The AvA Connection

The Weekly Buzz:

Spotify’s Global Head of Music Jeremy Erlich has left the company after nearly 5 years. Read more on his decision to pursue his entrepreneurial side here.

YouTube ended it’s brief legal dispute with SESAC as songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar & more are back on the platform. Many feared we would have a TikTok vs. Universal Music pt. 2.

🧠 BONUS: Learn more about SESAC and Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) by clicking here.

Sabrina Carpenter is the first woman to have 3 separate tracks on the Billboard Hot 100 for 5 straight weeks. Cardi B originally held the record with 4.

Oasis have announced they will ditch dynamic pricing for the North American leg of their reunion tour, after it caused “an unacceptable experience” for UK fans. Read their full statement here.

Julia Michaels sold her catalog to The Jonas Group, founded by the father of the Jonas Brothers. Talk about a random duo… More on that here.

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📞 The Call Log: Louis Posen - President, Hopeless Records

Louis Posen is the founder and CEO of Hopeless Records, one of the biggest true indie labels out there (valued at $100m+). Posen is basically the forefather, label-wise, of the pop-punk and emo genres, as Hopeless is the label that brought All Time Low, Avenged Sevenfold, Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday, Sum 41, The Used, Thrice, and MANY more to the airwaves.. and they're still at it. Posen’s story is one of resilience, and overcoming obstacles to reach the top. 30 years ago, after a blindness diagnosis, he had to quit anything visual, and turn his attention to elsewhere in music - starting a label. Read our conversation below:

AvA: How did you get your start in the music industry? 

Posen: My start in the music industry was not a well thought out plan or even a possibility I knew about growing up, it was a dare from the punk band, Guttermouth while I directed a music video for them. I grew up a huge fan of music going to shows starting at around 8 and seeing my first punk band, X in 1982 at 12 years old. I liked what I now would call mainstream punk and new wave in middle and high school, mostly being influenced by KROQ (the big alternative radio station in Los Angeles), and my friends who liked bands like DEVO and Adam and the Ants. It wasn’t until I started film school in 1989 and started shopping for records at independent record shops that I learned of fan zines like Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll and Flipside, and met older punks like cinematographer Tom Richmond, that opened the door for me to the world of the independent punk and alternative rock community.

My musical taste moved to bands like NOFX, Green Day, Operation Ivy, Dag Nasty, and Minor Threat. While in film school at Cal State Northridge, I ended up directing the music video for the NOFX song “Bob” after cold calling them and Green Day to see if either wanted to be my film school guinea pig. Guttermouth played the NOFX show we filmed for the video which lead me to directing the Guttermouth music video, and getting dared to release the 7 inch record “11 oz.” with the first song titled “Hopeless”. I had no intention of starting a label. I had no business plan. So I went and bought a book called How To Run An Independent Record Label, called Fat Mike from NOFX since I knew he had a label called Fat Wreck Chords, and released the 7 inch record with the punk DIY ethos in mind.

AvA: Walk us through your pivot from film to music. 

Posen: After directing music videos for NOFX, Guttermouth, Lag Wagon, Schlong, Jughead’s Revenge and others, getting rocked out of film school and my apartment from a massive earthquake in 1994 and losing the eye sight in my right eye from a botched procedure in 1995, it seemed the right time to transition my career from film to music. I continued after the Guttermouth 7 inch to release music on Hopeless as a hobby but in 1995, I decided to put my full attention into the label. Over time, I have realized my passion and love for film, music and other art is rooted in the same desire to help positively effect people’s life through art. To have an effect on how they understand themselves, how they understand others and how they understand the world. With film, it sometimes took an hour and a half to have that effect on people but in music it can happen in 3 minutes.

AvA: Philanthropy has always been an important piece of your career. What is the driving force behind that?

Posen: I grew up in a family and a community that put a high value on using one’s talent and resources to make a difference in the world. To have purpose in life greater then oneself. When I found the punk scene, it was a community that shared that value and took it to an even more proactive level. Once I started the label, I noticed artists, fans and those who joined the team were all connected to this specific music community not just because the music was great but because it stood for something and was an effect on culture, lifestyle and making a difference. That motivation lead us to starting a non-profit organization now called The Hopeless Foundation with our flagship program subsidy that has raised over 3 million dollars for over 150 charitable initiatives. We feel artists voices, and our 30 years of resources and relationships put us in a unique position to shine a light on important issues, to support the great work many organizations are doing, and to play our part in bettering our community and world.

AvA: How has your blindness diagnosis changed your perspective on life and your career over the years? 

Posen: If I didn’t lose my eye sight, I’d probably be another music industry asshole that doesn’t listen to others, doesn’t consider others, and is stuck in their old ways. I have been forced to listen, to really understand people, learn the nuance of interdependency, and have the ability to adapt regularly. I have brought my experience losing my eyesight to my leadership at Hopeless that includes many of the principles we strive to affect our actions including always having the humility to listen, learn, change, and grow. I was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) when I was 19, I drove until I was 23 and I now only have light perception in my left eye and no light perception in the right eye. I am grateful every day that I wake up alive, that I have an amazing family at home and at work, and that I love what I get to do for a living. My approach has been to use blindness to better my life rather then let it destroy it.

AvA: What is your take on the evolution and current state of the punk scene? 

Posen: I am not a big definer of punk and who is in and who is out. I look at our music community as an inclusive place where those that feel different, geeks, freaks, weirdos, and others can thrive being who they are. For those who are passionate about music beyond it’s sound where it plays a role in their life, with their friends and defines their culture. It’s a community that is a movement beyond music helping individuals and societies. It’s ultra creative, risk taking and connected deeply to human expression. Punk, hardcore, emo and related alternative genres have changed over the years with different sounds, different topics, different fashion, etc., but they always reflect the time and how those who are part of counter culture feel.

AvA: One piece of advice for someone wanting to break into the music or entertainment industry? 

Posen: Find good people, go the extra mile, listen, learn, be proactive but humble, read a lot, keep your promises, be a good person. Check out our Hopeless principles on our website, don’t listen to me!

AvA: Book or podcast recommendation?
Posen:

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Linked here)

2. The Four Agreements (Linked here)

3. The One You Feed Podcast (Linked here)

4. Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History Podcast (Linked here)

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This newsletter is written by Warner Bailey and edited by Riley Furey

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