207
more creative job, I stood up to the plate and
asked for the opportunity. Then, I
would stay late to do the work, over and above
my business affairs work. Instead of
being resentful that nobody was letting me try
to be a creative person, I took that on
in addition to my other work, and people came
to rely on me more and more for my
creative input."
CELEST RAY, VICE PRESIDENT OF MUSIC, AARON
SPELLING PRODUCTIONS
A job meant to supplement her income while in
college changed Celest Ray's
career path from nursery school teacher to
music executive. "I fell in love with the
music business. I always loved music and I
really liked the mix of the business aspect
with the creative aspect." As secretary at an
independent record label and music pub-
lishing company, owned by artist Johnny Rivers,
Ray gained experience in every con-
ceivable aspect of the business and was
eventually promoted to general manager.
After ten years working for Rivers, she was
ready for a new challenge. In 1983 she
accepted an offer from producers Norman Lear
and Jerry Perrenchio to be director of
music for Embassy Pictures. During her tenure,
Ray supervised such films and sound
track albums as
This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, and A Chorus
Line.When
Embassy's theatrical division was sold to Dino
DeLaurentis in 1987, she stayed on,
working on
Crimes of the Heart and Bill and Ted's
Excellent Adventure, among
others.
Embassy went bankrupt in 1992, but Ray already
had been operating her own
company, Music in Motion, since 1988. As a
contractor, she cleared music rights for
Seinfeld, numerous projects with MGM and
Universal film studios, and a series of
film sound track albums for Big Screen Records.
Hired part time by Ken Miller to
clear music rights for the first season
of
Beverly Hills 90210, she was then asked
to
supervise music for
Melrose Place the following year. Ray took a
position at
CASE STUDY:
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"The politics--I don't like it when deals
should happen, but they don't
because there is a personal interest in
conflict. Or, when one executive
won't talk to another executive because they
don't want to admit that they
have to ask a question."
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
"Picking music and seeing that what I've
selected tickles the fancy of
whomever I'm pitching it to. Then, seeing it on
screen, seeing that it really
works. That's what I love most about my
job."
VOICES
OF
EXPERIENCE
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