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PAUL MORGAN, SENIOR DIRECTOR, CREATIVE
SERVICES,
CHERRY LANE MUSIC PUBLISHING
In 1983, Paul Morgan was working a 9 to 5
clerk's job in the pension department
of a huge firm in England, never thinking that
his dream of a career in music was
possible, when through a distant acquaintance,
he was able to get an interview with a
music agent. "The fact that I knew someone who
knew someone who knew someone
that worked in the industry suddenly sparked my
interest. As soon as there was a slim
chance, I was on it immediately." Although the
agent had no job to offer, the meeting
proved the adage of "being in the right place
at the right time" true. One week later,
the head of Atlantic Records walked into the
Warner Brothers music publishing
office, where the agent's wife worked, and
asked if anyone knew of a young man
interested in scouting talent for the American
market. Word got back to Morgan, who
came in for an interview. Instructed to return
with his ten favorite singles the follow-
ing week, he proved he had an ear for talent
when a song by The Gang of Four
prompted the Atlantic executive to place an
excited call to the United States office to
acquire it.
Continuing to work his day job to pay the
bills, Morgan saw three to four bands
every night for the next year, bringing in acts
like New Order, Dream Academy, and
The Cult, all of which Atlantic passed on. When
these acts were immediately signed
CASE STUDY:
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"As I look at my cluttered desk, I'd have to
say it's the minor details
that I like the least. The administrative
side--those things tend to bog
me down. My real role here is, first and
foremost, to be proactive with
the roster and acquire new acts, etc. I'm very
thorough; I leave nothing
to chance. It means I spend a little bit less
time listening to music."
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
"The idea of finding someone that has yet to be
discovered by anybody
else, and being able to take that vision of
what I see that they can
become and help to nurture that within the
artist or the songwriter.
Hopefully, in the long term, see that writer or
artist fulfill their
dreams. Frequently, people that want to be a
rock and roll star have
wanted that for an awfully long time. To see
those dreams become ful-
filled is a wonderful thing."
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