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Introduce yourself to the PMP Community

My name is Dallas Martin A&R at Island/Def Jam and I'm currently working on the Juelz Santana project. I'm based in Atlanta but I'm back and forth between here and New York working on the project.

How long have you been with IDJ?

I was hired as a consultant in June of 2008 by Shakir Stewart and I worked very closely with him as an intern for a year and a half. He was basically my mentor and he taught me everything I needed to know to be successful as an A&R. In January of this year I was hired full time as an A&R for the label.

What was your music business experience prior to working for Def Jam?

My first experience was managing producers. When I attended Clark Atlanta University I always had that knack for really wanting to go out there and strive for it and work in the entertainment business as an A&R. So when I would meet producers at my school I would take them under my wing and help them get placements. Through that I was able to build a lot of good relationships with a lot of people in the Atlanta area because at the time Atlanta was where it was at for the music and a lot of people were coming down there to work. I met Shakir through some mutual friends and he offered me an internship and I'm here now from that situation.

The passing of Shakir Stewart has been a big loss to not only Def Jam but the entire music industry in general. Describe how it was working with him on a daily basis

One thing about Shakir he was always on top of it you know. A lot of people don't know that he found Young Jeezy, Rick Ross and other artists that are on the label right now. The dude's work ethic was crazy, he never slept and was always on the grind trying to find that next artist or that next hit record. He instilled in me that same kind of work ethic as far as grinding and delivering for the label. I watched him grow from being an A&R to being the Sr. VP A&R to being the Executive VP of the label and he did it in only 3-4 year span.

Do you feel obligated to help continue the legacy he built?

Definitely, I was the last person he built that work ethic and values into so it's really bigger and deeper with me now with my current position because I want to be able to say I could be as big as he believed I could be. I want to prove through my success that his legacy will continue to live on.

You live in Atlanta but you're originally from Flint Michigan. Describe what the local scene is like out there

It's only a few things you can do in Flint Michigan because the city is very poor and has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. So when you're coming from a place like that you build a real strong grind just because you want to make it and do something different with your life. It's only a few routes you can take which is play basketball, sell drugs or do music. Growing up we had people like MC Breed and The Dayton Family that showed me that I could really get out of Flint and do something with my life and be successful in the music game. In Flint there is no kind of entertainment industry whatsoever so seeing guys like that succeed gave people like me hope.

Will you look to scout for talent in your hometown moving forward?

Definitely my plan is as I grow with the label is to do showcases and give back to the community. I still have a lot of people out there so people from Flint will always have access to me. If anything hot comes out of Flint or Detroit I'm going to get that call because I keep that relationship stable and I'm always going back home to check my people

What's the current status with the Juelz Santana project?

Right now we're about half-way in and we got the single 'Shake That Ass For Daddy' going as well as 'Days of Our Lives' with the video dropping. We're going to put a big push behind the street single because Juelz been gone for so long so we want to make sure he connects back to his core audience which is the streets because they have love for him. The album is definitely going to be classic, we're going to have big records on the album and everybody at the label is real excited about the project.

Is it difficult getting support from the label brass for a Juelz Santana project now that the label seems to be more R&B driven?

I hear a lot of people saying that we're a R&B label but we have some of the biggest rap artists in the business from Rick Ross, Jeezy, Faboulous, Ludacris, Jadakiss, Juelz and so on so while we do have some major artists on the R&B side we also got the same thing going on the Hip Hop side. I would say we're just focused on making big records and superstar artists. We already signed three hip hop acts for the year so we're definitely not afraid of rap music, we love rap music and Def Jam has always been a Hip Hop based label so we're going to keep that legacy alive.

As an A&R what advice would you give to the producers out there on their grind?

It's really about staying consistent, constantly grinding and staying humble. A lot of producers start to slow down and get frustrated because they may not get a bunch of placements right away but if you really believe in yourself its going to work out for you. It's about connecting with the right artist and the right songwriter and making it happen on your own. If you're submitting undeniable hit records nobody is going to turn you down. If you're not at that level yet then my advice is to keep on striving and work on making yourself better and if you believe in yourself it's going to happen.

Are you under pressure to deliver music that has to work for radio?

With an album project like Juelz Santana we're not just focused on making radio records, we're making records that can help him connect to his fan base and his audience. As a label we're about creating music that changes the game instead of following what is currently hot. So its always big to have that good radio record but at the end of the day to be honest you have artists with no#1 radio records selling 30,000 album copies their first week. It's really about people buying into the artist because if the artist makes good music it's going to connect and then the numbers are going to reflect.

Is looking for new acts for the label your main focus or is it working with artists that are already signed?

I'm always looking for new talent, that's my main focus everyday as well as making hot records and albums.

What happens after you're interested in a particular act?

I would want to go to their town, see them do a show and see how the people embrace them because nowadays in the rap game you have to have something going on to even get people to look at you. A rapper should want to have his own thing going on so if we come looking for you the ball is more in your court for the deal. So if I see that the artist has real potential and they have some momentum in the streets I would bring them up to New York and put them in some meetings and see what everybody else in the building thinks about them and take it from there.

On the R&B side if they have the right sound and the right look and we know we could make some big records with them we're more willing to take a chance on that because we can build that up. With the rappers you have to have that already out the gate.

How much of your time is spent in the studio as oppose to the office?

I spend a majority of my time in the studio but you definitely have to put in a lot of office hours with the meetings to make sure the right people are excited about your project and to make sure they have the correct information needed to make the project a success.

What is your take on the role the Internet plays when it comes to music development?

I think the Internet is a big, big, big platform for artists and I'm always online checking for who's out there because it just takes a click of the button to get your music out to millions of listeners. So if you're getting that feedback and that buzz on the Internet that's a plus. If you got that hot record growing on the Internet you're going to get that recognition. With the older A&R's I don't believe they were on the Internet like the younger generation is

Speak some more on the correlation between hit radio records and selling albums. For example you had the veteran rap group UGK sell more albums in their first week than Flo Rida even though they did not have a radio hit record while Flo Rida had the #1 spot

With UGK they could put out any kind of record and if you're a UGK fan you have to go buy the album because you love UGK. With artists like Flo Rida they may love his record but not necessarily him. They have to want to be like you, dress like you and talk like you so with UGK you have people that grew up idolizing them. With Flo Rida you have a Pop/Rap type style that's different and it's so new that it's connecting more with the white audience than the black audience.

So where is the black audience right now?

I would say artists like Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Kanye West that got the black audience, the white, the Pop, the Rap, everything. Then you have artists like Young Jeezy and Rick Ross that are still selling records but it's primarily to the streets.

Besides your A&R duties do you still manage producers?

Not as much, I do have a management company but I let my people handle that while I focus on my A&R side.

Based on the current trends of the music business where do you see the industry going in the next couple of years?

I think it's going to be all-digital soon obviously. The labels are going to have to stay ahead of that curve and figure out ways to get people to purchase the music. Before the big thing was going to the record stores when the album came out and looking at that shit. Nowadays everything is on iTunes so all they care about is getting the music as fast as they can and then move on to the next. But we still have to embrace the technology because we have no choice so at the end of the day it helps with the marketing and the promotion so we just have to figure out better ways to capitalize off of it.

Let's say you hear some music from a producer and your reach out to them. What are some of the dos and don'ts for the producer at that point?

They have to be patient because it's a game of patience. They shouldn't keep sending an excessive amount of material every time. The game has changed so the budgets for rap albums are not what they used to be but you still have new producers that get a placement and want to charge crazy bread. I would suggest that they find artists they really believe in and give them music for their mixtapes because most rappers give away a lot of free music in order to get on and I feel the producers should do the same thing to help build up their credibility.

From your experience what drives up the producer's price rate?

The amount of placements they have and the amount of hit records. It's really about the hit records because you have some producers that have a lot of placements and no hit records so they can charge only so much.

Do you have a preference when it comes down to samples being used?

Not really but the produce should because it cuts into their share of the publishing.

Any last shout outs?

I want to give a shout out to the Def Jam staff, everybody that's putting out albums this year like Ross, Jeezy and Juelz and I wish everybody a big 2009. Also shout out to the PMP staff