other, sending writers to L.A. from Nashville and vice-versa to fit the needs of the two teams. Naturally, both sides see the current landscape in pop music as receptive to the merging of the two cultures, evidenced by Swift’s use of various non-Nashville experts to assist with her music on her latest Big Machine release ‘Red.’
The new deal will mean that at the very inception of the creative process–the writing of songs–pop writers and producers will have more input in country music. It will also mean that since Dr. Luke’s pop songwriters will be working under the same corporate umbrella as their country counterparts, the collaborations will be more financially lucrative for the parent companies. The deal could also erode the genre integrity of the pop world, as country producers and songwriters from Nashville swap their tastes with LA-based pop acts. Similar to Clear Channel monopolizing radio markets and offering less choice to consumers, the Borchetta/Dr. Luke deal could mean the erosion of choice and contrast between country and pop.
The reason Saving Country Music often refers to Scott Borchetta as the “Country Music Anti-Christ” is not because of the way he handles his Big Machine roster. Compared to many Music Row CEO’s, Borchetta offers incredible creative latitude and financial fairness to his talent bin; a bin that now includes names like Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Florida Georgia Line, Reba McEntire, and The Band Perry. But Borchetta might also be the most responsible party for the erosion of the term “country” in the history of the genre, as he continues to market songs and artists that are either pop or mostly pop through country channels.
Most of all, the new deal reaffirms Scott Borchetta as one of the leading minds in the music business. Country fans can hate on him all they want, but Borchetta has proven himself to be smarter and more shrewd than his Music Row brethren time and time again.
April 18, 2013 @ 5:29 pm
Well….shit.
April 19, 2013 @ 10:43 am
Couldn’t have said it better!
April 18, 2013 @ 5:49 pm
just great, thanks for the insight.
April 18, 2013 @ 6:11 pm
This deal is not the first of its kind.
Creative Nation (founded by Beth Mason Laird and her husband, country hitmaker Luke Laird) announced an identical partnership with Pulse Recordings last July. Luke Laird’s name can be found on hits by Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Eric Church, and many more.
Here’s the press release announcing the partnership last summer:
http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2012/07/09/272922/261468/en/Pulse-Recording-and-Creative-Nation-Announce-Exclusive-Partnership.html
Here’s the Billboard article on that partnership:
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/publishing/1084657/pulse-recording-home-to-pop-hitmaker-bonnie-mckee-partners-with
Last August , ASCAP held a songwriting retreat bringing together country hitmakers with pop hitmakers with the goal of writing songs for Beyonce (2 out of the 3 days were devoted to that) and Blake Shelton (he got the last day).
Sources:
http://www.musicrow.com/2012/09/ascap-nashville-hosts-inaugural-music-city-trifecta/
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2012/09/faces-places/nashville/nashville-trifecta-songwriters-retreat
Before the publishing rights organizations and publishing companies got on board, some artists were themselves trying to bring together songwriters from different genres. Carrie Underwood is probably the leading example: Her 2009 album Play On featured multiple collaborations between Nashville’s country songwriters and pop/rock songwriters like Mike Elizondo, David Hodges, Kara DioGuardi & Marti Frederiksen (for 2 songs), Zac Maloy, Chantal Kreviazuk, and Raine Maida. That album also featured a song called ‘Quitter’ that was cowritten and produced by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, and Shellback, but it was nothing like Taylor’s Max Martin songs. It was more of an acoustic pop song with some cool mandolin work. Interestingly, Carrie Underwood’s 2012 album ‘Blown Away’ was much more of a Nashville album: David Hodges, Chris DeStefano, and Ryan Tedder are the only writers whose previous work is primarily in pop, though Chris DeStefano’s had an increased presence in country lately.
Bottom line is this is not Scott Borchetta setting a trend. The trend was in place before Scott Borchetta got there, and he’s not even the first person to do an official joint venture with a pop publisher.
April 18, 2013 @ 8:30 pm
Hey Windmills,
First off, thanks for the great research. This illustrates how deep the infiltration of pop is going into the most fundamental building block of music–the songwriting process. And that it is touching many corners of the country world.
Please don’t understand me though, I didn’t say this was the very first of its kind. I do think it is a bigger, more important deal than the others ones you mentioned for many reasons, but really country writers and pop writers collaborating is nothing new. Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie come to mind, and I’m sure there’s many more earlier examples than that.
The reason I think it is a big game changer is because Scott Borchetta owns the publishing company that covers his Big Machine artists, NOT some independent company like many artists have, one like Creative Nation. Scott Borchetta is empire building, and doing a damn good job of it. First he signed deals with radio to get performance rights for his artists. Then he started a publishing wing of Big Machine. Now he’s bridging that with another company to pool resources. He’s creating connections and synergies throughout the music business where he can control every facet of a song. I don’t mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist. He still has a long way to go. But as opposed to focusing on just one side of the music business–funding the recording and distribution of music–Borchetta is involving himself in nearly every part of the music building process. And taken the size of his roster, and the size of some of the names on that roster, I do think this could be part of something that is unprecedented in music.
April 18, 2013 @ 6:57 pm
Dang, you were spot on Trigger. Maybe soon we’ll see FGL open for Ke$sha.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/keha-will-be-a-force-in-country-music-work-w-hellbound-glory
April 18, 2013 @ 8:08 pm
“The goal for both teams is to keep an eye open for the other, sending writers to L.A. from Nashville and vice-versa to fit the needs of the two teams. Naturally, both sides see the current landscape in pop music as receptive to the merging of the two cultures…”
Sounds more to me like both formats would end up watered-down to the point where they’re virtually indistinguishable (if that’s not already the case).
I’m all for artists of any genre incorporating different influences into their work, but I’m also a big fan of variety and choice. :p
April 19, 2013 @ 7:54 am
Grr.. Borchetta, release Swift from your manipulations and let us enjoy what good teen pop music is about.
PS: From an ex-Taylor Swift fan :/
April 19, 2013 @ 9:09 am
Sadly Trig you have this one nailed. The hope for country music going foward was and still is independent musicans using the power of the new media to bypass the country music antichrist and his ilk to spread quality art to as many people as possible. The mainstream country world was and remains, going foward a totally lost cause.
April 19, 2013 @ 9:16 am
I hate that greasy midget.
April 19, 2013 @ 1:44 pm
Scott Borchetta can kiss my ass for all I care. I hope he rots in hell
June 28, 2013 @ 4:36 pm
“The goal for both teams is to keep an eye open for the other, sending writers to L.A. from Nashville and vice-versa to fit the needs of the two teams. Naturally, both sides see the current landscape in pop music as receptive to the merging of the two cultures, evidenced by Swift”™s use of various non-Nashville experts to assist with her music on her latest Big Machine release ”˜Red.”™”
Hey, that reminds me of something, I wish country songs by either Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood should be played on pop music stations like MTV later this year or next year at some point. I know people don’t like Scott Borchetta for doing this. But it would be nice if Carrier Underwood or Taylor Swift can play all their popular country songs on a pop music station like Fuse that way, pop music stations will get familiar with country music by either Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift. Ours, Two Black Cadillacs, Begin Again, Blown Away or See You Again works really well on pop music stations in my opinion. People do have to agree with me though that remixing a country songs and turn it into a pop song is an awful idea. I do love the remixes of Teardrops On My Guitar or You Belong With Me though and See You Again would be a great country song to have a pop rock remix since Carrie Underwood is such an awesome country singer. But making a pop remix of a country song is just a plain NO! Other than that, country songs by country and pop crossover singers like Taylor Swift played on pop music stations would be an interesting idea. Good thinking, Scott Borchetta. 🙂