RECORD COMPANY

RON SHAPIRO, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/GENERAL MANAGER, THE ATLANTIC GROUP

At 21, Ron Shapiro left Vassar College and moved to Los Angeles in 1986 with about $2000 in graduation money, not knowing how he would translate his love of music and television into a career. Several weeks later, he saw an ad in the UCLA Daily Bruin, for a public relations or English major to work at an entertainment public relations firm specializing in music. Not really knowing what public relations was, but having a degree in English and loving music, he applied. The job was for an assistant to Sarah McMullen, publicist for Elton John, who hired Shapiro on the basis of his writing skills. It seemed somewhat appropriate that this should be his first job in the music business, given the fact that the first record he ever bought was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

From McMullen, who had just left a large firm to open her own business, Shapiro learned in two years what would have taken ten years elsewhere. He went from being tour publicist to account executive, working with clients like Bryan Adams, Elton John, and Roy Orbison. When McMullen branched out into corporate public relations, Shapiro was assigned to handle newly appointed BMI President, Frances Preston. The two clicked, resulting in an offer to run BMI's West Coast publicity department, where a year later he was promoted to writer/publisher relations executive. “I had all this experience dealing with superstars touring on the road and learned how to do publicity. Now I was learning all about performing rights and how important BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC are. I learned about the world of the songwriter, how they make money, and what their place in the music industry food chain is. It was a great experience.”

After a couple of years at BMI, Shapiro wanted to learn about the record business. About that time, MCA Records was reorganizing their West Coast office, and he landed the job of national publicity director. “I went there having experience that a lot of record company executives don't have. I understood publishing, performing rights, independent publicity, management, and the touring business. I had this whirlwind four years with McMullen & Company Public Relations and at BMI. That taught me a lot.” Quickly promoted to vice president, Shapiro spent four years learning the record business, handling day-to-day artist and corporate public relations, and marketing.

During a campaign to promote the reunion of Belinda Carlisle and the Go-Gos, Shapiro met their manager, Danny Goldberg, who had just been made head of Atlantic Records. Goldberg offered him a job, which after a few months, turned into the general manager position over the West Coast office. During the following year, Shapiro was instrumental in signing several artists, including Jewel. In 1995, parent company Time Warner shook up Warner Music Group, of which Atlantic Records is a part. When the dust settled, Shapiro found himself in New York, promoted to senior vice president and general manager of The Atlantic Group.

It took two years of 16-hour work days to learn the ropes, but Shapiro was up to the challenge. Under Shapiro's leadership, Atlantic Records boasted a major league roster that included Jewel, Brandy, Kid Rock, Matchbox 20, Sugar Ray, Tori Amos, and the cast albums of numerous Broadway productions, among them Jekyll & Hyde, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Scarlet Pimpernel, and Smokey Joe's Cafe. Shapiro was promoted to executive vice president and general manager in 1997. Three years later, he and Craig Kallman were named co-presidents.

In early 2004, parent company Warner Music Group restructured its recording and publishing interests and Shapiro exited the label. The always positive Shapiro remarked, “When I walked out of 1290 [Sixth Avenue] for the last time, I thought, ‘I've had the greatest experience in the world. I'd gone from publicity to president.’”

Shortly after leaving Atlantic, Shapiro received a call from Universal Music Group Nashville co-chairman Luke Lewis about managing up-and-coming Mercury Nashville artist Julie Roberts. Respected for nurturing artists' careers and his ability to get radio airplay for nonstereotypical acts, Lewis thought Shapiro possessed the right combination of strengths to become a successful artist manager. “At Atlantic, I often felt like I was an internal manager to certain acts, like Jewel, Brandy, P.O.D., or Matchbox Twenty.”

Ron Shapiro Management and Consulting LLC was formed a few months after Shapiro's departure from Atlantic. In addition to artist management, Shapiro was hired as a consultant for AOL Music and Clear Channel Entertainment. He was also named president of Artist Den, a New York-based company started by venture capitalist Mark Lieberman that includes Artists Den Records and Artists Den Performances. “You should always approach [a project] with an attitude of changing the marketplace or changing the culture,” Shapiro says. “At Atlantic, the minute the gatekeepers told us ‘no’ was the minute we started to have a good time.”