Wywiad z nowym menadżerem Michaela Jacksona
Posted: Mon, 22 May 2006, 21:32
Michael Jackson's new business manager Guy Holmes began putting in plave the details of his new Two Seas operation last week.
Holmes, head of Gut Records for more than a decade, was last Wednesday confirmed as CEO of Two Seas Records, the joint venture established by Jackson with Abdulla Hamad Al-Khalifa.
Holmes, who will retain his involvement in Gut in parallel, will overseae the making of Jackson's new album and other business activities, splitting his time between London and Bahrain, where Two Seas is headquartered.
But the UK office will be run by general manager Nina Frykberh, who has formerly worked in senior roles for Independiente, London and Mushroom Records in the UK. Holmes told Music Week that Frykberg will be his right hand person.
"Nina knows and understands the independent world and the major world, and she has international marketing experience, too. I am really please to get her," Holmes says.
The UK company will oversee deal-making, marketing and promotion, he says, while recording of Jackson's new material will be managed from Bahrain.
There, New Zealander Matt Tait, who has worked with Jackson over many years, will take on the role of studio manager. The operations in Bahrain include a stat-of-the-art studio complex which has been built from scratch and includes "every single micro-phone Jackson has ever used", according to Holmes.
Holmes says, besides establishing Two Seas' infrastructure, his first task will be planning a strategy for Jackson's music. Jackson has already started working on hus new album, ready for a rough release date of late 2007.
"We need to decide how and precisely when we put the album out", Holmes says. "We will be talking to major mobile companies and music companies around the world.
"We are going to look at all the different opportunities open to us. The world is a very different place today. This is going to be a totally multi-media project, perhaps bigger than any multi-media campaign that has been put together."
Holmes says he is open to all possibilities in relation to a deal for Jackson. "it is about what is best for Michael's career," he says. It is understood that, despite Jackson's high-profile falling out with Tommy Mottola at the beginning of the decade, the changing personnel and status of Song BMG would not rule the major out of any possible negotiations.
Holmes declines to discuss any details of his new working relationship with Jackson, but it is understood that the pair have been talking about working together since they were introduced by mutual friends in July last year.
Holmes is en established figure in the UK music industry, since first joining United Artists/EMI Records in 1979, later working for Arista and Island Records. He famously founded Gut records in the early Nineties after discovering Right Said Fred and being turned down by a string of major labels. The act went on to sell 6m singles and 5m albums.
Over the intervening decade and more, Holmes has revived the careers of Aswad and Tom Jones, selling 2m and 5m albums respecticely. And, in February, Gut was honoured as Music Week's independent singles company of 2005 after a year in which it sold 700,000 copies of the Crazy Frog single. Holmes was also one of the founders of independent labels association Aim in the late Nineties.
Source: Music Week
Holmes, head of Gut Records for more than a decade, was last Wednesday confirmed as CEO of Two Seas Records, the joint venture established by Jackson with Abdulla Hamad Al-Khalifa.
Holmes, who will retain his involvement in Gut in parallel, will overseae the making of Jackson's new album and other business activities, splitting his time between London and Bahrain, where Two Seas is headquartered.
But the UK office will be run by general manager Nina Frykberh, who has formerly worked in senior roles for Independiente, London and Mushroom Records in the UK. Holmes told Music Week that Frykberg will be his right hand person.
"Nina knows and understands the independent world and the major world, and she has international marketing experience, too. I am really please to get her," Holmes says.
The UK company will oversee deal-making, marketing and promotion, he says, while recording of Jackson's new material will be managed from Bahrain.
There, New Zealander Matt Tait, who has worked with Jackson over many years, will take on the role of studio manager. The operations in Bahrain include a stat-of-the-art studio complex which has been built from scratch and includes "every single micro-phone Jackson has ever used", according to Holmes.
Holmes says, besides establishing Two Seas' infrastructure, his first task will be planning a strategy for Jackson's music. Jackson has already started working on hus new album, ready for a rough release date of late 2007.
"We need to decide how and precisely when we put the album out", Holmes says. "We will be talking to major mobile companies and music companies around the world.
"We are going to look at all the different opportunities open to us. The world is a very different place today. This is going to be a totally multi-media project, perhaps bigger than any multi-media campaign that has been put together."
Holmes says he is open to all possibilities in relation to a deal for Jackson. "it is about what is best for Michael's career," he says. It is understood that, despite Jackson's high-profile falling out with Tommy Mottola at the beginning of the decade, the changing personnel and status of Song BMG would not rule the major out of any possible negotiations.
Holmes declines to discuss any details of his new working relationship with Jackson, but it is understood that the pair have been talking about working together since they were introduced by mutual friends in July last year.
Holmes is en established figure in the UK music industry, since first joining United Artists/EMI Records in 1979, later working for Arista and Island Records. He famously founded Gut records in the early Nineties after discovering Right Said Fred and being turned down by a string of major labels. The act went on to sell 6m singles and 5m albums.
Over the intervening decade and more, Holmes has revived the careers of Aswad and Tom Jones, selling 2m and 5m albums respecticely. And, in February, Gut was honoured as Music Week's independent singles company of 2005 after a year in which it sold 700,000 copies of the Crazy Frog single. Holmes was also one of the founders of independent labels association Aim in the late Nineties.
Source: Music Week